Have you ever been in a gathering where you have to take opening prayers and then you’re shy, tensed, and probably don’t know what to say or can’t find the right words to use, especially when you were not given any prior notice?
Then, you’re not alone because it could happen to anyone; anyone could be called upon at anytime and anywhere or place to lead prayers, and the fact that you’re a Christian makes some people want to believe it’s a no-brainer for you.
In fact, prior notice for some people isn’t even enough to do well to say the opening prayer; that makes it worse, right?
Well, do you know you can actually lead an amazing opening prayer anywhere anytime with confidence and without that tension and shyness and stuttering or stammering?
Yes, you can. Just go through these steps written just for you on how to pray opening prayer or lead an opening prayer anytime, anywhere and you’ll be a pro even before you know it.
How to Lead an Opening Prayer Step by Step
Simply put, first of all, know the kind of occasion or meeting and the category of people in the gathering. Pick your words carefully and maintain a steady pace – it’s not a time to impress. If necessary, you can use a bible quote or sing a song. Above all, keep to time as not doing so could water down the effect of your prayer.
Even if you want to know how to write an opening prayer, read on for explanation…
1. Know the Kind of Meeting or Occasion
The kind of gathering or meeting where the prayer is to be led is a very important determinant to how the prayer is to be led. For instance, in a gathering of students, the terms and words you’ll use will be different from the ones you’ll use when you’re praying for a wedding or funeral service.
When in a student gathering or academic environment and you’re asked to take the opening prayer, you should try and use related words and pray about their academic performance, education, learning capabilities. You can also pray about God improving their intelligence, giving them new ideas, and improving their thinking ability.
So, different gatherings with their different approach and words to use, so whatever gathering it is you’ll be praying in, you need to get and use words and terminologies related to the meeting or the occasion because you can’t be in a funeral service and you won’t pray for the family of the deceased and thanking God for the life of the deceased on earth.
There are several other gatherings or meetings in which you could be asked to lead opening prayers for which I may and may not have touched, but whatever meeting it is, use words and terms that are related to such gatherings, meetings and occasions.
2. The Category of People There
The kind or category of people that are in attendance in the meeting or occasion is also very important. Is it a gathering of church workers or members or a gathering of kings and queens, rich and influential people?
Then you make sure you find the right words that go in line with the category of people there. As an example, you cannot be talking to a gathering of rich influential people and praying about lack of money, you have to pray according to the kind of people that are gathered in the meeting or occasion.
Another example: if you find yourself in a women’s gathering and you have to take the opening prayer, you should then use words that the women would appreciate and understand. You could pray about children, family and the home.
So, when asked to lead opening prayer anywhere, look at the category of people in the meeting and based the prayer on that – make sure you use some terms that apply to them and you will be fine.
3. Be Sincere – Do not Impress
Do not try to impress the people in the meeting in which you are praying. Do not try to use complex words, knowing that we can pray fluently and well in simple and clear words.
Be sincere in your heart concerning the prayers. Do not try to overdo the prayers. Just because the gathering or meeting in which you are to lead prayers are full of rich or educated people, you then decide to check the dictionary for ambiguous words to impress them, it is actually not necessary.
Just be yourself and you’ll be surprised how freely you’ll flow, even the bible compels us to serve God with sincerity.
4. Pick a Bible Verse or Say a Scripture
It’s okay to pick a bible verse or verses and add to the prayers you’re leading, you don’t need to quote the verse word by word, it’s fine if you don’t know the actual verse.
Adding bible verse to your prayers can add inspiration to it and can motivate the people gathered to join you and pray along. And do not try to say scriptures you don’t know; you can end up misquoting the whole verse; just pray as it is being brought to you by the Holy Spirit.
And note this: make sure you know the kind of gathering that requires the use of bible verses while leading an opening prayer. For a church service, it should be okay unlike for board meetings.
