The Case for the Community Prayer Space

I woke up this morning with a renewed awareness of the power and beauty of the community prayer space.

Like many things in western Christianity, it’s easy to try and make the prayer room safe and sanitized, reducing prayers to inoffensive vagaries wielded by an ordained few. However, that feels to me more like the rules and regalia of high church from centuries ago than it does the “priesthood of all believers.” 

Have we read the psalms of David? Talk about messy, passionate, emotional pleas.

As a leader, I understand the desire to avoid anything that causes attendees to feel awkward and icky. And it’s true that if your folks don’t feel “safe” in a gathering, they probably won’t come back. (Please note that I am not talking about feeling physically safe, which is a very real issue these days as can be seen from that recent terror attack in Wayne, Michigan.) I am addressing our contemporary penchant for living a diluted Christianity that makes our feelings and comfort the center of our faith and not the crucified and resurrected Savior.

Hannah leading prayer at the Ferguson Prayer Furnace

But maybe that’s our problem? Are we wanting to attract attendees but not participants? What if we equipped and empowered those who come to not just consume what is happening like impartial bystanders imbibing the atmosphere, but invite them to lead out in prayer as well? Plus, I think most folks can handle a little awkwardness if there's solid leadership in the room that steps in to help lead in those moments.

Yes, there should be parameters. We don’t want folks to engage in praying against others; we want them to pray to God for others. But isn’t this what we are supposed to do as leaders in the Church? To train and equip the saints for the work of the ministry? This is an opportunity for leaders to lead by modeling, guiding, directing/redirecting, and sometimes even correcting if needed.

Here are some basic guidelines my colleagues and I have developed over the years leading corporate prayer times:

• Encourage people to pray from scripture. One way to do this is start by reading a Bible verse/passage and use that as your guideline as you pray. (Make sure to model this.)  Here are a couple of examples:

Are you praying for your city? Read a passage such as Isaiah 65 and use those principles (infants living full lives, safety in the streets, economic prosperity, etc.) as your guide.

Are you praying for people to get saved? Pray 2 Peter 3:9 -  “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

• Encourage people to pray to God for people, not pray against people. People are not our enemy and we should not be cursing them in our prayers. In other words, we can pray against demonic ideologies, but never against people. Having said that, encourage your folks to avoid spending incessant time binding and rebuking at the mic. Allow the mic to be a place where we pray to God, not arm wrestling demons.

Ferguson Prayer Furnace June, 2025

• Encourage people to pray brief prayers, no more than 1 - 2 minutes in length. If a bunch of people want to pray, you can reduce that time to 20 - 30 seconds per person. Greater participation fosters greater ownership of the prayer gathering. Plus, more prayers mean more opportunity for agreement, which is powerful. (Matt. 18:19 - 20)

• If you’re in a room that has multiple political persuasions, avoid partisan prayers. I recommend praying 1 Tim. 2: 1- 2 as a diving board for the prayer:

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."

Instead of publicly griping about a particular leader or party, ask the Lord to give our leaders wisdom and discernment as they govern and for wickedness influences to be removed. If there’s specific legislation that warrants prayer, pray specifically, but pray from the place of love. (1 Cor. 13)

• Encourage people to pray on topic, which means you’ll need to remind people regularly as to what the topic is, especially if new folks have recently entered the prayer space.

• Encourage people to pray and not preach. Sometimes people feel the need to teach, preach, or talk from the mic. Remind folks (and model) that the mic is meant for prayer. If they are sharing, gently remind them to “pray” whatever it is they are sharing.

What happens when someone comes to the mic and begins to pray something outlandish or not at all connected to the main topic?

Here’s what I do:

If someone is coming to the mic to pray and I don’t know the person, I follow them to the mic and stand near them. Close proximity allows me to step in and gently help redirect their prayer if I feel it’s going off the rails. This means you need to be watchful during the prayer gathering.

If what is being prayed is actual heresy, step in and redirect the prayer. When we’ve led outdoor prayer gatherings in a city park with many strangers, one of our team members holds the mic so that we can more easily guide what’s happening.

If someone begins to pray a very personal request from the mic, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Maybe the Lord wants to minister to that person in that moment publicly or maybe you should pull them aside to pray with them away from the microphone so the prayer room stays focused. However you feel led in that moment, remember to treat the person with love and honor. If they are desperate enough to use a public prayer mic for their need, they probably aren’t trying to make a scene.

Young woman worshiping God with banners.

I’ve had the honor of helping to lead community prayer rooms and citywide gatherings for more than 13 years now. In all of those years, I have rarely had to completely stop someone’s prayer. Most of the time, a simple verbal redirection helps folks get back on track.

In summary, let's not allow the fear of a little messiness cause us to avoid public prayer times. There is unexpected beauty, power, and anointing when we make space for His Bride to pray together. (Psalm 133)

---

Some years ago I was driving home from our prayer room and I asked the Lord, “How do I build the prayer room?”

Immediately, I heard Holy Sprit whisper, “You build people.”

Let’s build people by making the prayer room accessible and participatory for all. I believe this is one of the doorways to seeing Jesus’ prayer fulfilled - that HIS house would become a house of prayer for all nations [ethnos]. (Is. 56:7 - 8)