Prayer is common to almost every religious belief system as a primary way to communicate human concerns to God. For 10 years now I have had the privilege of being a part of two small prayer/study groups. One at CFB Kingston and the other at CFB Gagetown. If you attend a service, chances are, your congregation already has a prayer group and/or study group that goes into action whenever there’s a need in your military community. There might also be a regular prayer/study group on a certain day or night of the week. Ask your unit Padre about it. If there is none and you feel a calling to start one, you don’t need to possess leadership, influence, or personality to start a prayer or study group. Prayer is the inherent right of every child of God. The effectiveness of your prayer or study doesn’t depend on your personal connectedness or status within your church. Anyone can start a prayer/study group.

One concern arises time and again: How do we balance in-depth Bible study with prayer time? What are some practical ways we can encourage serious Bible study while simultaneously building community ties through prayer with each other? Acts 2:42 describes the early church’s commitment to Scripture, prayer, and fellowship. How can our groups model this approach without spending all our time on one or the other?

Here are just a few tips to help you start one at your base…

Pray to God that He would place members with a heart for prayer in your path.

Approach your unit Padre with your vision and ask them to pray about meeting with you regularly for prayer.

Determine a regular meeting time and place.

Seek God’s will for each member you add to your group, accept every “no” graciously and trust that God may change their circumstances and bring them to a group at a later date and time.

To keep our prayer/study group time focused…

Establish a clear start and end time. Pray/study first and chat in the parking lot after.

Meet on the same day of the week at the same time. (Even if only two can meet (Matthew 18:20), we should still pray.)

Watch the clock – generally spend 30 – 45 minutes on prayer/study. This is good for lunch times, so pray for 15 mins by going around the room so each member has a chance to pray. Then, study for the remaining of your time. You can also do an after work meeting where you can spend more time into your studies.

Use a prayer guide. Start each week with a scripture verse or section of scripture. Reading God’s Word as you enter into prayer focuses your thoughts and minds. Also writing down each other’s prayer requests can keep you on track.

Prayer is a loving communication with God. Prayer is the expression of our inner spiritual needs. Through prayer we can find strength of spirit, guidance, wisdom, joy and inner peace (Psalms 118:5-6, Psalms 138:3, Isaiah 58:9-11, Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7). Prayer may be long or short, alone or in a group, silent or aloud, but it should be a true communication with God and not done for public recognition (Matthew 6:5-8).

Important aspects of prayer include…

Expressions of faith and trust in God.

Worship and adoration of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Confession of our sins.

Praise of God’s mighty deeds.

Thanksgiving for all the good things we have received.

Dedication to serve God and other people.

Prayer and studying together is powerful. If you never had the opportunity to be in a prayer/study group; I hope and pray you get the chance!