In reference to these I offer the following suggestions: 1. The pastor
himself should ordinarily conduct them if they are general meetings of
the church; no other can so fully understand the condition of those
present, or so wisely adapt the exercise to their needs. Besides, the
instruction and spirit of the prayer-meeting should be kept in harmony
with the teaching of the pulpit, so as to supplement it and develop its
results; one mind, therefore, should direct and inspire both. Where the
meeting is intended for a special class, as for the young people or for
the Sunday-school teachers, it may be proper, if there is a suitable
leader, for the pastor to be relieved and the care of it to be
entrusted to another.
Careful preparation of thought, but of especially of spirit should be
made for the meeting. No man should trust to the inspiration of the
occasion either for the thought which shall give the keynote to the
meeting or for the quickened spiritual life which, existing in the
leader, shall touch and quicken the life of the church. 2. Be punctual
in opening and closing at the appointed time; nothing so effectually
secures a prompt attendance, and the neglect of it will prevent many
from coming, especially females, because they cannot know how late may
be the hour of dismission. 3. Be brief in your own exercises, showing
yourself a pattern, and insist on brevity in others, whether in prayer,
remarks, or singing. Let your opening remarks be suggestive rather than
exhaustive, so that when you sit down the people, instead of feeling
that all has been said, will find the subject opening before them and
be inspired to carry out the thought into other phases and
applications. 4. Avoid uniformity and monotony. To secure natural
variety, give each meeting its own keynote, now of thanksgiving and
praise, now of confession and humiliation, now of Christian hope, and
again of some great truth or some practical duty. If it becomes
evident, as it sometimes will, that you have struck the wrong key and
thought and feeling are running in another channel, throw yourself
heartily into that and make the most of it. If a pause occurs, be ready
with a passage of Scripture, a hymn or remark, or call on individuals
either to pray or relate experience, or to state some interesting fact
you may know they possess. A pastor in vital relations with the people,
by his knowledge of the experiences and condition of the individuals
before him, will be able to give perpetual variety to the meetings by
evoking in various ways their experience and utilizing their power.
5. In regard to the presentation of special cases for prayer, my
judgment is that this should be encouraged; since, even apart from the
power of prayer with God in behalf of such cases and the answer of
blessing it brings, the special presentation itself serves to give
directness and fervency to supplication and adds freshness and power to
the exercise. It is possible, however, to have too much machinery in a
prayer-meeting, making its movement mechanical and destroying
spontaneity. Expression of interest in the subject of personal religion
by rising or other forms may be so often repeated as to be worse than
useless and become justly offensive. In calling, therefore, for an
expression, great care must be taken not to overdo, and not to do it at
all unless there is good reason to expect a response. A failure usually
chills the interest of a meeting. 6. Use all exertions to bring the
gifts of the church into full exercise; there is always a large amount
of latent power which it should be the special care of the pastor to
develop and make effective for Christ. This will not be done by
scolding and complaining, but rather by the diffusion of a spirit, an
atmosphere, in the meeting--an all-pervasive, homelike feeling--which
will banish embarrassment and draw them out. The timid and backward may
also be helped by an occasional question, the answering of which will
accustom them to their own voices and induce spontaneous expression.
Something also maybe done in private personal words of encouragement.
Above all, place distinctly before all minds the fact that in the
prayer-meeting the main thing, next to prayer, is the interchange of
Christian experience, and what is required, therefore, from each one
is, not a homily, an exposition, or an exhortation, but a simple
statement of what he has thought and felt amidst the experiences of
life; and, as every soul has its own peculiar life, it has an
experience of real value as helpful and comforting to other lives.
7. Make careful arrangements for good spirited singing, but usually not
more than two or three verses at a time. To secure this, if you do not
yourself sing, arrange with one or more good singers to lead whenever a
pause occurs. Indeed, if you are a singer, it is often best not to take
on yourself the responsibility of leading; the care is too much, and by
distracting and exhausting your force it may diminish your power in the
general guidance of the exercises. Do not fail to have good books, with
hymns and tunes, in sufficient number to give all opportunity to join
in the singing. 8. Great care should be taken, if the room is not full,
to have people sit together and near the leader. No meeting will
ordinarily be _social,_ in any proper sense, where a few people are
scattered in a large room. Attention should also be given to the
ventilation and temperature of the room; otherwise, the meeting may
fail from purely physical causes, in spite of the best efforts of
pastor and people. Right physical conditions are simply attempts to
conform to God's physical laws, and are absolutely essential to the
highest success in social religious meetings; no pastor, therefore,
should deem them unworthy of careful and persistent attention. Finally,
it should be remembered that it is a _social_ meeting. Divest it of all
formality, stiffness, or sameness. Make it cheerful, familiar,
homelike, as a gathering of God's children in their Father's family. If
this is done, old and young will be attracted to it, and will alike
feel free to share its services.