Prayer Leader OnLine

Equipping the Church to be a House of Prayer

Vol. 4,No. 8

Introduction

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Ignite Your Prayer Life . . . and That of Others

Sparking a passion for more prayer is the goal of the CPLN/Pray! magazine sponsored regional conferences this fall. Dynamic speakers and veteran prayer leaders will fire up those who attend with practical and challenging teaching. Group discounts apply when you have firve or more attend form the same church. We highly recommend using these events to fuel a passion for more prayer in your church.

Western Regional
September 14-15,
San Jose, CA
Keynoters: Terry Teykl, Ginny Kisling

North/Midwest Regional
October 12-13,
Rochester, MN
Keynoters: Dana Olson, Jonathan Graf

North/Central Regional
November 9-10,
Toledo, OH
Keynoters: Terry Teykl, Jonathan Graf

More Information

It Seems to Me . . .

. . . we may only have a one-side-of-the-coin understanding of repentance.

At a regional City Impact Roundtable in Austin, Texas, we were divided into groups based on the seven "gates" of the city. Each gate represented a sector or sphere of influence: Family, Government, Media, Arts, Business (marketplace), Education, and Religion. I was assigned to be a member of the Religion group and met with a stimulated and stimulating roundtable of ministry-minded sisters and brothers.

Each group had the assignment to brainstorm ideas of how the Body of Christ could become a redeeming force in their sphere. The leader of the exercise stressed that in each of the seven segments, the Church had the potential to demonstrate the mercy of God.

Our group focused specifically on how the Christian community, congregations and organizations, could begin to transform America's stereotype of the Church. Our assumption was that our culture views the Church as anything but merciful; disdaining most of our evangelistic methods, convinced we have none of Christ's compassion, and believing we see ourselves on a cruise ship rather than a rescue mission.

As we were sharing ideas, it occurred to me that repentance was one of the answers. Authentic repentance was a way to change the perception of religion, especially evangelical Christianity, in our cities and communities. Nothing new so far. But the light turned on when I recognized our acts of repentance have been almost exclusively internal; believers expressing sorrow to God and rarely to one another for sin and prejudice. What if that is only half of the repentance responsibility?

What if the Christian Church is also responsible to repent in each of the seven sectors? Wouldn't we see a reduction of defensiveness toward the gospel if we expressed our sorrow for abandoning the marketplace of community and civic responsibility as we hide in the fellowship of our church buildings? Is it unrealistic to believe that doors long ago locked to evangelical leaders would now open and allow us to have an impact in schools (Education)? Surely we would be treated more fairly in news articles and broadcasts (Media). Could we once again inspire by our creativity (Arts)? Maybe we would be sought out for answers to violence in urban communities (Family).

Usually our acts of repentance are staged on a platform inside our own four walls. But, the more I think of it, each of us could have a small but significant impact if, when the opportunity presents itself, we uttered a few words of how we sorrow over the absence or weakness of the Church. And imagine what impact a single congregation could have if, as God leads, they demonstrated their repentance through service in and for and with the community.

Which leads us to prayer.

Maybe we need to teach our praying groups to pray, not only in repentance to the Lord, but for God to give us opportunities to apologize to educators, family service providers, artists, city councils, persons of other faith communities. Sincere, non-manipulative expressions of sadness that our church doors have been "enter" only. Our forays into the streets and systems of society have been too rare and too unilateral.

It seems to me that praying for the other half of repentance might lead to the answer of all our prayers for revival.

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

Should We Pray for the Lost?

By Jonathan Graf

I have a close friend who believes that we do not need to pray for the lost. His reasoning is that nowhere in scripture does it say that we are to pray for the lost. There are commands to pray for a few things—the peace of Jerusalem, laborers for the harvest, pray for your enemy—but nowhere does it command us to pray for the lost.

I had to gently disagree with my friend, but I can understand a little of his thinking. Nowhere is there a direct command, “pray for the lost,” but we pray for a lot of things where there is not a direct command to do so. There are, however, some very clear evidences that Paul prayed for the lost.

