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November 2007
Vol. 4, No. 11
Introduction
It's hard to believe that another year is almost over! Many of you have seen great blessings in your roles as prayer leaders. Others have seen struggle and frustration. But remember, even in that, God is working. A new year will bring new beginnings and opportunities. Take some time in the month of December to reflect on the past year and to reinvest in your calling. We pray that 2008 will be a turning point for many churches in their desires to become houses of prayer.
We at CPLN understand frustration. We have seen some struggles this year. Due to a few unexpected circmstances, we have struggled significantly this year in the financial area. We are praying for a huge breakthrough. Please pray with us! We are seeking His blessing in three areas: 1. We are asking for 200 memberships a month next year; 2. We are praying for $24,000 to launch a new publication: The Praying Church (more on that next month); 3. We are upping the prayer efforts on behalf of our team's personal donor support. Currently none of our team is close to raising the full support each needs. That affects our abilities to minsiter to you. Sandra Higley, (our director of member relations) Ginny Kisling (our western regional director), Dennis and Betty Jo Conner (our southwestern representatives), John and Kerry Shuey (our northeastern representatives), Phil Miglioratti (our national facilitator) and myself all need to see God's blessing for our personal finances. Please pray for us. And if one of these individuals in particular has blessed you and you would like to give a gift (tax deductable) or become part of his or her monthly support team, please let me know (
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
). I can direct you as to where you would send the gift (the Conners, Shueys and Phil all have separate ministries to record donations).
Let's all trust God, and pray with faith that next year we will see the breakthroughs we need in all our situations.
Blessings,
Jon Graf
President
It Seems to Me . . .
. . . every upside has a downside. The prayer movement's upside is that it is a genuine movement. It has resulted in a new awareness of the primary role of prayer in our personal lives and our corporate expressions. It has birthed new resources galore: new books on significant aspects of prayer every month; a quality national magazine devoted entirely to praying; 10, 30, 40 day prayer guides; T-shirts with pithy thoughts on why we need to pray; even software programs to remind us to pray. There are initiatives from National to Global Days of Prayer that challenge us to pray for the leaders of our nation and the nations of the world. Networks, such as CPLN, collate ideas for those who lead prayer (If you haven't surfed our site recently you'll be very surprised at how much practical material is available for you). Conferences, seminars, workshops, retreats, summits . . .
With such a fantastic upside, can there be any downside?
Sadly, yes, if there is more movement than actual praying. If our pastors are preaching to us about prayer more than they are praying with us. If prayer coordinators are more focused on the task of designing brochures or decorating prayer rooms than they are convening times and places of praying. If our leaders (youth and children, committee and council, staff and appointed) continue to see prayer as a sermon topic or a team that meets monthly to plan events.
It is never inappropriate to ask, "Is the main thing still the main thing?" Is prayer in our church still about everyone actually praying? Is prayer expected throughout the week at the family table? The office cubicle? The school desk? The backyard fence? Is praying less about the format we follow than the One we follow?
It seems to me, as leaders in the prayer movement, when we call the church to prayer we must make sure it results in, well, prayer . . .
Pastor Phil
Empowered 2008
"
Seeking
Christ's Glory . . . with Passion" is the theme of Empowered 2008, our
national convention. Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina
will host the June 11-13 event.
Rev.
Jackson Senyonga, Dr. Daniel Henderson, David Butts and Jonathan Graf
will keynote the conference. More than 40 workshops and three all-day
mini-conferences on the 11th will also be a part of this powerful
prayer conference.
For a limited time there is a super special
for early registrations. The normal cost is $150 (S120 for CPLN
members), but CPLN members can register for $79 until January 15th ($99
for non-members).
Click here for more information.
Praying for the Sick
By Dave Butts
I'M, not sure why this topic makes me nervous, but it does. Maybe it sounds a little too man-centered. Maybe it doesn’t sound spiritual. Or perhaps, it’s just too close to the same old way we’ve always prayed. As I travel in churches, it’s clear that praying for health issues absolutely dominates the typical church. Although I believe God is showing the Church today that there are many other issues to address in prayer, praying for healing is always extremely important and valid.
