A virtual prayer room is a space online enabling a chain of unbroken prayer, bringing people together from wherever they are in the world to pray
A virtual prayer room is a space online enabling a chain of unbroken prayer, bringing people together from wherever they are in the world to pray. It means that groups can join together from different areas, or even different time zones!
Virtual prayer rooms are a great way to connect people who cannot be in the same physical space. We started seeing more of them during the Coronavirus pandemic when people couldn’t meet together to pray, but there are plenty of other reasons why a physical prayer room might not be possible for your community: accessibility, safety concerns, or living far apart, just to name a few. If a physical prayer room isn’t possible, that’s when a virtual prayer room could be the best option.
Wherever you are, register your virtual prayer room and send the link to your free, digital prayer room sign-up tool to everyone who’s going to pray. Encourage them to commit to an hour or more of praying from home.
Who do you feel called to pray with? This could be people from your church, community, workplace, fellow students or friends. Because it’s a virtual space, you can pray with people no matter where they are in the world!
Create a shared space online to prompt and inspire people in their prayers, and collate your thoughts and prayers as a group. You can do this using Trello, Pinterest or a Facebook page or group.
Once you have decided on a platform to host your virtual room, you could create virtual prayer stations or aids using a board or post for each topic.
Each prayer focus could include a scripture and suggested prayer activity to help people talk to God. Get creative and design prayer stations that engage the heart, mind and senses.
Add a feedback section to your online space, or share an email address that people can use to communicate what they’re hearing from God.
Share any appropriate feedback you receive with those taking part. Sending a midweek, ‘thank you for praying’ and ‘this is what we are seeing’ update can be encouraging.
Also consider a round-up email at the end celebrating the fact you’ve reached your goal together, and inviting people to share their reflections.
We are seeing people combining traditional in-person prayer rooms with virtual prayer rooms. Check out how St John’s Church did this.