This leader guide was written as a companion to the book Shaping the Prayers of the People, by Samuel Wells and Abigail Kocher (Eerdmans, 2014). This text offers a model of profound and accessible congregational prayer. At once inspirational and practical, it will empower and equip laypeople and clergy alike to offer heartfelt, informed, thoughtful, and appropriate prayers on behalf of the people of God. It leads persons to consider what public prayer is and offers practical guidelines for avoiding common pitfalls. It explores prayers as an integral part of worship and discusses the kind of language we need to address God.

This course will replace the current/existing "Leading in Prayer" course, which was said to be too long. The Lay Servant Ministries Education Committee decided to divide the subject matter into two parts: personal prayer and public prayer. The personal prayer portion has now been published as the PDF leader guide Embracing Personal Prayer—A Leader's Guide (DRPDF898) utilizing the text Lord, Teach Us to Pray, by Margie Burger. This product fulfills the public prayer portion of the prayer course. NOTE: This course is required by The Book of Discipline to become a certified lay speaker.