Prayer Leader OnLine

December 2007

Vol. 4, No. 12 

Expert on Scope of Prayer Around the World Headlines Empowered
 
David Butts will be a featured speaker at Empowered 2008, the national convention of the CPLN held June 11-13 in Columbia, SC. Butts is the chairman of America's National Prayer Committee. He also serves on the International Prayer Counsel and the international planning committee of the Global Day of Prayer. Serving in these capacities puts Butts in touch with prayer leaders from nations around the world.

He and other keynote speakers, Jackson Senyonga, Daniel Henderson and Jonathan Graf, plus workshop leaders from around the country will inspire you and those you bring to Empowered. Every year, many lives are touched powefully by the Spirit as they participate in this inspirational and practical conference.

There is still time to sign up at the super special earlybird discount of $79 (CPLN members) ($99 for non CPLN memebrs). This price is good until Jan 15.

Click here for more information. 

It Seems to Me . . .

. . . the real Lord's Prayer is in John, not Matthew or Luke. Matthew's recording of the Sermon on the Mount presents extensive teaching on prayer, the most famous of which begins:
 
    "This, then, is how you should pray:
            'Our Father in heaven,
             hallowed be your name . . .'" (Mt. 6:9)

Declaring "this then is how you should pray," Jesus certainly has our attention!

Luke records Jesus presenting the same basic prayer in reply to a request from one of His disciples:

     “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place.
    When he finished, one of his disciples said to him,
        ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’"  (Lk. 11:1)

In each setting, Jesus presents His disciples a template that is now universally known as "The Lord's Prayer" and is recited in thousands of congregations across the globe every Sunday. Some commentators and preachers have pointed out that the prayer, though presented by the Lord, is intended for the disciples, thus they now refer to it as The Disciple's Prayer. Correct as that is, since God is referred to as "our" Father, it may be even more accurate to entitle this The Church's Prayer.

All that to say, if the traditional Lord's Prayer in Matthew and Luke is a prayer given to His disciples and His Church, then the prayer of our Lord in John 17 is more accurately the Lord's Prayer. In this amazing passage, we eavesdrop on Jesus as He communes with the Father intimately and intensely. And as we mediate on the words and the relationship revealed in that prayer, we are given a template for both our personal prayers and our praying in community with other believers.

Firstly, Jesus prays for Himself as twice He implores the Father to "glorify" Him. Good news! Even Jesus brings personal needs to the Father, allowing us to do the same without guilt, right? Sort of . . . Jesus' petition has a "so that" attached to it:

    “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you." (v. 1)

Our Lord teaches us that to pray for our self is not unspiritual as long as the purpose and result of our request is that ultimately the Father is honored and blessed. We can certainly pray about our needs, as long as the answer to such points to both us and others to God. Prayer is about God, even our personal requests.

Secondly, Jesus prays for His disciples that the Father will "protect them from the evil one" (v. 15). Once again, our common understanding is turned on its head. Jesus is modeling the prayers He expects His disciples to pray; not the typical get-me-out requests prompted by our latest trial or trouble but help-me-through supplications for strength to endure and overcome.

Thirdly, Jesus prays for "those who will believe in me through their message" (v. 20), usually thought of as we who are alive today. But, since we are already included in the second segment of our Lord' prayer, it seems to me we should apply this portion of the prayer to those in our community and world who do not yet know Christ. Is this not a prayer for those not yet in the family of God? Is not the unity Jesus seeks for His Church "to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (v. 21)? Is our Lord not asking the Father that those He has "sent them into the world" (v. 18),  would be witnesses who make disciples of all nations throughout all generations?

The Lord's Prayer, the one His beloved disciple John heard and recorded, teaches us to pray for ourselves so that God's answer glorifies Himself as He blesses us; to pray for fellow believers who need to live godly and patient lives in the midst of problems and even persecution; to pray for those who are not now followers of the One who died on the Cross to bring them into eternal fellowship with the Father.

It seems to me this Lord's prayer enables us to pray for the here and now that result in blessings that live on through an endless and limitless eternity.

Phil Miglioratti
 

Exciting New CPLN Publication on the Horizon
Help to Disciple Your People

As a prayer leader, I bet you would love to have something that helps you in a highly practical
way to disciple your people and grow your church into becoming a house of prayer. If only there
were something that helps you in all aspects of growing prayer—encouraging leadership about
prayer’s important, training kids and young people, men and women, providing prayer guides and
ideas for prayer events and prayer meetings—all rolled into one resource.

The CPLN has been mulling that over and praying about that for the past three years. We believe
the time is right to produce The Praying Church, a monthly publication with the mission of
discipling the entire church.

