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Prayer Leader OnLine
September 2007
Vol. 4, No. 4
Introduction
Just today I had the opportunity to
speak to a group of seniors at World Gospel Church in Terre Haute,
Indiana. I was struck by the prayer potential in that room.
After speaking about the powerful
ministry they could have if they focused on praying for the spiritual
life and health of their church, we had a short time of prayer. I gave
some instructions about praying short prayers, praying positive
prayers, and gave them the scriptural prayer guide: "Life Giving
Prayers for Your Church." They then went in four groups to different
areas of the church to pray for that area's spiritual activities.
Afterwards I found out that one
gentleman had never prayed out loud in public before. Some commented on
how much they enjoyed the time.
By my usual standards of creativity,
I didn't do anything very unique. It was just something none had done
before. My point is that often, we do not have to get fancy or "wow"
people into prayer. We just need to do something simple, but different.
Something that provides a little discipleship, a little growth for
people.
Instead of looking for the big answers to growing prayer, maybe we only need to tweak a little.
Blessings,
Jonathan Graf
President
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Send Us Your Ministry Ideas
We want to bless you, our members with better and better ideas that would enhance prayer in churches. Many of you have instituted interesting, simple prayer ideas that have worked in your church. We would ask you to send those ideas to us.
Please tells us in as much detail as possible what you did, how it works, and how it has affected your church.
Email or mail your ideas, along with your name, address, email address and church name and community to:
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Jonathan Graf
CPLN
619 Washington Ave
Terre Haute, IN 47802
It Seems to Me . . .
. . . we need a few dangerous ideas!
Recently, I was informed that my accrued miles with US Air were about to expire, so, with no time to use them, I gifted a portion to military families so they could travel to see their deployed son or daughter. With the rest, I received subscriptions to several magazines that I seldom read; one of them being Scientific American (who was I trying to impress?).
It took three issues before I was able to find an article I could remotely understand but when I did, it was worth it!
Steve Mirsky's "What's The Big Idea?" opinion piece caught my eye (September, 2007), a mini-review/commentary of a book by atheist Richard Dawkins: What Is Your Dangerous Idea? An interesting piece but what caught my mind and heart was the question posed in the book's title. Do I have any dangerous ideas? Is there a prayer coordinator out there somewhere who is carrying a dangerous idea? Is the prayer movement in America moving upward or forward on any ideas that are potentially dangerous? Or, are our ideas merely feeding or entertaining the status quo?
Danger, not for the sake of danger or some kind of excitement or as motivation for spiritual SWAT teams. Danger for the sake of the kingdom of God. Ideas that provoke us to Holy Spirit inspired action that puts us in jeopardy much like Paul encountered in Ephesus:
"We are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events." (Acts 19:40)
Are you carrying a dangerous idea around that could change the way your congregation understands prayer? Has the Lord downloaded an idea into your mind that could result in a prayer-driven transformation in your neighborhood or community? Anyone out there who has listened while praying and has an idea that is too big or different or, dangerous? Or, maybe you have a heart-thumping idea that is small but strategic; dangerously strategic.
One of the ideas in the book (the book on dangerous ideas) is that the most dangerous idea is "the idea that ideas can be dangerous." More dangerous, "is the idea that we should all share our most dangerous ideas." Seeking, in prayer, dangerous ideas? Sharing those dangerous ideas? Speaking them back to the Lord in personal and corporate prayer settings? Sounds downright, well, dangerous!
Irresponsible, you say? Then, consider these insights :
Strictly speaking one ought to say that the church is always in a state of crisis and that its greatest shortcoming is that it is only occasionally aware of it.
No one looking at the situation of the church today can say that over the last century or so things (in the World) have not fundamentally changed. The reality we deal with is that after around 2,000 years of the gospel, we are on the decline in just about every Western cultural context.
I am now convinced that one of the major blockages is our adherence to an obsolete understanding of the church.
The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church by Alan Hirsch (Brazos Press Grand Rapids, Michigan 2006)
It seems to me that's exactly what we need . . . the faith to pray for a few dangerous ideas. Ideas that could change the church into a transformational force in cities and communities across the US.
Phil Miglioratti
http://www.prayerleader.blogspot.com
http;//www.lc2c.blogspot.com
They Devoted Themselves To Prayer
By Dave Butts
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42).
"But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word" (Acts 6:4 NASB) .
What or who are you devoted to? Many would respond that they are devoted to their families, and that is a good response. Others might speak of their devotion to their job or their country. Christians may indicate their devotion to their church or ministry. Many would have to honestly say that sports, entertainment, television, and other leisure activities hold their devotion.
