PRAY-READING IN THE MEETINGS
In this chapter we will fellowship further concerning the exercise and practice of pray-reading in small groups. If we receive this fellowship, we will receive a great benefit. We should use the time after the bread-breaking meeting and after the prayer meeting to practice exercising together. This will eliminate the need to set up another time; it will be convenient and save time. Most of our bread-breaking meetings are more than one and a half hours long, but an hour is sufficient. The remaining thirty minutes should be used for pray-reading the Bible, not just studying the Bible. We should read some verses in a simple way and then turn them into prayer. If six or seven people pray-read together in a small group, we will be greatly benefited.
We can also practice pray-reading after the prayer meetings. If attendance is small, there is no need to pray for an hour. Thirty to forty minutes will be sufficient to pray over the prayer items related to the church. The remaining time can be used to practice pray-reading in small groups. This will give us at least two opportunities every week to practice pray-reading, one after the bread-breaking meeting and the other after the prayer meeting, and there will be no need to gather the saints at another time.
PRAY-READING IN THE VISITATION OF SAINTS
When we visit the saints with members of our small group, we can pray-read with them. We should make a list of dormant saints to be recovered and visit them. For example, we can invite a brother to come to our home on an evening during the week, or we can make an appointment to visit him on the weekend with a few other saints. If these are not convenient times for him, we can ask him if another time would be better. We should let him know that we will bring some saints for a time of singing hymns, reading the Bible, and praying. A visitation by a group is much more powerful than a visit by just one person, and there will be a better result. When a group visits a saint who does not meet regularly, they can fellowship and sing with him, and they can exercise by pray-reading. These visitations will restore some dormant saints.
PAYING ATTENTION TO READING THE BIBLE AND PRAYING
In the past we were not very balanced in the matters related to reading the Bible and praying. Either we would read the Bible more than we prayed, or we would pray but not read the Bible. Many saints feel uncomfortable when we begin to speak of prayer. Some say that they do not know how to pray, others say that they do not have words to pray, and still others say that they do not have any feeling when they pray. As a consequence, they do not pray. When we exercise to pray-read, however, we are reading the Bible as well as praying. This kind of reading does not emphasize studying or even sharing about a particular point that has touched us. Instead of studying and sharing, we should begin to pray immediately after reading through a portion of the Scriptures, turning the Scriptures that we have read into prayer. In this way it is very easy to pray. Those who do not know how to pray can pray by simply speaking the Lord’s words back to Him. At the same time, those who have no words of their own can pray with the words of the Bible.
When we have words, inspiration will follow. Many saints testify that when they begin to pray-read, they do not have much feeling, but when another brother prays, it stirs up their feeling and willingness to pray. This situation can be likened to placing six or seven pieces of firewood together so that each piece of wood is burning the other pieces of wood. Eventually, everyone is on fire when we pray-read. This kind of exercise is very good. Although we may read only one or two verses, the words that we utter in our prayers will be full of supply. Moreover, the supply that we receive will carry over into our practical living. Pray-reading is very simple, and it produces rich results. Many saints can confirm this point.
PRACTICAL MATTERS REQUIRING OUR CONSIDERATION
In our exercise of pray-reading in small groups, we should decide in advance on the Bible verses to use. In principle, the portion should not be too long or too short. If the portion is too long, the saints will not be able to digest it. This can be compared to eating a very large breakfast. If a breakfast includes porridge, pickled vegetables, and steamed buns in addition to milk and bread, it will be difficult for a person to digest all the food because his morning appetite is often smaller than his appetite at other meals.
The specific verses should be selected based on two factors. First, a portion can be selected based on its content alone. For example, some portions in the Bible are rich, and other portions touch deeper matters. New believers, however, may not be able to easily enter into the thought in these deeper verses. Second, a portion can be selected according to the condition of the members in the small group. When a mother is preparing a meal, she should be aware of who will be eating. If only babies are being fed, milk, rather than solid food, should be prepared, but if young adults are coming to dinner, some solid food must be prepared. Hence, in selecting a portion of the Scriptures, the condition of the group should be considered in addition to the biblical content.
The main points of the verses should be mentioned as well, but there is no need for a lengthy explanation. The main points should be mentioned only briefly.
When pray-reading in a small group, the saints should be helped to pray short prayers. It is sufficient to mention only one point, but at most, we can mention two points. Some saints have the capacity to pray about every point, and they often pray in this way out of concern that all the points may not be covered. Instead of being helpful, however, this is a hindrance. When the saints pray together, there must be an atmosphere of mutuality. There is no need for one person to pray about every point. When we pray together, one brother can pray about one point, and another can pray about the next, and so forth. This is prayer in coordination.
Luke 1:1-4 says, “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to draw up a narrative concerning the matters which have been fully accomplished among us, even as those who from the beginning became eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having carefully investigated all things from the first, to write them out for you in an orderly fashion, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may fully know the certainty of the things concerning which you were instructed.” If we read this portion of the Scriptures, a brother can begin by praying, “Lord, thank You for coming to the earth. If You had not come, we would not have known God.” When he finishes, another can continue, saying, “Thank You, Lord, that Your living on the earth has been preached by those who witnessed Your accomplishments. Thank You that we know of You through their preaching.” A third brother can continue, saying, “Praise the Lord! Your accomplishments were not only witnessed and preached by men, but some even wrote them down so that we can witness them in our reading. Thank You that we are now Your witnesses.” When we pray in a mutual way, all the points will be covered, and there will be no need for one person to cover all the points.
If the six or seven members in a small group spend thirty minutes exercising to pray-read in this way, there will be opportunities for everyone to pray, not just once or twice, but even six or seven times. In such a prayer, there will be a mutual “burning” that carries over into our daily living.
After pray-reading in this way, we will be able to use the Scriptures to fellowship, explain, and utter the spiritual sense that we have gained. When we join the Word with prayer, our spirit will be exercised, and the Lord’s word will enter into us. This is much deeper than just using our mind to read and study the Bible; it affects us more deeply and feeds us in our spirit.
In order to practice pray-reading in small groups, we should select appropriate verses from the Bible and determine the right portion to pray-read. Second, we should bring out the main points in a pertinent way. Third, we must not pray long prayers or try to cover all the points in one prayer. Each person should pray over one point or at the most two points. After one person prays, another should continue and also pray a short prayer so that everyone can have an opportunity to pray. However, we do not need to be rigid in taking turns; that is, we do not always need to pray in the same order. For example, a brother may have a feeling to pray again after only one other brother has prayed. This is not a problem if we do not pray long prayers. In summary, the principle is that we would take turns and pray according to the sense that we have within our spirit. When all the saints pray by adding something to the prayers of the other brothers and sisters, the pray-reading will be very rich, and the feelings in each other’s spirit will be drawn out in the prayer.