Making Prayer Requests Part of Your Class

We could all use a little prayer sometimes.  Actually, I could use A LOT of prayer.  All the time.  There have been times in my life when I haven't been able to pray for myself, so I longed to have someone pray for me.  Hearing someone lay my request before the throne on my behalf did a lot to soothe my soul.

No doubt there are many in Sunday School classes across the country that would love to have someone pray for them.  Consequently, prayer requests can be an important aspect of your class.

Some benefits of taking prayer requests:

• Class members feel like someone cares for them. Not everyone has someone to pray for them.  As a matter of fact, there may be some class members that don't know another believer outside of your small group.  This is especially an issue in single adult classes.
• Class leadership has the opportunity to serve through prayer.  Scripture encourages us to pray for each other.  Praying for members of the class is a good way to live out Scripture rather than just study it.
• Praying for each other builds community. It's an opportunity for us to be vulnerable and open up to the group, even if in a small way.  Our vulnerability invites friendship.  If this is done well, the Sunday School or small group environment can be a major factor in our growth, spiritual and otherwise.

There's a flip side to most things, so let's look at some negatives of sharing prayer requests:

• Prayer requests can take a long time. If we take prayer requests at the beginning of class, Bible study time may be severely limited due to the number of requests or long-winded requests.
• Prayer requests can be inappropriate. I'll never forget the time that a guy in a co-ed singles class that I attended asked for prayer for his porn addiction.  AWKWARD!  The teacher pretty much froze in place and the rest of the class refused to look at each other.  Valid prayer request?  Absolutely.  But it would have been more appropriate to make that particular prayer request privately with the teacher or in a men's small group.  This is a good reminder that when we ask for prayer requests, there's no telling what we'll hear.
• Prayer requests can turn into gossip. There's a post at Stuff Christians Like that describes this issue.  It can be a major issue in a small group and is the primary reason that I stopped taking prayer requests publicly.

So how do we incorporate the good things about prayer requests while trying to avoid the negatives?

• Take prayer requests at the end of class.  Leaving ten minutes at the end of class to take requests and pray ensures that Bible study time is not robbed.
• Take written, not verbal, prayer requests.  The teacher of a class that I was a member of for a few years had me make prayer slips that people could fill out.  They placed the slips on a table with a basket to place them in once completed.  I've also seen prayer cards placed on chairs in the class.  Someone in class leadership was assigned to collect them.  This is a good way of setting aside prayer requests that are not appropriate for public consumption.  In my class, I asked people to email me with their requests. 
• Send prayer requests out by email. The class that I am currently a member of sends out a weekly email containing prayer requests.  The email can also be sent only to class leadership if more privacy is requested.

Now it's your turn - have you found a creative way to incorporate prayer requests into your class?