As a matter of fact, I believe we need to pray for one another’s physical needs in a much more effective way than we have in the past. Our prayers sometimes sound like this: “Lord, bless brother so-and-so in his illness. Give direction to his physicians. And if it is Your will, please bring him back to complete health. Amen.” Though I don’t fault the heart behind that prayer, I want to suggest some ways in which we might sharpen our prayers for those who are ill.
I want to begin by addressing, or maybe more correctly, not addressing the theological questions that often arise as soon as we begin to speak of divine healing. Today, I’ll leave the deep questions of why people are healed or not healed to others. My belief is simple: More people get healed when we pray than when we don’t. I don’t know why my father died of cancer when so many people prayed for so many years for him. And I certainly don’t know why a heart abnormality found by a test several years ago completely disappeared after many people prayed for me. God's ways are a mystery to us. But because His Word gives both example and command regarding praying for the sick, I am compelled by obedience to pray for those who are ill.
Who can pray for the sick?
All Christians are given that privilege, though there may be those who are more gifted in this area than others. Certainly elders are to be involved in praying for the sick. James writes, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15).
When and where do we pray for the sick?
* We should pray in our families for the sick.
* We should pray in the routine of everyday life.
* We should pray in small groups, Sunday School classes, Bible Studies, etc.
* We should pray as a corporate body in the church. This could mean a special healing service, an individual coming forward during a worship service to be prayed for by a prayer team or elders, meeting with others in the prayer room after a service, etc.
How do we pray for the sick?
There is no divine methodology. The most fascinating aspect to the healing ministry of Jesus is His astonishing variety of methods employed to bring about healing. Anything from a touch to a mud-pack was used by Jesus to demonstrate His Father’s desire to heal. Jesus shows us that methodology is not doctrine. He gives us the freedom to pray in various ways that all touch the heart of the Father.
A number of years ago, I had the privilege of being in a seminar on healing prayer taught using John Wimber’s methods. I believe that Wimber’s five basic steps are a good, well-balanced approach to praying for healing. The five steps with my commentary are as follows:
I. The Interview – the interview is an attempt to find out two things: Where does it hurt? and Why does it hurt? This is of course, the ultimate question and not always easy to answer. The “why” doesn’t have to be a physical reason. Some illnesses are caused by problem relationships, sin, emotional problems, stress, or even by the demonic. The Interview operates in two planes:
The natural plane where we attempt to find out a bit of what the person is like.
The spiritual plane in which we are asking in prayer for the Holy Spirit to let us know what is wrong in this situation.
II. The Diagnostic Decision – we ask ourselves what might be the ultimate cause of this illness. Not knowing the cause does not mean we do not pray. It just helps us to target our prayers more effectively. It is crucial to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit during this time.
III. Prayer Selection – knowing or not knowing the ultimate cause of an illness can help us to know what kind of prayer to pray:
* Petition – asking for discernment and wisdom
* Intercession – coming to God on behalf of the sick person
* Rebuke – doing spiritual battle with the evil one
* Command – speaking out a word of healing to the person
IV. The Actual Prayer Time
* It is important to remember that this is a time of ministry to someone else. Therefore, it is often important to keep your eyes open so you can see what might be happening physically or emotionally to the one you are praying for.
* It is okay to ask questions as you go. For example: “How are you feeling?”
* When you don’t know what is wrong, ask the Spirit to come and minister to the person. The Holy Spirit knows what is wrong, even when we don’t.
V. Post-Prayer Suggestions – it is often important for you to give the person some directions after the prayer time. Depending on the circumstances, some examples might be:
* Stop living an ungodly lifestyle*
* Restore a damaged or broken relationship*
* Praise God when symptoms leave!
*Note: If the person prayed for continues to live a sinful life, or does nothing to heal a broken relationship, God is under no obligation to heal him or her. It is important to share this information with anyone you are praying for.
John Wimber gave five additional guidelines that I believe are important for anyone who wants to get serious about praying for the sick:
- Do not attempt to give orders to God or to write His script for Him. “When I first began praying for the sick, I used to develop mental scenarios of this celebrity or that one getting healed and turning the world upside down for Jesus. It was saying, ‘Hey, God, I’ve got a fantastic idea for You. Have You ever thought of this one?’ I quickly learned that He wasn’t interested.”
