How to Pray as a Music Team
Ronald C. Dupree

A dedicated time of prayer is the best way – nay, the only way -‘to start a music rehearsal.’ If you don’t have time to pray, you’re spending too much time rehearsing!’
Sometimes it’s hard to trust God in this area.’ You may only have an hour to rehearse, and you need every minute of that time to get the songs right!’ You’d never say it out loud, but a time of group prayer sometimes feels like a waste of precious time.’ But it’s only when you trust God and commit to praying as the music team (or any ministry team) that you’ll start seeing really significant changes in the effectiveness of that ministry.’ And God works through our prayers to bring about the things we ask – including those changes we long for in the music at church.

1. Pray at the start, not the end
2. Pray for one another
3. Make the necessary changes to give yourself time to pray

1. Pray at the start, not the end

At one church I’d been at for many years, we prayed at the end of rehearsals.’ Invariably, it was a cursory few words said right before the service when somebody remembered we probably should pray, but didn’t really have time left.’ I sometimes wonder what God thinks of rushed prayers – of prayers uttered when we’re actually thinking of something else.’ The words of Isaiah 29:13 again come to mind:

This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.

Pray at the start of the rehearsal when you’re not going to be rushed and distracted.’ It’s a good rule for most small group ministry prayer times.

2. Pray for one another

Getting everyone praying for one another is the best way you can support the music team.’ When I think back to the time we didn’t pray very well I cringe, partly because I know we should have been more faithful in prayer, but mostly because in the years since we started pray for one another it has become so evident that people in the music team really do need prayer.’ And I imagine all the times I would have been blissfully unaware of significant issues in people’s lives.

Since we started praying for one another, we’ve prayed for people who have had a parent die, for problems at work, for relationship difficulties, and for personal struggles with godliness.’ And we’ve seen God answer those prayers.’ We’ve also rejoiced with those whose friends have become Christian, who have just returned from a fantastic holiday, who got the new job position, or who have been involved in a successful church event.

Music ministry demands a lot of people.’ Practicing at home and turning up early to church sucks time from people’s weeks.’ Then there’s the time pressure of rehearsals and the stress of creative or personal differences in the team.’ When these demands are added to existing stresses in life, it can get really tough.’ If we plough on through a music rehearsal unaware of problems going on in the lives of the other people in the team, not only do we miss an opportunity to care for them, but we also stand a very high chance of making things significantly harder for them.’

3. Make the necessary changes to give yourself time to pray

Make your rehearsal longer.’ Arrive half an hour earlier, start by getting all the distracting things like setting up, tuning and sound checks out of the way, then spend time sharing your lives and praying for one another and church. If making your rehearsal longer is not an option, cut the number of songs you have to rehearse.’ Or repeat a song from last week so you don’t have to rehearse it for as long.’ Or don’t have any instruments at all and use a CD.’Add a separate time of prayer, Bible study and fellowship at a different time of the week.’ Some churches make this a mandatory part of serving on the music team.

This article ‘How to Pray as a Music Team’ by Ronald C. Dupree was excerpted from: www.reason.com/chuchmusic.com website, May 2004. It may be used for study & research purposes only.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes ‘Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.’