While Paul was considered a missionary to the Gentiles, he had a burden for his own people who failed to recognize Jesus as the Christ, their Messiah. ”Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved” (Rom. 10:1). I don’t think this “heart’s desire and prayer” was just a passing fancy. He wasn’t using the word prayer like we often do “I pray that doesn’t happen” meaning we are not really praying about this, but we hope something doesn’t happen. Paul was praying for his people!

In another passage, Paul asked believers to pray for enablement and empowerment for him in his ministry of declaring the gospel. “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19). Certainly not a challenge to pray for the lost, but clearly in that general arena.

He brings up prayer for the lost one more time—this one a little more direct:

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

The idea here is that we pray for certain things so men are more likely to come to a knowledge of the truth. Pray for national leadership—for peace and prosperity—so they will govern in a way that will allow people to live normal lives. This, indicated Paul, will bring people to a knowledge of the truth.

One of the interesting things I see here is that in two of these passages (Ephesians and 1 Timothy) Paul is not directly praying for the lost. He is praying for outside conditions to be manipulated so the situation is ripe for people to come into the kingdom.

There is a principle here that may be what my friend was hinting at by his belief that we shouldn’t pray for the lost. I am not a theologian so I do not understand all the free-will vs. sovereignty of God arguments between differing camps. But I understand that God has given men enough free-will to chose whether or not they will follow Jesus Christ.

As we pray for the lost, I believe that God is at work. He is revealing Himself to these individuals; He is bringing people and situations across their paths that might cause them to think more of eternal things. He is thwarting Satan’s grip on them and for a time, shining light into their hearts. But He will not force them to choose Him. He will not override their free will.

So as we pray for specific lost people, we need to remember that. Is what we are asking in line with what God would do in pursuit of this person. Or are our prayers attempting to manipulate the person’s free will?

Get People Praying

Since most of our people do not understand the importance of praying regularly for specific lost people, we need to help them catch a vision wherever possible. There are some excellent prayer resources available to help do this. I highly recommend checking out the following products (all are available at www.prayershop.org).

Paths of Gold. This Pray! Books product includes 46 scripture-based prayers to pray for a specific lost friend.

Ways to Pray series. Produced by prayerwalking expert Steve hawthorne and Waymakers, this series includes 6 booklets with scripture based prayers and thoughts to pray for your neighborhood and community. Salvation and transformation prayer are central to their content.

Praying for Your Unsaved Family and Friends. A brochure produced by Harvest Prayer Ministries the includes prayers for the lost. Can be purchased in quantity or in pdf format with permission to print what you need.

Lighthouse of Prayer Materials. This initiative has multiple products and guides to help people pray for the lost: “Five Blessing” brochure and “Praying the Lord’s Prayer for Your Neighbors” are the most effective. One of the Lighthouse resources is Developing a Prayer, Care, Share Lifestyle. This devotional book is on super special for the month of October 2007. Read “Super Special on Prayer Evangelism Resource.”

Super Special on Prayer Evangelism Resource

This daily devotional (which is easily adapted for small group or Sunday school class use) is an excellent resource to help people catch a vision for praying for lost neighbors, then moving out to care for them and share the love of Christ with them. Normally it sells for $9.95 each. For the next month we are offering a super special on it.

Special: $5.95 each (40% discount)
Multiple copy discount: 10 or more copies $4.95 each (50% discount)

Click Here for more information or to order.

How to Build a House of Prayer

Knowing that God’s House is to be a House of Prayer is one thing. Knowing how to build that House is another. The Bible tells us that unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor, labor in vain. That is especially so when we are speaking of a local congregation that becomes so impacted and driven by prayer that it truly could be called a House of Prayer.

God’s Word contains no blueprints for building a House of Prayer. Looking about at various congregations that are known for their strong focus on prayer also leaves us without a clear pattern. Each of these churches seems to have grown and developed in prayer according to their own corporate personalities and distinctions. Most of us who work in helping churches grow in prayer have studiously avoided any cookie-cutter methodology. The Divine Builder seems to be custom-building His Houses of Prayer.