- Do not use formulas or techniques for healing. I realize that some more liturgical groups have written out healing liturgies and healing prayers, and they can be very effective. But let’s not fall into the trap of thinking that what makes the healing take place is saying the right words, creating the right emotional environment, naming and claiming it correctly, using the right oil or holding our hands in the right way when we pray. All of the above might be helpful at times, but none produces healing. Even the name of Jesus itself is not an effective formula per se, as the seven sons of Sceva quickly found out in Acts 19:13-16: “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, ‘In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.’ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.”
- Always seek God’s will for the healing. John says that God will hear our prayers “if we ask anything according to His will” (I John 5:14).
- Follow Jesus’ example in being an open channel for the Father to do what He wants to do through you.
- Do not attribute the results of prayer for the sick, whether positive or negative, to the faith level or attitude of the sick person.
My own addition to these guidelines is to add the “so that” clause to our prayers for healing. Again and again in Scripture we see the people of God included in their prayers the phrase, “so that” (See John 9:3, 11:4, 14:13). Perhaps we need to pray for the sick, adding, “so that You, Father, may be glorified.” Or, we may pray for healing, “so that the family and friends might see Your power, and come to know You as Savior and Lord.”
Let’s take these acts of compassion and love for others and turn them into opportunities for God to receive honor and glory as He responds to our prayers for healing.
David Butts is the president of Harvest Prayer Ministries and the chairman of America's National Prayer Committee.
Why Not Take a Prayer Retreat?
As we come upon a new year, many of us take time to reflect,
to recharge, to refocus. Often we try to “get away” to do this, taking a prayer
retreat. Getting away is a powerful thing. Blocking out the noise of everyday
life causes us to better hear God speak.
We highly recommend prayer retreats to you. Whether for a
day, or a few days, any length will prove valuable. Find a place near you and
commune with God. Christian camps often have facilities to use for this
purpose. There are many Catholic retreat centers or monasteries that will
provide a basic room, beautiful grounds, and some even emails for a modest
price. Even the CPLN has a retreat center associated with our ministry.
To aide you in taking a retreat, here are a few items you
can download or print out to make your experience a good one.
“Taking a Prayer Retreat” by Cynthia Bezek (free
downloadable audio file of her Empowered 2007 seminar)
www.praytoday.org, website of Pastor Richard LaFountain,
loaded with suggestions of activities to do on a retreat.
"Oasis" issue of Pray! magazine. This issue from 2004 had
covered the theme of taking a prayer retreat.
Harvest
Prayer Center.
A retreat center, run by Jon and JoLyn Graf, associated with CPLN. It has two
private cabins (modern) with full kitchens, a prayer chapel on a 4.5 acre lake
and hiking trails on 65 acres of woods and meadows.
December Super Special
One of the most intriguing and thorough treatements on the subject of hearing God speak is Brad Jersak's book Can You Hear Me?: Tuning into the God Who Speaks. Full of powerful illustrations, the book will leave you expectant to hear God's voice more regularly.
Both
Can You Hear Me and Jersak's companion book for children, Children, Can
You Hear Me are offered for the month of December for $10.95 each (a
31% saviings of the $15.95 retail price).
Click here for more information.
Prayer in the Corporate Worship Service
Jonathan Graf
The early church in Acts did four things when it gathered together. “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). I don’t think that means 25% percent of the time was given to each, but it clearly shows a significant importance was put on each element. If our church gatherings were measured against those four things, where would we stand?
Clearly corporate prayer was given a significant place in early church meetings. In our day, most churches relegate prayer to a pastor or leader praying once or twice in a service, maybe a worship leader offering a simple prayer amid a song set, perhaps there is a time for people to come forward and be prayed for. While these are important expressions of prayer, they do not usually constitute powerful, corporate prayer.
Instead, corporate prayer has been relegated to the weekly prayer meeting, certainly an important service and event for a church. Unfortunately many churches have disbanded these due to lack of interest or sheer boredom. Most prayer meetings have become a few sitting around in a circle, taking requests about all the physical and personal needs of the church’s members, then praying until each one has been mentioned. It is hardly a dynamic time of powerful corporate prayer.