In the Bible, the word "devotion" implies an intensity and focus that escape most of us today. In the Old Testament, when Israel was conquering the Promised Land militarily, God commanded them to devote the pagan cities to Him. He made it clear that this kind of devotion meant to destroy those cities completely. Most of us aren’t used to the concept of that kind of loyalty!
A Christian’s primary devotion ought to be toward Jesus. He is our first love. We should be able to say, as Paul did, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). The question becomes: "How do I demonstrate devotion to Christ?" Though there could be many responses, it should be obvious that the primary means of expressing devotion is prayer. It is in prayer that we talk with the Lord and walk in continual awareness of His presence in us.
Our model for this devotion to prayer is the early Church. My friend and Harvest Prayer Ministries colleague, Alvin VanderGriend, has written a powerful article demonstrating this fact biblically. His new book, The Joy of Prayer, contains the following excerpt and many other wonderful helps for us as we grow in our prayer lives:
"The first Christians were truly devoted to prayer. The prayers at their prayer meetings were not short, shallow, bless-me kinds of prayers. Three times in the early chapters of Acts Luke uses the intense Greek word proskartereo, often translated as ‘devoted to,’ to report on the strength of their commitment to prayer. The word literally means ‘to occupy oneself diligently with something’ or ‘to persist in.’ It’s the word used in Acts 1:14 to describe their first prayer meeting: ‘These . . . were continually devoting themselves to prayer’ (NASB). It’s the word used in Acts 2:42 to characterize their community activities: ‘they devoted themselves . . . to prayer.’ It’s the word used to explain the intent of their spiritual leaders to ‘devote [themselves] to prayer’ (Acts 6:4, NASB). Do you get the picture? They were really committed to prayer.
"Paul uses the same Greek word when he talks about prayer. For example, he instructs Colossian Christians: ‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful’ (Col. 4:2). He exhorts Roman Christians to be ‘devoted to prayer’ (Rom. 12:12, NASB) and he urges Ephesian believers to pray devotedly for all the saints (Eph. 6:18). The New Testament writers could not have been clearer. Devotion to prayer was the norm for New Testament Christians.
"Most of the above references to devoted prayer have to do with corporate prayer. Luke’s list of activities to which the early Christians were devoted – teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer – are all communal activities, including prayer. Acts 3 begins with a report of Peter and John on their way to a prayer meeting at the temple. In the next chapter believers have come together for prayer in response to the threat by Jewish leaders (4:23-31). Not long after that believers gathered in a home to pray for imprisoned Peter (Acts 12). That early Christians regularly gathered for group prayer is a biblical fact not to be denied.
"Why, we may ask, were those first Christians so devoted to prayer? The answer is that this is what they saw in the life of Jesus. He spent entire nights in prayer. He bathed the key moments of His life in prayer. His words, His miracles, His power all came through prayer. He gave His disciples a pattern for prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) and taught them to pray with boldness and persistence (Luke 11:5-8, 18:1-8). The first Christians simply continued with what they saw in Jesus’ life and heard from His lips.
"Unfortunately most of today’s Western church does not share this same devotion to prayer. Saying prayers now and then to try and get our problems solved is not devotion to prayer. Rehearsing me-oriented prayer lists before God is not devotion to prayer. Prayer groups that spend most of their time sharing and a few minutes in prayer can hardly be called devoted to prayer.
"God’s Word pictures a church that was devoted to prayer, that persisted in prayer, and that occupied itself diligently with prayer. That is what God expects. That is what Jesus taught. That is what the New Testament Church modeled.
"If you are a child of God, a Word-oriented Christian, and a member of this same New Testament church, then Paul is speaking to you: ‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful’ (Col. 4:2)."
Taken from The Joy of Prayer, Week Eight, Day 2, by Alvin VanderGriend. PrayerShop Publishing, 2007. (This book will be available for purchase early next year at www.prayershop.org).
The Blessing of Praying Seniors
By Jonathan Graf
While as believers, we should all have some desire to pray,
often our prayer lives are affected by the various seasons of life. We pray more when circumstances require it,
or in seasons when we have a deeper understanding of its importance. One of the
general truths of most churches is that the one group of people who likely pray
the most are its seniors.
Most church prayer meetings have a greater number of older
believers than younger ones. When I put on a prayer weekend in a church, in
many places more seniors will show up than any other age group. Why? Because
over the years of experience, a greater percentage of seniors than any other
group has learned the importance of prayer. They understand that they cannot do
things on their own; they need God to work.
The problem in many churches, however, is that they do not
recognize what a prayer force this group can become. Churches often ignore this
group’s ministry potential. Churches just try to keep them active and busy with
events and fellowship opportunities. Instead, they should foster this group’s
desire and ability to minister within a church through intercession. The church
that fuels seniors’ ability and interest to pray, will be highly blessed spiritually
. . . and with unity. People who are actively praying for a ministry are far
less likely to be grumblers and complainers about that ministry!
