WITH MOST Adventist congregations a prayer meeting is traditionally held each Wednesday evening. Attendance seems to fluctuate. Recent months
witnessed an attendance between 10 to 15 members each week in one Michigan congregation. The format largely consisted of the pastor's taking the lead in studying a book of the Bible or some Christian classic. The lecture was ordinarily preceded by a short song service and followed by brief prayers.
In the fall of 1974, however, a Family Enrichment Seminar was conducted by three Doctor of Ministry candidates from Andrews University. In the course
of the seminar it was discovered that many of the younger couples had serious problems when it came to personal Bible reading. The atmosphere of the meetings was so positive and supportive that a number of persons freely confessed they did not read the Bible at all, because they "didn't get anything out of it."
They expressed feelings of guilt at this apparent failure on their part, as well as a real desire to read the Bible in a way that would prove beneficial to
their daily life and their growth as Christians. Obviously, they were asking for help.
This expressed need having come to our attention, a ten-week period of the regular prayer meetings was set aside for this kind of an emphasis. Those desiring to attend were asked to commit themselves to come for the full ten weeks. Young couples were helped to make this commitment by providing
child care during the sessions. In the initial response more than fifty commitments were received.
It was evident that if devotional Bible reading was to become a meaningful habit people would have to experience the fact that God speaks personally to each individual through the pages of the Scriptures. He does so not only to present them with Bible truth but because He has a very special message for each person, designed and applied by the Holy Spirit, to meet that person's daily needs.
An eighty-page manual was prepared, the first four pages consisting of introductory and explanatory material. In the introduction the thought was ex
pressed that if the Bible is to come alive as a devotional source it can happen only as one reads it and prayerfully responds to what it says.
It was suggested that four things were needed by each participant: (1) a Bible (the Revised Standard Version was recommended); (2) a portion of time
that would be set aside each day to do the devotional exercises; (3) a positive and hopeful attitude; (4) faith to believe that the Bible is God's Word and that He speaks through its pages.
The rest of the manual surprisingly consisted of 76 almost blank pages. One page for each day of the ten weeks, and seven pages for an additional week beyond the tenth. At the top of each page the week was identified, the day was indicated, and the Bible reading for that day was printed. The rest of the page was evenly divided under two headings: "GOD SPEAKS TO ME," at the top of the page, and "I SPEAK TO GOD," halfway down the page. Under the first heading participants were encouraged to jot down striking statements, insights, problems, questions, blessings, that came to mind while reading. They were also encouraged to ask the following questions as they read: (1) What is God saying to me personally? (2) What does it mean for my daily life?
Under the heading "I SPEAK TO GOD" was to be written a prayer incorporating the notes jotted down in the space above. The suggestion was made
that thanksgiving and praise be included in this response.
Members were urged to remember that neither the jottings nor the prayers were intended to be polished essays. The important thing was that the participants became aware of what was most meaningful. One full Bible chapter was assigned for each day's meditation.
Informality and participation were emphasized in the prayer-meeting format. After a brief introductory statement by the pastor those attending broke up into small groups of from five to ten persons. Each group selected its own leader or was free to be leaderless, allowing the group process itself to determine leadership roles. The latter approach seemed to be the most popular, although each group did select one individual to serve as reporter. The sharing session lasted about thirty minutes, followed by prayer in which it was possible for every person to participate if he chose. The entire group then came together in a large circle to report on the significant items they had shared together. The meeting ended with a benediction by the pastor, and rarely went beyond one hour.
Attendance remained consistently high throughout the ten-week period, never dropping below forty. Discussion was usually very animated, with virtually every person participating enthusiastically.
Pastor Serves as Facilitator
The role of the pastor in this approach was greatly changed from the traditional one. He was no longer the lecturer or the source of information. He
became instead the facilitator, the discussion guide, the encourager, the supporter.
It was interesting to notice that group communication and interaction was more difficult to maintain in the group the pastor joined, as that group tended
to direct their remarks to him rather than to one another, even though they sat in a circle. The pastor tried to overcome this obstacle by directing the
questions to someone else in the group, asking, "How would you minister to him/her in this situation?" As the result of such pastoral response, group members would often have to ask the person who had raised the question, "What did you say?" or "Would you repeat that again, please?"
At the final session participants were asked to write brief answers to four questions. These questions and representative answers follow:
Question 1. How do you feel about this ten-week emphasis on learning to use the Bible devotionally? Answers: "I loved it." "This has been a great
help." "I feel good about it." "It was a real blessing." "I feel excited." There were no negative responses.
Question 2. In what specific ways has this exercise helped you in your devotional life? Every respondent gave a positive answer! Such as: "It has provided a better way of managing my time for prayer." "I look forward to reading every day." "Knowing I had to write something down helped me pay more attention to what I was reading."
Question 3. What changes have been taking place within you as a person as a result of devotional Bible reading? Not everyone answered this question, but some examples are: "I am aware of others." "I feel I can understand or discern more spiritual things." "I've had beautiful answers to prayer, and my faith and love have grown."
Question 4. What specifically did you, or did you not, appreciate about the way the prayer meetings were conducted? One person felt the sessions
were too short, another felt more time should have been spent in prayer, and another felt that the reporting did not adequately reflect the interesting and
helpful discussions that took place in the small groups. Most of the remarks were positive, such as: "I particularly liked the small groups. It was a time
of encouragement as others helped me." "I have a friendlier feeling toward the church as a whole."
Obviously, this was also a learning experience for the pastor. He learned that the greatest response in terms of consistent participation on the part of
members can be expected when a program is designed to meet a felt need. Also that making a contract or commitment to attend the meetings results in a high degree of regular attendance over a limited period of time.
When people are given the opportunity they are able to learn how to minister to one another's spiritual needs, because they really want to do so and
need to do so. Obviously, small groups are more conducive to the practice of ministry among the priesthood of believers than are large ones. We also
noted that the body of Christ functions the best when it is engaged in building up its members in the faith.
Even after this special series came to a close the prayer meeting continues with the same format and with a higher attendance than prior to the special exercise. Members who have been especially blessed by prayer meeting participation have been actively witnessing to that fact in the congregation.