Each month The Praying Church will have 16 pages of practical help specifically targeted to a
segment of your church. There will be a section for men, pastors, prayer leaders, worship
leaders, youth, kids, women, outreach, missions, and more. Some of these sections will be each
month and others will rotate and appear every other month. There will be two monthly prayer
guides—one scripture, based on a specific book of the Bible (to teach your congregation to pray
God’s Word) and the other a general guide that can be used in any church (to teach them to focus
prayer on expanding God’s kingdom).

The publication will be available both in a print form and a PDF format. Here’s the interesting
part: it will be printed in black and white. Why? So you can photocopy it easily. That’s the
idea. Every section will be written to a different target audience. A church orders one or two
subscriptions for key people. Paying for a subscription entitles them to make as many copies for
their own church as they need. The church makes enough copies of each section to give to the
people who the section is intended for. Men’s ministry regularly distributes discipleship things
on prayer to its men, youth to teens, etc.

Because of the freedom to copy, the annual subscription price might seem high (probably $42-$45 a
year—members will receive a discount) but remember, in one resource you will receive valuable
discipleship material for your entire church.

Our target is to have a prototype this summer—possibly by Empowered, then begin regular
publication either in October or January. Our main hurdle is funding. We need to raise an
additional $15,000-$25,000 before we can launch. We are currently approaching a few individuals
and foundations requesting funding. But I remember when I was involved in developing  Pray!
magazine that a huge blessing came from the unexpected gifts we received. Therefore, not only are
we sharing about this new publication to get you anticipating its launch, but we want to give
people an opportunity to give to this project. There may be some of you who can give thousands .
. . but every $25, $50, or $100 gift is also important and will add up quickly to get us where we
need to be.

If you would like to donate, simply make a check out to the Church Prayer Leaders Network (or
CPLN) and write “The Praying Church” in the memo line or in a letter with the check. You will
receive a tax deductible receipt for your donation. Each donor will receive a free copy of the
prototype and any gift of $50 or more will receive a year’s subscription. It is important to
remember, however, that this is a donation. You are not buying a subscription. The money will be
held in a fund specifically for The Praying Church. If after two years the necessary funds have
not come in yet, and it is determined that the moneys are needed elsewhere, we reserve the option
to use them.

Send donations to:

CPLN
619 Washington Ave
Terre Haute, IN 47802

How to Evaluate the Prayer Life of a Congregation

By Daniel Henderson

Note: This article is a chapter in the soon to be released textbook Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry (PrayerShop Publishing 2008).

Some years ago I attended a conference at a very large church in a western state. The subject was
“church transitions.” One staff pastor caught my attention when he told of the dynamic prayer
ministry of the congregation. I was intrigued by his glowing commentary on their highly mobilized
laity that engaged in powerful 24/7 prayer, 365 days a year.

Providentially, I sat next to a couple at the evening meal who identified themselves as the
prayer coordinators of the church. As I reflected on the wonderful account of the prayer ministry
described earlier in the day, their faces filled with dismay. They began to speak of their deep
discouragement. They commented about the "disconnect" between their efforts and the awareness and
participation of the pastoral staff. They described a completely different prayer ministry, full
of gaping holes and plagued by significant apathy.

The Need for Accurate Diagnosis

This experience illustrates the sad but common problem in many churches. Pastors can easily
embrace an exaggerated sense of the prayer participation in their church. Sometimes we elaborate
because of our desire to see more than really exists. Other times, we are just unaware of the
true condition of the prayer ministry because we are far removed from actual involvement in the
heart and soul of the praying.

On one hand, this misdiagnosis can lead to a false notion of the congregation’s spiritual health
and vitality. Much like a doctor who misreads an X-ray or blood test, we can miss some key
indicators that would normally alert us to some significant needs. On the other hand,
underestimating the prayer life of our church can lead to discouragement. Feeling pressure to do
more, we can tend to “drive” our people to prayer, rather than graciously lead them to rich
experiences of the presence of Christ.

A Four Dimensional Evaluation Process

Ultimately, only the Lord knows the truth about the sincerity and substance of our prayers.
Still, any appraisal on our part needs to be multi-dimensional. I am learning that it is
important to evaluate the height, width, breadth and depth of the prayer culture of a
congregation. Here’s how it might work.

Evaluating the Height – The Example of the Praying Leadership

The best place to begin an authentic assessment of the prayer life of the church is with the
church leadership. You will find that the prayer life of a church seldom rises any higher than
the personal commitment and example of the senior pastor.
 
