Creative Prayer Ideas for Small Groups and Families: The Prayer Chair

If you are looking for creative prayer ideas for small groups, Shannon Ramsey Wilpitz recommends using a chair. It presents Creative Prayer ideas SEOa wonderful opportunity to teach children and remind adults that Jesus is powerful and His power is far-reaching. When we pray in His name, our prayers are powerful and far-reaching.

To touch…

“And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:3).

Or not to touch…

“And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour” (Matthew 8:13).

That seems to be the question these days.

Distance Presents No Resistance

No distance—social, physical, or any other—can negate or diminish the power of Jesus. Distance presents no resistance to Him.

  • Jesus meets needs at close range and from afar.
  • The name of Jesus is powerful at close range and from afar.
  • Prayer in the name of Jesus is powerful at close range and from afar.

For those who bear the name of Jesus, distance also presents no resistance. We can pray for people near us or miles away from us.

No distance—social, physical, or any other—can negate or diminish the power of Jesus. Click To Tweet

This prayer activity applies that truth simply and powerfully:

The Prayer Chair Explained

I first experienced a “prayer chair” when I was a teenager at Life Tabernacle in Houston, TX. Our youth leader placed a chair in the middle of the prayer room. One young person after another took turns sitting in the chair as the group gathered around, pressed in, and laid hands and fingertips on the person in the chair. It was such a moving experience—to pray for and to be prayed for by each member of my youth group. I never forgot it.

Years later, I facilitated the same payer activity for a women’s prayer meeting at another church. I placed a chair in the middle of the altar area. One by one, ladies took turns sitting in the chair and having the other ladies gather around, lay hands on them, and pray for them. It was a powerful time of unity within the ladies’ group.

It was such a moving experience—to pray for and to be prayed for by each member of my youth group. I never forgot it.

Then just a few months ago, I led this prayer activity for my church’s children’s group, iKIDz of Greater Life. I would love to say that I placed a chair in the middle of a Sunday school classroom and taught the children how to gather around and lay hands on one another in prayer. They would have loved that, but that is not at all what happened.

This time, I drug my grandmother’s old rocking chair out my back door and placed it in the middle of my patio. No, the kids were not at my house. They were all at their own homes, watching me via a Facebook live video. We were under a mandatory quarantine.

 This would not be a Matthew 8:3 moment as with the first two prayer chair prayer activities. This would be a Matthew 8:13 moment as faith rather than fingers would press in and close the distance between the ones in prayer and the ones in need. Living rooms and bedrooms would become prayer rooms and altars. Parents and siblings would be the prayer leaders and prayer partners. All they needed was a chair and a prayer and someone to show them that distance presents no resistance against the power of Jesus.

The Prayer Chair: A Prayer Activity Adapted for Small Groups and Families

The prayer chair is such a versatile prayer activity. It can be done in person or via video, at church or at home (even in a backyard). It works for kids, youth, and adults alike.

1. As an online prayer activity

  • Place a chair in the middle of the room. Instruct viewers to do the same.
  • If live, take prayer requests and write on slips of paper. If prerecorded, have prayer requests or prayer prompts already written.
  • One at a time, place prayer requests on the chair and pray over them, asking viewers to join with you.
  • After all requests have been prayed over, encourage viewers to designate a prayer chair to use for daily prayer.

2. As a future group prayer activity when social distancing is no longer necessary. Place a chair in the middle of the room.

  • Have everyone take turns sitting in the chair to be prayed for by everyone else.

3. As a family prayer activity

  • Place a chair in the middle of the room.
  • Have everyone take turns sitting in the chair to be prayed for by everyone else.
  • Names of others can be written on slips of paper and put in the chair to be prayed for.

The prayer chair presents a wonderful opportunity to teach children and remind adults that Jesus is powerful and His power is far-reaching. When we pray in His name, our prayers are powerful and far-reaching.

Distance presents no resistance.

Bio: Shannon Ramsey Wilpitz lives in Houston, TX, where she works remotely for Pentecostal Publishing House as a field editor for Word Aflame Curriculum. She holds a BA in Communications from University of Houston, received a BA in Biblical Studies with a Minor in Theology from Indiana Bible College, and is a licensed minister with UPCI. Children’s ministry is her passion.

Resources

For more prayer ideas, check out Creative Ideas for Kids Prayer.