Many guests on the Alpha course have little or no experience in praying. The main thing is that everyone feels comfortable and not pressured into doing anything they are uncomfortable with. Here are a few tips that we have found useful.

Praying in the small group:

• Don’t rush this! Be sensitive to where people are at spiritually – remember that praying out loud for the first time can be quite an intimidating experience.
• Pray a short, simple prayer.
• If you are going to open the session in prayer, say something like ‘I have asked John to open in prayer’ so that the other guests will not be afraid that the leader might ask them to pray without giving notice at some time in the future.

Prayer in Week 4 ‘Why and How Do I Pray?’ – during this session, guests are given a theology, model and practice for prayer. This relates primarily to personal prayer, which is a good starting point. As prayer establishes itself in people’s lives it should be possible to start praying together in the small group. You may find that the group is not ready to pray together until after the sessions on the Holy Spirit.

Praying for your Alpha course:

• Leaders and helpers praying for individuals in their small groups – as well as committing to the ten weeks of the Alpha course and the weekend away, they are also responsible for praying regularly for the guests in their group, ideally daily during their personal prayer time. The leaders and helpers are in the best position to pray as they are aware of the needs of each individual as the Alpha course progresses.

• Leaders and helpers pray together for their small group – in addition, the leaders and helpers of each small group can meet together to pray for the course.

• Leaders and helpers pray together immediately prior to the course – it is helpful for the whole Alpha team to meet each week before the guests arrive for a team briefing and prayer meeting. This is particularly important for the session ‘Does God heal today?’, as the team can wait on the Lord for words of knowledge, pictures and so on. These can then be read out after the talk and people who respond to them can be offered prayer.

"Again I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in Heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." – Matthew 18: 19