Still, there seem to be principles that are true in all prayer-driven churches. Discovering and implementing those principles should help any congregation move toward the goal of seeing prayer become pervasive throughout the Body.

Pray about Prayer

The simplest and most basic of those principles is that we should pray about prayer. Several years ago I was with a group of prayer leaders who met with the staff of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, certainly a fine example of a House of Prayer. In the midst of the conversation, the question arose of how the congregation had begun and continued this journey of prayer. The answer was swift: “We asked God to pour out a spirit of prayer”. Though we tried to talk about methodologies, the staff of Brooklyn Tab were adamant in their answer: “We must pray about prayer”. If we truly believe that the Lord is the Builder of his House of Prayer, then it makes sense that we come to him first.

The formation of a prayer team to simply pray about the church becoming a House of Prayer may well be the most important step in transforming a local Body. In Zechariah 12:10 we read of a spirit of prayer being poured out upon a whole city: “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.” Use that passage to begin to pray for that spirit of prayer to fall upon your congregation.

Pastors must lead the way

It is difficult, if not impossible to find a passionate, praying church without also finding a congregation that has come to understand the role of the pastor as the key person in becoming a House of Prayer. Pastors cannot lead people where they themselves have not gone or are at least in the process of moving in that direction. This is especially so in prayer. The praying pastor is a pre-requisite for a church becoming a House of Prayer.

In a very real sense, God will not allow it any other way. If a pastor is not a person of prayer, and is not desirous of the congregation growing in prayer, then a movement of prayer within the church actually begins to look and feel like rebellion. God isn’t in the business of blessing rebellion against legitimate leaders, even if they are leaders who don’t understand the importance and centrality of prayer for a healthy church. This is why it is so important for prayer leaders to consistently pray for their pastors.

It also speaks to the role of the seminary and Bible College in training church leaders regarding the importance of leading the church in prayer. Those of us who attended Bible College or Seminary are grateful for the tools we received for ministry. One tool that was consistently neglected by the vast part of our educational institutions was that of prayer ministry. It was assumed that pastors would pray, and most of us do. But the role of prayer in church growth, shepherding, and spiritual transformation was absent from our instruction. The Church today is paying a price for that neglect as we focus more on human methodologies and less on the power of God released through prayer.

Leaders must be engaged

It is not only pastors who must lead out in prayer. There must be an ownership of the concept of becoming a House of Prayer by the total leadership of the church. To become a praying church will require structural changes that can only be achieved as a local leadership moves together under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

A very practical way to build this concept into leaders is to slowly but clearly bring more and more prayer into the leadership and business meetings of the church. This will take patience as well as creativity as prayer is made an integral part of how business is done in the Lord’s church.

One of the most important steps for leadership is to develop the biblical foundation upon which a House of Prayer must be built. Rather than viewing this as the latest “church fad,” it is vital that leaders understand the biblical imperatives of a praying church. Perhaps the best study would be to examine the book of Acts and see how pervasive prayer was in the life of the early Church. A desire to move in apostolic direction should lead us to the apostolic secret of much prayer.

A functioning prayer ministry team

Most praying churches have developed a team of people whose responsibility is to call the church to prayer and keep prayer in the forefront of the church’s activities and consciousness. The particular job description of a prayer ministry team will vary from church to church, but will often include:

· planning prayer meetings

· overseeing prayer education and training events

· developing intercessory prayer teams for church leaders

· assisting other church ministries with their prayer focus

· connecting the church to larger prayer events outside the scope of the local church

· organizing Sunday morning prayer teams to cover worship services in prayer

One of the most critical decisions for a church is the formation of a prayer

ministry team. A common mistake is to fill that team with those whose major passion and

ministry is that of intercession. These dear people are basically being asked to operate outside of their gifting and calling. The prayer ministry team is essentially an organizing, serving and administrative group. Look for those who believe in the power of prayer and have gifts of organization and serving.

