Introduction

Hard to believe another year has gone by! Here we are on the brink of 2007. I bet many of us are taking stock of the prayer growth at our church during the past year. What successes did we see? What flops? Can we say things are moving forward or are we stalled?

Let me encourage you to be positive. Many of us, in the frustration that comes between our dreams and reality, have a tendency to only see the "flops." But I suspect there are positives at your church where prayer is concerned. Did you add some to the prayer ministry team? Did you have a first time prayer event? Perhaps one more board member, elder or deacon has caught on to the need for more prayer. All of those are positives. Thank God for them!

As you go into 2007, let me encourage you to get recharged. Perhaps spend a day with the Lord (if you want help on a day alone format, go to praytoday.org). Read a book that challenges you (classics are always great). Go to a good conference (our Florida Regional is being held January 12-13, near the beach at Daytona; good airline rates have been available this month). Do something that will bring refreshing.

We at CPLN, saw the blessing of God in 2007 and are rejoicing. But we are believing God for even greater things in 2007. Believe that for your church as well.

Jonathan Graf
President

Reminder: Don't forget the monthly prayer leader telephone prayer meeting. It will be held this next Thursday, Dec. 21, at 8:30 pm EST.
Call: 1 (641) 985- 1133
Use Pass Code: 2756#

Registrations to Begin for Empowered 2007

The buzz over next year's CPLN national convention has begun! Already the information page for Empowered 2007 is among the top three pages visisted at our site.

Why the interest? We believe that Jesus Christ is bringing together a special event this next year. Our theme has been resonating with intercessors and leaders. "A Revived Heart . . . A Revived Church . . . A Revived Community" promises to challenge pastors and prayer leaders toward a heightened seeking of God.

The full price is $150, but the following early bird discounts are available until Feb. 15th:

CPLN members: $95
Non-members: $120
Pastors: $75
Group of 5 or more from same church: $95 each
Group of 15 or more from the same church: $84 each

You can also register for a preconference mini- conference. Choose from four different topics, all of which will be held from 9 to 4 on Wednesday.

Cost: $50
CPLN member: $40
Pastors: $25

You may currently register by phone. Call 1-800-217-5200. By the end of next week, you will also be able to register online at prayerleader.com

It Seems to Me . . .

. . . our praying has become almost exclusively inward focused. Maybe dangerously so.

At a citywide meeting of prayer leaders, men and women who were know to mobilize and equip Christians to pray, our facilitator asked us to comment on "What is God asking your group to pray about?" Our collective response was both encouraging and disconcerting to me. As almost the final person to share, the concern grew as we went from one person to the next.

Each person, all wonderful men and women of prayer, shared with an obvious passion for their calling and not one duplicated another. It seemed obvious each individual (and, thereby, ministry represented) had a special and specific calling of the Holy Spirit. Responses were anything but generic; each assignment was a strategic piece in the scope of biblical praying.

When my turn to speak came, I was hesitant and said such to the group. I didn't want to sound critical and certainly not superior. Everyone had exhibited a call from the Lord; no better assignment than that! And, no one focus of prayer is better than another, if that is how the Lord has burdened your heart. But, at the risk of sounding judgmental, I pointed out that every one of us had shared an internally focused heart for prayer:

•    Spiritual formation
•    Prophetic intercession
•    Personal intimacy
•    Revival
•    Ministry Leaders
•    Deliverance
•    Contemplation
•    Healing of the soul
•    Diversity in the Body of Christ
•    Unity throughout the Body of Christ
•    Passionate worship among collegians . . .

See anything unimportant or unnecessary for praying Christians? Of course not! Anything here optional or non-essential for a praying church? No way!

My point was not that these were secondary matters but that a primary matter was missing. If it is true, and we are all certain it is, that "God is unwilling that any should perish," (2 Pet. 3:9) then we must also have an outward focus when we converse or confer with the Lord. If lost persons matter to God, then their plight must be present in the prayers of every believer and each assembly.

As prayer leaders we must take the lead through personal example and ministry models. It is our responsibility to call the church to pray for the lost by:
•    Name--praying for established redemptive relationships with people who are outside of Christ
•    Neighborhood--influencing by prayer and impacting the community through service and acts of ministry
•    Nation--lifting to God the leaders of government, commerce, education, etc., and servants of the gospel

Since our merciful Lord wants all to come to knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 2:4), every focus and facet of prayer must integrate that outcome. The fruit on new Christ followers must become DNA in every prayer; our petitions, intercession, warfare, contemplation, even praise should have an awareness of how God will receive ultimate glory as more and more different and diverse men and women come to faith in his beloved son, our savior.

It seems to me, it is easy to enjoy praying without praying for those who have no eternal joy,

Pastor Phil
http://www.PrayerLeader.blogspot.com
http://www.PrayingPastorblog.blogspot.com

Making Sense of All Those Days of Prayer

What’s a prayer leader to do? Clearly there are too many days of prayer! National Day of Prayer, Global Day of Prayer, International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem, Day of Prayer for Children at Risk are just some of the events clamoring for our participation. Then there are the initiatives—Seek God for the City, Praying through the 10/40 Window, Praying through the 40/70 Window, 30 Days for the Muslim World, 30 Days for the Hindu World, PrayWorld. And what about the ongoing prayer calls—First Friday, the Presidential Prayer Team, Pray Hollywood (check name). To say nothing of denominational prayer emphases your church should participate in.

A given church can only focus on so much. How do we make choices as to what we should participate in and what we can forego? And should we participate with others or sponsor something in our own church?

