For sixty years, from the time I was saved up to the present, I have been attending prayer meetings. First I attended prayer meetings in a denomination, then in a Brethren Assembly, and later in the prayer meetings of the church. According to my experience, everyone who comes to the prayer meeting must have a spirit of prayer. As soon as we step into the meeting, we should not care for anything but to pray. If someone is praying, we should wait until he finishes and then continue the prayer. We should not rely too much on the responsible brothers to lead the meeting. We should not expect them to call a hymn, open the prayer, or announce the items for prayer. Such a prayer meeting will not be strong.
In the prayer meetings of the churches in America, whoever arrives first begins to pray, and those who come later join in the prayer; everyone prays. No one waits until seven-thirty to begin praying, they do not sing first and then have an opening prayer, and there is neither a message nor an announcement concerning items for prayers. They just pray. This kind of prayer meeting is powerful and very living; oftentimes the prayer lasts for one and a half hours.
Generally speaking, if someone stands up to announce some items for prayer or to call a hymn in the middle of the prayer meeting, it is an interruption. The spirit of prayer should not be interrupted. Once it is interrupted, it is not easy to raise the meeting. Hence, when we come together to pray, we must take this as the goal. We should not rely on a program, nor should we depend on a few designated people. As soon as we come together, we should begin to pray.
Someone may ask what we should pray for if the items for prayer are not announced. Since we are all in the church life, we should know the needs of the church. When we come to the prayer meeting, we should not pray for trivial matters but for important matters, such as God’s will, God’s kingdom, and the propagation of the church. For instance, the church in Taipei is now at a turning point, a new beginning; we should pray earnestly for this. This does not mean, however, that no one should make a prayer request. If a family member is very sick, a saint can look for an opportunity to fellowship this matter by following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Then he can make a request for prayer.
The prayer meeting will be dead if we pray according to a list that is distributed to every hall or district. I am not saying that we should not have such a list but that it should not become a routine. When the brothers and sisters come together to pray, they should pray mainly for God’s kingdom, the propagation of the gospel, and the building up of the church. Furthermore, they should also pray for the saints’ growth in life and for the move of the church. These matters are our major concerns, and we should remember them in our prayer. If the elders, co-workers, and deacons realize that there is a crucial matter in the church that needs to be made known in the prayer meetings of the church, then it is proper to make an announcement. In addition, it is also good to allow the saints to fellowship some personal burdens. They may have a relative or a friend who needs to be saved and needs the intercession of the saints in the prayer meeting. This is acceptable. In any case, the prayer meeting should be living and not regarded as a routine.
Furthermore, there should not be long prayers. When I was young, I attended the prayer meeting of a Brethren assembly. Every time there were dozens of saints who would come to pray. Whenever one prayed, their prayer was very long; hence, many people dozed off on their knees. We should avoid this. Strong prayer is not usually long. I pray two sentences, another prays two sentences, and yet another follows by praying two sentences. After praying in this way for one item, we can move on to another item. In the end all the saints will pray as one man. This is the best prayer meeting. The more we pray, the more living the prayer becomes, and the more we pray, the higher and stronger the prayer becomes. We need to learn and exercise to have simple but strong and uplifting prayers. We should not worry about what to pray for next. The Holy Spirit will lead us to pray for different burdens one by one.