Congregations need to experience powerful, dynamic, earth-changing corporate prayer. And the best place to experience it is in the Sunday morning worship service. Why? Three reasons:
- Because prayer is not truly corporate unless it is done with all your people. The morning worship is the only place where you have most of your people each week. Acts 12:5 tells us that “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. ” We can have good times of people praying together at other moments, but the value of an entire congregation calling out to God in agreement is extremely powerful. When a congregation agrees on something and prays, it is effective!
- It teaches your people how to pray. These days, most believers never participate in times of praying with others. They may observe prayer a few times in a worship service, but they are never required to try it. As a result, most believers do not have any confidence to pray. When they can see and hear others pray, that can grow their own prayer lives as well.
- It is easier to have a leader-led prayer time in the morning worship service than at a less formal weeknight meeting. This is important for prayer to be truly effective. In the midweek service, often times well-meaning pray-ers will take the prayer meeting away from a leader to pray about their own agendas. This will not happen in a worship service. As a result you can better “manipulate” prayer to operate with the biblical principles of corporate prayer.
Biblical Principles of Corporate Prayer
There are five biblical principles of powerful corporate prayer. The more of these elements are present in our prayer times (during worship or other times), the more powerful the prayer.
Desperation
Ezra 8:22-23 records a time of corporate prayer surrounding a three-day fast. The priest Ezra was taking a group of Jews back to repopulate Israel. They were going to cross dangerous terrain and needed protection. The interesting thing here, however, is that Ezra had a solution—the king would have likely given them soldiers to go along—but he refused to take it. He refused to do the obvious thing in favor of relying on God.
We need to learn from that. The more desperate we are about something, the more vibrant our prayers. When going to prayer corporately, look for ways to impress a sense of desperation in your people. Remember what happened in churches following 9/11? Prayer meetings were full for several weeks. Why? Desperation. As you pick the focus about which to pray, figure out a way to build in desperation. We can’t solve this, God. We need you.
One Focus
Powerful prayer is focused prayer. It is not a shotgun approach -- giving prayer requests and praying for ten different things. Effective corporate prayer is topical. The leader explains, “now we are going to pray for . . .” We see this played out in the story of Peter’s imprisonment (Acts 12). Verse 5 tells us of a prayer meeting for Peter. Not everything under the sun, and “oh yeah, don’t forget Peter.” In the morning worship service, picking one subject for which to pray is all you need to do—and it is powerful.
One Voice
One voice is a numerical principle. As was mentioned above, the same chapter in Acts tells us that the church was earnestly and constantly praying to God. Everyone. Not five people in a little room on Wednesday night. A powerful dynamic occurs when an entire congregation prays on the same theme. Again, the only place you will have the entire congregation together is Sunday morning worship.
Invoking the Presence
In 2 Chronicles 6-7 at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, we see God’s glory indwelling His Temple so much that everyone fell with their faces to the ground. No one went inside. In Solomon’s dedication prayer, he invited God to come and dwell. “Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, to your resting place . . .: (2 Chron. 6:41).
We often just take comfort in the presence spoken of in Matthew 18:20: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” But there is another presence of God—His manifest presence. It is a presence you can literally sense. It is a transforming presence. We need to look for ways to encourage that presence of God into our midst. He comes by invitation and He comes through praise Psalm 22:3 tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. There is no better place to regularly experience the manifest presence of God than the worship service. When we pray in the middle of, or following a time of intense worship—worship that is entirely focused upward, on Jesus Christ--rather than on us we more readily sense His presence and our prayers become more kingdom focused.
Agreement
The last element of powerful corporate prayer is praying in agreement. This is different than focus. It is where everyone knows and agrees with what they are asking God. Often when a congregation prays about an issue in a church there is not agreement. We all have a different idea of what should be done. So when we pray, we often just pray our own agendas. (Just as an aside—agreement will come in any issue if people pray together. As we pray with others, we become more open to God’s agenda and we let go of our own.)
In a leader-directed prayer time in a morning worship service it is easier to be in agreement. The leader simply gives direction as to what they will ask God to do. He might say something like this, “After seeking God, the leaders of our church feel that God is moving us to look for a piece of property on which to build. Let’s ask God to reveal that piece of land to us.”
