By Dave Butts

Bread and wine. The Body and Blood of Christ. The Lord’s Supper. Eucharist. Communion. For more than 2,000 years now, believers in Jesus have participated in a feast of remembrance. Paul wrote about the purpose of this event in his first letter to the Corinthians: “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:23-26).

Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper in many ways, but central to all of them is the act of remembering the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. What a wonderful opportunity for churches to bring prayer into our worship times. During the sacrament of communion hearts are more focused on Jesus, yet often there is confusion about what to pray or think during this aspect of the service. A church could easily use the time of communion to teach people how to draw near to the Lord in prayer. Then as they gain a sense of the nearness of Jesus, people can be taught to open the deepest parts of their hearts and lives to Him, asking for a touch.

Consider using some of these possibilities:

·         Congregational leader invites the people to close their eyes and see themselves in the crowd that surrounds the cross. Ask the question: “What prayer arises from your heart as you watch Jesus suffer?”

·         Write out a prayer that focuses on remembering the sacrifice of Christ’s Body and Blood. Put it on a Powerpoint screen or print it in a bulletin and pray it together as a congregation.

·         Remembering the Cross ought to produce great love in the heart of a believer. Invite participants to express love to the Lord for His great sacrifice on our behalf.

·         Encourage the congregation to forms triplets. After a scripture reading from the leader related to the Cross, ask the groups to share what the Lord’s Supper means to them, then ask one in the group to pray a brief prayer of remembrance.

·         Ask 3-4 individuals to lead in prayer, with back-to-back 30 second prayers that focus on various topics such as: the Blood of Christ, His Body, the elements of remembrance, forgiveness of sins, etc.

·         While holding or passing the elements, have people pray sentence prayers of praise, focusing on who God is.

·         Ask people to share that deepest hurt of their heart with Jesus, that part of their life that few know about. Encourage them to ask Jesus for His healing power and grace to wash over them.

Bringing meaningful prayer into a worship service is always a challenge. By using your times of communion—when people’s awareness of Christ’s presence is heightened--can be turned into powerful times of congregational prayer. Don’t miss this opportunity or rush through this service, but let Jesus work in hearts and lives through prayer.

--Dave Butts, a long-time pastor in a tradition that does communion each week, is currently the chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee and the president of Harvest Prayer Ministries. David is one of the keynote speakers at Empowered 2008, the CPLN’s national convention, June 11-13.