The Church Manual (Church of the Brethren)/Chapter 15
CHAPTER XV.
THE PRAYER-MEETING.
The prayer-meeting is a social, religious gathering together of God's people for prayer and a mutual edifying and encouraging each other from the Scriptures of Divine Truth. The promise is, "Wheresoever two or three gather in my name, there am I in the midst of them." And the Scriptural injunction is, "Neglect not the assembling of yourselves together." These meetings are generally held once a week, and in the evening, either in the church or in private houses.
No organization is necessary except the appointing of a foreman, whose duty it is to have a general oversight of the meetings, appoint some one to lead, and make selections or announce subjects for the meetings. A change in the appointment of a leader is made each week, so as to give all an opportunity of exercising in religious work.
The meetings are opened in the usual way, by singing, prayer, and reading the chapter of Scripture containing the lesson for the evening.
To make the meetings as interesting and instructive as possible, the lesson should be announced one week ahead.
The one who leads is expected to give a short talk on the lesson that has been selected, after which liberty is given to the brethren and sisters to make such remarks on the subject as the prayerful study of it may have suggested. The remarks should be short, ranging from five to ten minutes. It may, at times, be profitable to divide the subject selected into parts, and assign them to different ones, that they may make special preparation, and in this way make the remarks more edifying. But, as a rule, it is better for all to study the whole lesson and then speak voluntarily as the Spirit prompts. The remarks may be profitably interspersed with singing, and continued until time for closing. The leader then announces a hymn, and after it is sung he calls on several to close in prayer.