Ways to Incorporate Prayer in the Service
When incorporating group prayer into the morning worship service several principles are important. First until your people are used to it, keep it fairly short. Never let them go more than five minutes in a prayer group on one topic. Two to three minutes is plenty. Second, put prayer points and even a simple prayer on power point or in the bulletin. Instruct those who are nervous about joining in that they are not being forced to pray, but if they would like to, here is a prayer or some thoughts to use when they pray. Third, when you start doing this, and perhaps a few times afterward, give them some prayer protocol instructions. Remind them that they should not pray like they do when they are by themselves. All prayers should be short, 30-45 second maximum, to give everyone a chance to participate and so no one is intimidated. People can pray multiple times in a group.
1. Pray the thoughts of a song. Many songs—especially contemporary ones—are prayers themselves, focused on Christ. If we mean what we are singing, then we are praying when we sing. But, another benefit is that they can be catalysts to dynamic prayer.
For example, a song like “Touching Heaven, Changing Earth” can foster in a time of prayer for revival. A song like “Breathe” can generate prayer for spiritual hunger in each other. A song like “Crown Him with Many Crowns” or “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” can move into times of corporate praise where we spontaneously shout out praises to God.
To do it, a worship leader simply guides the people into groups of three to six and instructs them on what to pray. The musicians keep playing to provide some background music. After two to three minutes end the time by moving into the next song.
2. Set aside a 7 to 10 minute prayer time. Pick a topic of importance to your church or leaders. An upcoming outreach event, a special program, a deep need in the church, the nation, etc. The more the topic relates to the people, the more dynamic the time will be. Have people pray in groups over this topic. But again, offer clear direction and ideas of things to pray.
3. Pray the Sermon Application. A pastor often has something in the sermon that needs to get across to the people. Why not have a time (two to three minutes) where people get into groups of three or four and pray that application into each other. The pastor needs to give specific instructions so they understand what they are to pray. A bulletin insert or power point slide with the important points are all that is needed.
4. Pastor Guided Prayer. Another excellent way to incorporate prayer is to have the people pray a prayer in unison at the end of the message. The Pastor can put a prayer together that reflects exactly the truths and applications with which the people are to walk away. Instruct them to pray out loud after you. You say a phrase and give them time to repeat it. Not only will this do something powerful by praying the application into them, but people learn to pray. They hear their pastor pray and they begin to understand the kinds of spiritual things they can ask God for in prayer.
5. A Time to Pray for Needs. While this is not corporate prayer in the truest sense, it can be a wonderful time of blessing for your people. Simply put, you set aside time in the service where people can pray for others. It can be done a number of ways.
During worship or at the end of a service have prayer teams (teams of two people—a husband/wife team or two males, two females) come forward or line up around the church. As you sing, people can come forward, walk up to a team and be prayed for. The book Praying Grace (PrayerPoint Press) by Terry Teykl and the dvd set Upfront (PrayerShop Publishing) are excellent training resources on this subject.
In a smaller congregation it can be meaningful to have people with a need stand where they are. Then have groups gather around them to pray for their need. The congregation keeps worshiping while this is going on.
Conclusion
If your people won’t come to prayer meeting, take prayer meeting to the people. Having times of corporate prayer in the morning worship service can have a profound effect on your people and church. People learn to pray and develop a heart to pray what is on God’s heart.
Questions for further Thought or Discussion
- What are three or four hindrances that keep prayer minimized in corporate worship and provide a biblical example or teaching that confronts each barrier.
- Identify and explain 5 to 6 different methods of turning an audience into participants.
- Design a corporate worship experience that incorporates several diverse prayer opportunities
Jonathan Graf is President of the Church Prayer Leaders Network. He is also the founding editor of Pray! magazine and the author of The Power of Personal Prayer and editor of My House Shall Be a House of Prayer.
Suggested Additional Reading
Franklin, John. And the Place Was Shaken. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2005.
Henderson, Daniel. Fresh Encounter: Experiencing Transformation Through Untied Worship
Based Prayer. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2004.
Teykl, Terry. Praying Grace: Training for Personal Ministry. Muncie, IN: PrayerPoint Press,
2002.
Butts, David. Upfront: Training Prayer Teams for Ministry (DVD). Terre Haute, IN: PrayerShop
Publishing, 2007.
Note: This article is a chapter in Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry (PrayerShop Publishing), a book to be released in May 2008.
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November 2007 