Here are a few ideas on how to use seniors.
- Pastor, make seniors your personal
prayer team. Provide them with items to pray each month (at the least)
and weekly is even better. It doesn’t have to be a lot of items, but they
should be meaningful and specific. Having a handful of prayer needs
related to your ministry and family on a 5.5 x 8.5 sheet each week or
every other week will suffice (some items can even be repeated week after
week).
- Develop seniors into an army who will
storm the gates on behalf of your church. Organize them into teams who
will pray while a church board meeting is going on. Put them in teams to
pray during the morning service. Ask them to come in once a month or every
other week to pray for the spiritual life and health of your church. If
you stress how important that role is, and continue to encourage them in
that ministry, they will be blessed and will bless your church.
- Use them to cover those time consuming
every day needs. Most churches’ entire ministry of corporate prayer
revolves around praying the “make my life better” personal needs of its
members. While it is important for the body life of a church to cover
those things, seldom do church prayer meetings focus beyond them. If you
have a group willing to focus on those things—like a seniors’ group—use it.
That is a valuable ministry. Not only does it focus prayer on something
that needs to be covered, it frees up time in other prayer meetings to
focus on the kingdom things in the life of your church.
A century ago, at age 26, Wilbur Chapman became the pastor
of a famous Presbyterian church (Bethany
Street) in Philadelphia.
His first Sunday there an older gentleman came up to him and said, “You are
much too young to be the pastor of such a fine church as this.” Wilbur thought
he was a kook. But the man went on to say, “But I have determined to pray for
you. And I have a friend who will join me. Each week we are going to pray that
the Holy Ghost’s power falls on you when you step into the pulpit to preach.” Wilbur reported that those two men soon turned
into 10 men, than 20, than 50, and eventually more than 200 men would come each
Sunday morning to pray for the Holy Spirit’s power to anoint Chapman. Over the
next three years, that church saw more than 1,100 people come to faith in Jesus
Christ through its ministry. More than 600 of them were men.
Your seniors can be a warring army if you encourage them to
be!
--Jonathan Graf is the president of the Church Prayer
Leaders Network. He is a popular speaker, and is available at
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.
Need Help Planning a Prayer Strategy?
When developing new strategies or analyzing what's working and what's not, companies often hire consultants to help them walk through the process. Have you ever thought of bringing in a consultant to help your church develop its prayer strategy? Church prayer ministry consultants can help you and your team navigate the passages of developing a prayer strategy. Like a good harbor master guiding a ship in, they can help you avoid the sandbars as you map out your church’s prayer plan.
Finding a Consultant
Check out the “About Us” section at www.prayerleader.com and look for a Church Prayer Leaders Network regional representative in your area. The CPLN also is developing a group of outside consultants who can help your church get to the next level in prayer. These are people we trust, who have years of experience in prayer leadership, and who understand the in-workings of a church and the potential difficulty in growing prayer. You may also wish to contact:
Dennis and Betty Jo Conner
Called to Serve
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Jonathan Graf
President, CPLN
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Phil Miglioratti
National Pastors Prayer Network/CPLN
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These individuals can provide valuable insights. They are also gifted at helping pastors and church leaders see the importance of prayer to the life of a church. You can have them spend a day with your team or consult them on an ongoing basis. They all have fee structures that can be adapted to fit your needs and budget.
You may be surprised at how inexpensive hiring a prayer consultant can be—especially if you combine the consulting work with a prayer weekend church prayer seminar. As you are finalizing budgets for next year, consider including funds to cover consulting services.
If a trained consultant is not in your budget, perhaps a prayer leader from another church in your area can help. This individual might be willing to volunteer some time to work with your team, help in the planning process, and bring a valuable outside perspective.
Learn to Spot the Devil's Activity
October Super Special: The Devil Goes to Church
Retail Price: $10.99
Super Special: $5.99 (now through the end of October)
10 or more: $5.00 each
The Devil Goes to Church is a powerful study on the subtile and not-so-subtile methods Satan uses to keep a church from moving forward. It will open your eyes to consider such common things as grumbling and critism (to name a few things mentioned in the book) as not things to be put up with, but things to come against.
When used in a Sunday school setting, it helps members see how Satan is often using them in thwart the work of God in a church!
During your study, you will consider the following topics:
The Reality of War
The Nature of Our Enemy
Everyday Combat Readiness
Three Arenas of Conflict
Our Weapons: The Word and Prayer
The Intercessor Versus the Accuser
The Nature of Our Victory
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September 2007 
