Five Finney tips to guide prayer on-air
Prayer On-Air: How to Connect with God and Your Listener
Five How-to Tips for Praying On-Air
Jan
Jesus himself gave us the timeless pattern for prayer, when he shared with his disciples what we’ve come to call “The Lord’s Prayer”. Others have produced powerful compositions—St. Francis of Assisi: “Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace…” as an example. And for children there are the endless variations on “Now, I lay me down to sleep…” Do any of these historic models provide a way for use on the radio?
We already know the listener is upbeat about and into hearing prayer. Our ongoing research on this question has shown that at least two-thirds of folks would place this high on a list of what they like to hear in a morning show. And a pre-release tip that Finney Why Listen will have new feedback on this.
We know God hears our prayers, no matter how wooden, long or rambling. But how to really connect with the listener when prayer is what’s called for? Well, recently, Chuck was asked about prayer on-air. Here are his very practical thoughts, which produce powerful results.
Chuck
- Pray when it makes sense to pray. If there is something that would make sense to pray about, pray about it. Too many Christian stations have prayer as something scheduled, and therefore contrived, when it probably ought to be driven by a feeling of “this is something we ought to pray about”.
- Pray “from the heart”. Make it real, with pauses, emotion. Don’t let it sound scripted. That happens more naturally when it is a heart-felt need.
- Pray using words all denominations use and understand. Words like “traveling mercies” and “hedge of protection” are foreign to many folks listening. Try “safety and peace in their trip” and “your protection” instead. These phrases have the same bold intent with broader meaning and understanding.
- Pray concisely. Make it about one thing, not ten things. Your listener is already busy and perhaps pulled in several directions. Prayer can be a calming influence as she listens. Your listener wants to be the “Mary” who sat at Jesus’ feet—but she often feels like “Martha”, so “busy and distracted about many things,” per Jesus. This one thing can help her move in that direction.
- When you pray, it’s better to immediately go into a worship song. Talking to God followed by praising Him—now that’s a truly heart-connective and even sacred transition that your listener will deeply appreciate.
And, of course, pray as much or as little as the leadership at the stations thinks is the right amount for the audience. The listener loves it when we pray, but especially when it’s real, spontaneous, and not scripted!
More Help: Regularly check our research articles in the Research area and the Finney Media Why Listen? survey information. As well, the notable prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi is quickly available online with a search for “Francis of Assisi prayer”.
Feedback:
We’d love to hear about your experience with on-air prayer.….
