Praying the Kingdom Needs of Your Church

As you consider how you might move your congregation toward a more balanced prayer approach, we would like to recommend two products that can help you. Both are by the same author: Sandra Higley the current director of member relations for the Church Prayer Leaders Network (CPLN), and one of the founders of Pray! magazine.

A Life Giving Prayer Guide

Several years ago, the CPLN website began rotating a different prayer for your church on the home page of its website. These prayers were all scripture based prayers each focused on a different ministry of the church: elders, worship, preaching, etc.

Shortly after posting them, individuals began asking if these were available in one guide. Now they are—in two possible formats.

1. “Life-Giving Prayers for Your Church” is a bookmark prayer card with 17 scriptural prayers. It comes 50 in a pack and sells for $7.00, or you can buy individual cards for .25 each (www.prayershop.org). This is not the complete list that Sandra developed for the CPLN website, but has many of the key prayers. Its bookmark format makes it easy for people to keep in a Bible, where they might pray regularly for your church needs.
2. “A Month of Prayers for Your Church” is an article at www.prayerleader.com. If you are a CPLN member you have access to it and can print it out for your church. This provides the complete list of 31 prayers, but it will be in a much less attractive format than the prayer cards. It is available at http://prayerleader.com/content/view/243/54/.

We highly recommend purchasing or printing out enough of these guides for all the adults in your church. Hand them out in a service and challenge them to use them each day or week.

A Year of Prayer Events for Your Church

Using her more than a decade of prayer leadership experience, Higley has put together a valuable book that every church needs to have. Most churches and prayer leaders long to see their people have more meaningful prayer experiences within the church. A Year of Prayer Events provides just that.

            Fifteen events are highlighted. Each includes all the details—equipment, schedules, formatting ideas, a checklist of things to consider and follow—that a leader might need to pull off the event. Relevant resources are listed at the end of each chapter.

            Among the events are: Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Concert of Prayer, Kids’ Prayer Fest, All-Night Prayer Vigil, All-Church Prayer Initiative, Prayer through Your Building event, and an Advent Prayer Focus.

            The book is formatted suggesting one event a month (three extra events are included so you can pick and choose). But even if you feel your church cannot handle an event that often, you can map out four or six or eight to do in a year. Whatever fits the personality and flow of your church.

            Published by PrayerShop Publishing, the book retails for $14.97. But it is available at a discount at www.prayershop.org or an even greater discount at the CPLN member store.

--Jonathan Graf