5. Be Bold and Confident
The bible says the righteous are as bold as a lion and it also says that he has not given us a spirit of fear but that of a sound mind. Shyness and fear are not from the lord, so we are to work towards overcoming such traits in us.
When I say we should pray in boldness and confidence, I do not mean that we should shout and jump around. we can be bold yet simple, look at the life and example of Paul who boldly spoke to multitudes of people and of peter too.
So, boldness is something we should pray and walk towards, it will help us with dealing with the issue of shyness in our lives.
6. Be Time Conscious
While praying, endeavour to work according to the time given to you for the prayer. If you’re given a minute or two, use it effectively and be precise. Resist the urge to overstretch the prayer than it’s necessary.
It’s not too good to be praying and everyone will be checking the time and be wary of the prayer being prayed. So, be conscious of the time you’re given to use and also be precise.
Whenever you are not given a time frame, it’s better to be brief.
7. Understanding the Use of Songs
If you’re in a church setting or Christian related meetings or occasion. You can lead a song or two songs to motivate the people or carry them along with you in prayers.
The singing of songs can be captivating and can be gripping, so singing one or two songs can help in your opening prayer.
How to Lead an Opening Prayer for Church Service
For church service, bible study or any program in the church, even if it’s opening prayer for worship, follow this guide:
Like it is stated above, when leading an opening whether it is a long or short prayer, the first thing we should do is to make a quick prayer in her heart about it more especially if we are the shy or nervous type.
Then we should understand the type of gathering, meeting, or occasion in which we are being called to pray. the things we need to look out for is the kind of meeting it is, is it a Christian meeting, large or small gathering, and the kind of occasion that is being done. all these will help us in understanding the kind of prayer to be prayed and how to organize the prayer.
The next thing we should consider is the kind of people that will be gathered in such meetings or occasions, what kind of calibre they are. If we are going to a gathering of rich and wealthy people or students or for a gathering of a particular set of people, we should pick and choose our words carefully. We should pick the right words for the right kind of people or gathering we are praying in.
Another thing we should understand is that praying is not about how complex and complicated we sound or pray but how we can pray well and expertly in the most simple and understandable way. It is not until we use the most complex words before our prayer is effective or efficient. We can pray with sincerity and plainness and our will still land and come out well.
Even in the course of our prayer, we can chip in some bible verses and scriptures, as I have pointed earlier, we don’t need to quote a whole verse or say the verse word by word, we could paraphrase and people will still be motivated to follow us in prayer. Nevertheless, quoting scriptures and verses as we pray is a necessity we shouldn’t afford to miss. People will feel we know what we are doing when we ack our prayers up with scriptures.
Boldness and confidence are another thing we should imbibe if we desire to be able to pray competently and efficiently. When you speak boldly, you will be able to carry the people along with you, people will be encouraged to pray along with you. When you’re praying with shyness, you tend to stutter or stammer or just end abruptly without properly closing the prayer, that is why you have to deal with the issue of shyness and nervousness for you to be perfect at praying confidently.
How to Lead Opening Prayer at a Meeting
It actually depends on the type of meeting and the time allocated for the opening prayer, if you’re given a minute or two, make your prayers short and precise. There is nothing bad with you preparing yourself for the prayers if you have been told beforehand.
Depending on the kind of meeting and the people in attendance, you could start by singing a song or two and then go ahead to appreciate God for the lives of everyone at the meeting and thanking for the success of previous meetings.
Then you can go ahead and ask that he takes charge of the meeting, just make sure to make yourself simple and plain, with no excesses and no overdoing.
How to Lead Opening Prayer at Dinner
Whether it’s a family dinner or a dinner party or any other type of dinner, there are some important words or things to pray about. You bless God for the food provided and also thank him that everyone is able to come together to eat together.
If it is a family dinner, you could also pray that the whole family become more united and pray for the spirit of togetherness but make sure you don’t bring up family issues at the prayer.
Make sure to make the prayer short especially if the food has been served and people are ready to eat. Making the prayer long will just make people wary of the prayer.