Each church is going to be different in its needs, so my broad answer is that you need to genuinely seek God for His desires for your church. But let me suggest some guidelines to follow that might help you in discerning what events your church should participate in.

1. Use the National Prayer Accord principles to help.

The National Prayer Accord was originally devised by Jonathan Edwards and others prior to the First Great Awakening. Their thought was that each church would pray around the same basic theme of revival. But churches would pray weekly or monthly in their own circles, quarterly with other churches in their community and nationally once a year. A prayer rhythm that focuses this way can be a pattern that is easily handled.

Given this thought, make participation in the National Day of Prayer and/or the Global Day of Prayer be your once a year. Then look for three other times you can join with other churches in your community for a prayer event. They can be either a concert of prayer to highlight praying for your community, or select some of the other days to participate around.

2. Select by tiers of importance.

What seems to be a fit for the personality of your church? Is your church a strong missions church? Then you will want to use at least one missions focus. Does your church seem to have a strong heart for Israel? Then certainly make sure you highlight that day.

3. Select by levels of effort.

Another way to proceed is select at least one or two initiatives that take some effort to put on and then add anything that can be done with ease. For example, select a prayer initiative like Seek God for the City or 40 Days of Prayer. These will take some promotional effort and lots of publicity, but the rewards of participation are enormous for your church. The exposure to prayer for your congregation that a prayer initiative will bring long term results—more interest in prayer.

As a prayer leader, however, you can only handle one or maybe two prayer events that require this level of effort. But you can highlight other events throughout the year that do not take effort. For example, even if you can’t spearhead a National Day of Prayer event, you can certainly find where in your community there are prayer gatherings on that day, and publicize them to your people. While you might not be able to do a big event around the Day of Prayer for Children at Risk, you can get information and prayer guides to people who might be interested in participating. While praying for Hollywood might not be something your entire church gets involved with, you can provide guides for those who might have that as a burden.

4. What does your leadership want?

Another possible plan of attack is to gather your pastor and key leaders in the fall of the year and review all the possible prayer events you could participate in the following year. Before such a meeting, gather all the information you can on every possible day, and bring it to the meeting. You may want to be ready to recommend your choices. Talk as a group about each one, and together map out the year. One possible starting point for information is past Pray! magazines. Go to the Empowered sections of each issue (one complete year is all you need). Look at the calendar. Most of the possible events are listed there.

While there are a lot of possibilities, we don’t need to be overwhelmed! Seek the Lord and plan ahead. Then watch what happens as you take advantage of these calls to prayer.

Prayer and Children

Bedtime Listening Exercise

Note to Prayer Leader: Here is an excellent idea that you can photo copy and give to the parents of younger children in your church. When you photocopy, the permission statement must be included on the page.)

Convert Bedtime Prayers into Listening Prayers

By Brad Jersak

Most parents are used to walking their children through some standard prayers at bedtime. It's not difficult to convert these rituals into three-way conversational prayers between you, your child, and Jesus. You can ask the questions, the Lord will provide the answer to your child, and your child can report it back to you. This format can become a natural pattern for family prayer. Here ar some starter questions you may want to try:

· Jesus, is there anything today that we could thank you for? Why?

· Is there anything that we need to say sorry for? Will you forgive me?

· Is there anyone you want us to pray for? How? (Family, friend and misisonary photo albums are terrific for this. So are atlases or missions handbooks that give children a global vision.)

· Are there any burdens we are carrying that you want to lift for us? If so, ask Jesus where the burden came from, what it is, and if He would please remove it.

· Jesus, do you have any promises or blessings for me before I go to sleep?

· Bonus question: Jesus, what was the best part of your day? What made you happy?

For years, my son Stephen was an insomniac. By the time he was eight, he was able to ruin a good night's sleep by mulling over worries. He would commonly lie awake in bed for several hours before settling down to sleep. But after a profound meeting with the Lord, he learned a way to easily fall asleep. He devised a scheme in which he gathers up all the day's problems in prayer and jams them into one little knapsack. The Lord places it on the ground and sets it on fire. The image of the living Christ by the Cross is the resting place for Stepehen's anxiety and his weary head.

Taken from: Brad Jersak, Can You Hear Me? Used by permission. Can You Hear Me? and Children, Can You Hear Me? are available for purchase at www.prayershop.org or at the CPLN member store. Permission is granted to further copy this idea for church use. Copy must include the above permission statement.

Resource for Basic Discipleship

Patterns for Prayer
52 Weeks of Prayer Ideas 

Many--if not most--of our people struggle to pray. One of the primary reasons--especially for men--is that they do not know what to pray for and they become intimidated. They need very basic discipleship help. As a solution, the CPLN highly recommends the product: Patterns for Prayer, written by prayer leader Alvin VanderGriend (author of Love ot Pray).

Patterns for Prayer—52 Weeks of Prayer Ideas is uniquely designed to help Christians develop a disciplined and powerful personal prayer life. The daily pattern is simple—personal prayer followed by prayers for family and friends, for the church, for the kingdom, and for the unsaved. The resource has suggestions of what to pray in each of these areas for each day of the year.

Journaling space is provided for the user's own prayer notes. Prayer Pointers, scattered through the book, will motivate and encourage him or her. Scripture passages and themes serve to focus your praying. You’ll soon discover the excitement and freedom of branching out on your own. Prayer will become habitual and enjoyable as you learn how to release God’s power on your world.

Patterns for Prayer also has a wonderful, non-intimidating Bible reading plan. It takes the user through the Bible in two years. Patterns sells for $12.95 and is available both at prayershop.org and at the member resource store at a 20% discount.