Key evaluation questions for pastoral leadership

Am I leading by example? - If we want a praying church, we cannot point the way; we must lead the
way.  We cannot just preach sermons but must lead God’s people in balanced, biblical and
transformational prayer experiences. This does not mean that pastors have to manage and organize
the prayer ministry. There are others with administrative gifts to do this. It does mean that
pastors must lead by example. It is not necessary that they attend every prayer time each week,
but they must be visible, passionate and consistent in their participation.

Am I cultivating a consistent private prayer life? – At the core of every praying pastor is a
hunger for God and a delight in His presence. This will be evidenced, not just in public venues,
but in the place of private communion on a consistent basis.

Am I incorporating prayer into the leadership culture? - A praying pastor must also lead and
nurture a praying leadership team. This is best accomplished as the leadership team collectively
studies the priority and possibilities of prayer. This must lead to engaging times of prayer
together as a major component of leadership gatherings. Special evenings of prayer, prayer
retreats and prayer summits can ignite a fresh love for prayer as part of the leadership culture
Over my years of pastoral leadership, I have embraced Acts 6:4 as a primary definition of
biblical leadership as we give our primary attention to “prayer and the ministry of the word.”  

This allows us to focus our efforts and delegate trustee and administrative duties to other
people. As part of our growth in the priority of prayer our leaders have enjoyed multiple three-
day prayer summits and embraced prayer and the word as the best use of our collective leadership
time.

Are we teaching on prayer in various venues? – A church leadership team should evaluate its
members proactive commitment to instruct in prayer. Leadership should consider a regular plan to
provide comprehensive, practical and motivational instruction on prayer--starting with the pulpit
and implemented in classes, small groups and discipleship relationships.

Do we share personal stories about the power of prayer? – The congregational prayer life is
encouraged by personal stories about prayer. The pastoral team should be looking for these
“satisfied customers” who can become missionaries of prayer as they share their motivational
stories of God’s work in their lives.

Am I training other prayer leaders to help mobilize prayer? – I leaned many years ago that if I
did not train other motivated church members to lead in balanced biblical prayer, the prayer
level might not grow beyond my ability to show up at all the prayer gatherings.  I also realized
that the quality of the prayer times would suffer.

So I took time to clarify everything I had learned (and was still learning) about leading
effective prayer times and keeping prayer meetings out of the ditch. I thought about the personal
characteristics of an effective and enduring prayer leader. Then I began to gather current and
potential prayer leaders for 6-8 weeks of training, coupled with opportunities to practice the
principles we were learning.

I’ve taught these principles to hundreds of local church leaders over the years. Eventually it
became a book, Fresh Encounters, which is designed to help church leaders understand how prayer
should function in a church setting.

Evaluating the Width – The Variety of Prayer Activities

When pastors lead by example and train others to facilitate biblical, balanced prayer times the
prayer activities of the church can grow. This provides a variety of options from which
participants can choose.

Width of Quantity – People connect with one another and the Lord in different ways and times. It
is important that a church offer options for prayer-motivated members. Some are “roosters” and
enjoy early morning opportunities while others are “owls” and like evening gatherings. Some need
to connect around areas of common interests like parenting, youth ministry, men’s interests or
women’s concerns. Some prefer prayer partners, others like small groups and many enjoy a large
gathering for prayer. A highly directed prayer format will work for some while a more spontaneous
and participatory mode suits others.

In evaluating the prayer life of a church it is important to consider the variety of practical
options offered to allow people from a variety of backgrounds, interests and schedules to
participate. 

Width of Quality – Of course, the quality of the prayer activities must remain solid if the
quantity is going to be effective. This requires trained leaders who provide capable, committed
coordination for each prayer gathering. A church should have an ongoing training strategy to
raise up competent and committed prayer leaders. 

These leaders should meet, at least periodically, to share information about the effectiveness of
the prayer times offered. Some will need to be discontinued, some should be strengthened. 

Evaluating the Breadth – The Substance of a Prayer Culture

There is a difference between prayer-active people. Yet, the church is not largely affected by
the prayer efforts. The goal is not to develop a prayer program that functions like a silo and is
isolated from the rest of the church. The goal is a praying church where prayer permeates all the
activities and gatherings in every department.

When I first came to Grace Church in Eden Prairie, the congregation seemed eager for me to start
a weekly church-wide prayer time. We called it Fresh Encounter. However, after a number of months
it became apparent that we had the program of prayer ahead of the leadership in prayer. Most of
the elders and staff were not attending regularly and I realized we needed to slow the program
until the leadership culture had developed more fully around the priority of prayer.

So, we augmented the prayer programming but still worked to grow the prayer culture. We cut the
Fresh Encounter service to a once-a-month event. At the same time, we recruited more people to
become active in the prayer room during the morning worship services. In this way we were able to
adjust the prayer program but still grow a prayer culture with different and more helpful entry
points.