This team needs to work closely with the administrative leadership of the church. They should see themselves as the team that carries out the desires of church leadership to make the church a House of Prayer. Rather than an “outsiders” group that is trying to infiltrate the congregation with prayer, it needs to be seen as the ultimate “insiders” group that has received it’s commission from the church’s leadership to bring prayer into every aspect of church life.

Prayer meetings that “pop”

One of the reasons that people don’t go to prayer meetings is that they’ve already gone to one . . . and don’t want to go back. Most prayer meetings are poorly attended, poorly planned, and lacking in enthusiasm and effectiveness. This should never be the case. Prayer meetings ought to be the highpoint in the life of believers…a time to be ushered into the throne room of God to worship Him and present our requests before Him.

There are several keys to a good prayer meeting that “pops” with excitement. One very basic shift is to move from a “need” based prayer meeting to a worship-based meeting. A traditional need-based meeting begins with someone asking the dreaded

Question, “Does anyone have any prayer needs?” That typically leads to a long period o discussing needs of people rather than praying.

Daniel Henderson, in his excellent book, Fresh Encounters, teaches about moving from need-based to worship-based. Prayers that emerge out of times of worship are typically much more God-centered than man-centered. These times of prayer stay fresh and dynamic because of their focus on God.

Another powerful prayer meeting style can be developed around themes. For instance, a church could announce that on a certain night, they would meet to pray about the missions program of the church. The prayer ministry team meets in advance with the missions team and they plan an evening that engages the sense and pulls people into times of serious prayer for missionaries. Maps on the wall, pictures of missionaries, scriptures that focus on the Great Commission, appropriate lighting, music, and décor can give attendees a powerful prayer experience.

Both the worship-based prayer meeting and thematic prayer meeting are based on one assumption . . . someone is planning the prayer meeting. Somehow we have allowed prayer meetings to degenerate into an unplanned, disorganized event in which not a lot gets accomplished for the kingdom. When I am asked to lead a prayer meeting, I feel a solemn responsibility to prepare myself spiritually and to plan carefully as I lead people into the presence of God. Good planning may be the most spiritual thing you can do as you lead a prayer meeting.

A pervasive prayer strategy

Becoming a House of Prayer is far more than adding a prayer meeting to an already hectic church calendar. It is a church in which prayer has become pervasive in all aspects of church life. Leaders and members of the congregation cannot imagine prayer not being a part of everything they do.

This will not happen automatically. It must be an intentional decision made first by leaders and then carried out systematically in the life of the church. There can be a basic church-wide accountability system in which, for every proposal made or program initiated, the question is asked, “Where is prayer in this?”

One way to organize this is to make sure that there is a prayer leader on every ministry team in the church. This is the person who, in a sense, advocates for prayer within that area of the congregation. For example, if a church has a worship team that oversees what takes place in worship services, there would be a prayer leader in that team who is monitoring the quality and quantity of prayer during the worship services. That person would have the freedom to work with the rest of the worship team to build prayer into the services.

This same system of organization could be used for the Christian Education, Youth, Evangelism, and other ministry teams within a local congregation. In this way, prayer is not dependant upon one group of people, but is diffused throughout the church. The prayer ministry team in such a church will become the resource group for other teams as they build prayer into their respective areas.

Summary

The local congregation that begins to move toward becoming a House of Prayer is changing more than methods and techniques. It is honoring the Lord by turning to him first and by depending upon his power and might released through prayer. There is a spiritual dynamic that is unleashed within the body that cannot happen in any other way than through God’s people bringing everything to the Lord in prayer.

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever attended or visited a church that you would consider a House of Prayer? What was it about the church that caught your attention?
2. What was the most exciting prayer meeting you’ve participated in? What made it exciting?
3. How would you define a House of Prayer? Write out a succinct definition that could give guidance to a church seeking to move in this direction.

Dave Butts is the chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee, president of Harvest Prayer Ministries and the author of The Devil Goes to Church and Pray Like the King.