I asked the group to suggest some Bible verses about prayer. They separated into small groups, each one taking one of the bible teachings.

1. Each group designated a facilitator leader.

2. The facilitator’s task was to
a) Not teach,
b) Draw out discussion from everyone in the group,
c) Write down at least three things their group discovered about prayer from their verses,
d) Share their group’s learning with the larger group in 3 minutes and,
e) Answer questions from the larger group for 2 minutes in a way that invites more questions and discussion.
(Some of  these went over 20 minutes as everyone was fully engaged, helping the group to learn about structure and boundaries).

3. The group’s task was to hold the facilitator / leader accountable to his/her job.

This is so different from a leader teaching, and a group reacting to the teaching based on their own understanding (yawn). These participants were charged with a shot of adrenaline.

One scripture that stood out that morning is Romans 8:26.

^{Romans 8: 26-28 MSG} Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. 

“If we get a request to pray for a Discovery Group, and we groan, is that a prayer according to this scripture?”

We had to leave that discussion and move on, but it leaves people wanting more as opposed to being thankful that the meeting is finally over.

Look at the faces below, and you’ll see what I mean.

It’s the difference between “When will this be over” AND “We have to stop because time is slipping away and we still have more to address.”