Eyes-Open Prayer Conversation Idea Making It Easy to Pray Out Loud for Others

Many people don’t feel comfortable praying out loud with other people so I developed an easy, eyes-open prayer conversation idea for our group.

In this eyes-open conversational prayer idea, each person shares something they are thankful to God for and something that is challenging them. A designated person in the group uses this information to pray for the person. They look at the person like they are talking to them. Then they say a few sentences of blessing and encouragement for the person.

How to do the Eyes-Open Conversational Prayer Idea

One: Before the prayer time, have everyone in the group tell the group two things:

Something they are thankful to God for

Something that’s challenging them.

Two: Encourage group members to make it personal and current.

These questions are asked this way because this is a chance to have someone pray about something that is currently affecting you. Often we make prayer requests about a crisis someone else is going through. The purpose of this eyes-open conversational prayer is to pray for you personally.

It’s OK to write down another person’s problem if it directly affects you, like your elderly mother who is having problems with her health. Just be sure to add how it is affecting you and what you need like guidance, or patience etc.

Three: Use a method of sharing that suits your group.

In a small group, you can have everyone go around the circle and share these two things out loud.

In a larger group, you can have people write down their answers to the two questions on a slip of paper, making sure they write their name on the paper.

Four: Decide on who will be assigned to pray for each person.

In a small group where you have done sharing out loud, you can designate the person seated on the right as the person you will pray for.

In larger groups or in groups where you have written down your answers, you can pass out the slips of paper so that everyone gets someone else’s.

Five: To Keep Things Feeling Prayerful, Use these 2 phrases.

Explain to the group that they will be saying a few sentences to someone else based on the things the person has shared. Tell them to look at the person, say their name and then use the following phrases for their conversational prayer:

I thank God that….

Then the person speaking says something about the thing the person has shared they are thankful for.

I pray that God will…

Then the person speaking says a few words about the kinds of actions God might take to help the other person.

Six: Give the group some ideas on the kind of things the person speaking might say

Here are some suggestions:

Words of encouragement. Here’s an example. If someone is having difficulty with parenting you might say, “God knows you’re a good mom and he knows how much you love your child.”

Bible verses or promises of God that might come to mind on the person’s challenge. As an example, if the person is worried about doing something difficult alone, you might say, “Remember, that God is always with you, no matter where you go.”

Empathy for emotions they may be facing. For instance, if someone has lost a parent, you might say, “When I lost my mom I felt sad for a long time. It’s OK to allow yourself time to grieve.”

Words of hope. Here’s an example. If someone is looking for a job you might say, “You have good experience and you’re a hard worker and I believe God can show you where someone needs your skills.”

Examples of an eyes-open conversational prayer

First, here’s an example of speaking to someone’s thankfulness to God response: “Lynn, I thank God that your daughter will be coming home this weekend. I pray that you will have a wonderful time together!”

Next, here’s an example of covering someone’s request: “I pray that God will help you in caring for your mother. I know it’s hard sometime, so I pray that God will give you an ability to talk to her in ways she can understand and that your mother can feel how much you care.”

Notice that:

Thankfulness and requests are often on 2 different subjects.

The eyes-open conversational prayer only requires a few sentences.

Seven: Allow time for feedback after the prayer time

After the prayer time, allow the group members to respond to the eyes open prayer they received. If time permits, group members can ask further questions about the person’s situation or share supporting thoughts and experiences.

Why I developed this eyes open conversational prayer idea

I developed this prayer idea in our small neighborhood sharing group when a new woman joined who was told us that she wasn’t comfortable praying out loud in a group. During our meeting we always went around the table and told the group something we were thankful for and something we wanted prayer for that was challenging us.

Previously we hadn’t really been praying specifically for people’s requests or needs except in a very general way in our closing prayer which was usually done by one person who volunteered.

One day after everyone had shared their prayer requests I asked the group if it would be OK to try something different and have each of us give words of blessing and encouragement to the woman on their right based on what they had already discussed in the group.

When we finished, everyone in the group said how meaningful the eyes-open prayer time had been. One woman remarked that we don’t often speak words of blessing and encouragement to each other like this.

We decided to do this prayer every week, and it’s always a true highlight to all of us.

How one group used and adapted eyes open conversational prayer

A member of my neighborhood group has used this eyes-open conversational prayer idea in a group of women she helps lead at her church. She told me that there were a number of women in the group who didn’t pray out loud because they didn’t know the right words to say.

She used the eyes-open conversational prayer with the group and describes what happened:

“It was the first time a lot of the women had heard somebody pray for them or bless them by name. At first, they felt really vulnerable, but sharing praises and challenges with each other helped them get to know members of the group better and to really listen to each other.

My friend told me, “I also used part of our teaching time to share Bible verses so that they would know what God has to say about them. They are of value in his sight, no matter if they haven’t always measured up. They’re still beloved and chosen and God can redeem them.

“This led to us not only keeping a prayer list of needs, but also praying for it together. We do a group chat that’s going all the time, so I print it out and cut up the list and hand out the pieces at the meeting. The members can read the request right from the slip of paper if they want. Praying together pulls down God’s power at our meetings. Some of our members have become really powerful pray-ers!”

Using eyes opened conversations prayer in every day settings

You can use this method of prayer in any conversation with anyone you meet, or on the phone, or even in emails and letters. If you’re in-person with someone, you can ask, “Is it OK if I do an eyes open prayer of blessing and help for you right now?”

Then use the short phrases “I thank God that” and “I pray that God will” to express your prayers for them.

My experiences with Eyes-open conversation prayer

My most memorable time using an eyes-open prayer was on the church trip to Israel. We met a young American woman in the hotel lobby who was stranded because she had lost her purse while traveling with a British friend.

Before her British friend had to catch her flight home, the British friend paid for the woman’s hotel bill so she had a place to say. And she gave her what cash she had because the stranded American woman had lost all her money and credit cards.

It was Saturday, the Sabbath in Israel when we came across the stranded woman. She was waiting for Monday morning when the US embassy would open and she could work on getting a temporary passport to go home. Besides her money and document problems, she didn’t know a soul in the hotel and it was the Sabbath and there were no restaurants open and no transportation to get anywhere.

Our group did what we could to help her. Several of us loaned her cash for cab fare to the embassy on Monday. (which she paid back once she was back home in the U.S.) Someone else managed to find a restaurant that opened at sundown and we ordered food for the woman and for our group and we ate together.

The thought came to me that the woman could use someone to pray for her. I asked a member of our group if the two of us might approach the woman to offer to pray with her.

The two of us floated the idea of prayer with the stranded woman. She accepted, but unfortunately there wasn’t anywhere to pray that was even semi-private.

We had the woman sit at a table in the lobby with her back to everyone. Then my friend and I sat down facing all of the other people in the lobby. With our eyes wide open so people looking our way would think we were just conversing, we said a prayer for the woman, asking God to give her favor with the embassy and take care of her needs and travel arrangements.

The woman told us how grateful she was for our prayers and friendship. A few days after we arrived back in the US, we had an email from the woman. She had been able to get the temporary papers to fly home. And then a miracle had happened. The small B & B where her fanny pack had gone missing contacted her and told her they found her purse!

The woman had placed the small travel pouch down on the edge of the pool when leaving the inn. Although she and her friend and the staff later searched the whole area where they’d last seen her purse, it hadn’t been found. Why? Apparently, it had fallen into the pool and had been sucked into the pool water intake chute where it was later found by the pool maintenance worker!