The generation at the time of Circle Church was anti-cliche. It was continually searching for fresh and vital ways to express its faith. The word “blessing” had been unofficially banned at Circle Church because of its ambiguity. and, we made an attempt to express our prayer in everyday, understandable language, rather than reverting to flowery, mini-liturgical phrases. Our purpose was not to impress the group, but to communicate with God, and we did it in the way which was most familiar, personal, and useful.
The groups prayed conversationally. This basically eliminated the speech making which otherwise often occurs. Each individual limited his or her comments to the maximum time of one minute. The others responded as we felt inclined, just as we would in any other conversation, except that this one was addressed to God.
Typical prayers at our Circle Church prayer groups might have gone something like this:
Cathy: “Father, we pray for Alex who has stated a need for physical strength especially in the face of exams which are coming up.”
Don: “Father, thank you that he has gotten over his bout with the flu. Now help the healing process to continue.”
Bob: “Help him to realize he can’t waste his limited strength and expect you to undertake his cause.”
Cathy: “Give him the discipline to turn off the TV and go to bed.”
George: “Father, I just want to thank you for the way you’ve helped me in this very area of self-discipline. I feel like I’ve grown so much and am really improving. Thank you.”
Darrel: “I pray for the group at the College as they prepare this rock festival as an evangelistic means for reaching students on the campus.”
Bob: “Help the group to be controlled so that there is no rowdiness.”
Cathy: “Also move in the hearts of church members around the area to respond to the need for sandwiches.”
This conversational method provided for tremendous spontaneity and freshness. It was not unusual for the group during prayer to laugh together, a marvelous comment on the un-stilted, natural progress of our prayer life.
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