As National Day of Prayer approaches on May 1, we want to celebrate the faithfulness of God in our small group communities and share five ways we can pray for each other.
I cannot imagine walking through my day to day without around-the-clock prayer support of my small group of gals. Sunday mornings have become a safe and sacred space where friends, both weary and strong, reunite after the kind of week that feels like an entire year.
The first thing you see on the wall when you step into our space is the Latin phrase “SOLI DEO GLORIA”, translated as “GLORY TO GOD ALONE”, which has officially become our small group theme with T-shirts to prove it.
Coffee is brewing as women take their regular seats around tables stacked with Bibles, study books, sometimes donuts, and other times an actual brunch spread—because who doesn’t love brunch waiting for you at church with your favorite people?
“And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
—Hebrews 10:24-26
Our group says it all the time, “There is not one person who could walk through the door to this room with a hardship that one of us has not experienced personally or with a loved one.”
Every week without fail, we take time to write down our prayer needs and answered prayer in a running journal that recounts how God has moved in the past and reveals our trust in how He will care for us in the future. A few times a year we take the entire class time to read through the pages of the prayer journal to give glory to God alone for how He has carried us. There are tears, tissues, and chocolate-covered almonds to celebrate.
I’m sure you have your own unique small group stories of how prayer has become your oxygen while experiencing God throughout the week. The apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians encourages believers to pursue unity in the church and in their everyday relationships. Ephesians 1:15-19 offers a prayer and blessing for the readers of the time that can serve as a reminder of how we can be praying for each other today.
1. Pray for faith in Jesus and love for God’s people to grow.
“This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints” (v. 15).
2. Thank God for your small group community.
“I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers” (v. 16).
3. Pray for the Spirit of wisdom in every circumstance they encounter.
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (v. 17).
4. Pray for understanding as they study God’s Word.
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (v. 18)
5. Pray for hearts to see God’s power at work in their lives and families.
“… and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength” (v. 19).
May your small group grow in God’s Word and experience praying together more than ever this year. This is the beauty of walking through life in the good company of believers when we don’t give up meeting together.
ABOUT Jenny Holzknecht-Howell
Jenny Holzknecht-Howell has led in the local church for over twenty years, giving her all to family ministries across the country. Her best experience has grown from mothering her five favorite kids ages ten to twenty-five years old. Jenny’s home is a busy hub of conversations, cooking, and a side of crazy! She is passionate about connecting biblical hope with the hearts of women through writing and speaking. Jenny grew up in Alaska, so obviously her heart beats for mountains and a good snowstorm! Jenny has a B.S. in Education with a thirty-hour Bible & Theology ETA certificate from Toccoa Falls College, Georgia.