A church is growing in a prayer culture when prayer is the default response of the leaders and
people throughout the church. As I often say, “prayer is not the only thing we do it is just the
first thing we do.” This is the mark of a breadth in prayer. The commitment to prayer far exceeds
the organized activities in prayer.

Genuine worship-based prayer is incorporated into every department of the church and most
gatherings of the people. You see people engaging in spontaneous prayer in the midst of
conversations, while talking on the phone or during fellowship times in the lobby on Sunday.

Evaluating the Depth – The Habits of Praying People

Ultimately the prayer life of a church is evidenced in the lifestyles of the people attending the
church. Of course, this dimension is hard to quantify but the goal is that prayer becomes as
comfortable as breathing and eating in the daily activities of congregational participants. 

Prayer is integrated into marriage, home, work and virtually every activity. It has broken beyond
the walls of the church building and become fully integrated into the life patterns of the
saints.

Again, a great way to fuel this commitment to depth in prayer is to teach about it, feature
testimonies of those who are enjoying it and emphasizing it as the exciting “norm” for all
Christians.

Key Questions and the Vital Outcome
If we could boil all of this down to some basic, penetrating evaluation questions, it might look
like this:

•    HEIGHT:  To what degree is the senior pastor and leadership team modeling prayer,
cultivating prayer among their ranks, teaching on prayer, highlighting stories about prayer and
training others to lead in prayer?

•    WIDTH:  How are we raising up other leaders to provide a broad variety of prayer
opportunities that appeal to various interests and that are sustained my consistent and competent
leadership?

•    BREADTH:  Are we helping out people understand the need for a prayer culture beyond
prayer “activities” as we encourage and highlight prayer as a pervasive reality in all we do as a
church?

•    DEPTH:  Are we encouraging and equipping our people to develop a depth in private prayer
that will also be evidenced in marriage, family, work and community relationships?

Ultimately, this kind of evaluation should lead us back to the Throne of Grace where we appeal to
the Savior again, “Teach us to pray.” The evaluation should not cause guilt or pride, depending
on the outcome. The goal is a resolve to grow higher, wider, broader and deeper in our dependence
on Christ and our supernatural impact on the culture around us through the power of His life
within us.
   
Questions for Further Thought or Discussion

1. Explain why an accurate diagnosis of the congregation's prayer life so vital and how you  
    would communicate your diagnosis to the congregation you are leading.
2. Summarize each of the four dimensions of the evaluation process and give an example of a
    step you would take to bring improvement.
3. Create a sermon/teaching outline: The Vital Outcome. Identify each point, provide a scriptural
    reference, and an action point for the church.
 
Dr. Daniel Henderson is the president/founder of Strategic Renewal. He is also assistant
professor of leadership and church renewal at Liberty University and Seminary and pastor of
renewal at Thomas Road Baptist Church, both in Lynchburg, VA. He has authored numerous books
including Fresh Encounters and PRAYzing! and speaks regularly at pastor’s conferences and renewal
events.

Suggested Additional Reading

Lawless, Chuck. Serving in Your Church Prayer Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing,
2003

Franklin, John. House of Prayer: Prayer Ministries in Your Church. Nashville, TN: Lifeway
Publishing, 1999

Higley, Sandra. A Year of Prayer Events for Your Church. Terre Haute: IN: PrayerShop Publishing,
2007

Miglioratti, Phil. "A Diagnostic Tool to Assess the Prayer Life of Your Congrgation."
http://nppn.org/articles/article062.htm

Training the Next Generation of Pastors to Pray

PrayerLeader OnLine interviews Dr, Dan Crawford, the compiler of Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry. This landmark textbook on the breadth of prayer for seminary and Bible college pastoral students will be released by PrayerShop Publishing in May 2008. 80 chapters, each written by a different professor, pastor or national prayer leader cover four areas: theology, personal prayer, corporate expression of prayer and the global impact of prayer. While for pastoral students, it will be a great resource for pastors and prayer leaders as well.
 

Q. Dr. Crawford, you are an authentic champion for prayer. How did the Holy Spirit develop this passion in you?
Two ways. Through my parents. My dad was my pastor and my mother was a great prayer warrior with a heart for the nations. I grew up observing prayer and God's responses to prayer. The other way was though an automobile accident at age 15 when the second vertebra of my neck was broken. Long before today's medical technology, I spent nine months in a hospital bed in a neck brace. Tough for an athletic teenager during basketball and baseball seasons. Twice I was scheduled for surgery to wire the bones of my neck together. In other words, twice the doctors were giving up on my healing. Both times and at significant other times, my mother organized 24 prayer chains on my behalf. After nine months I was pronounced totally healed (by an atheist surgeon) with no repercussions in the 50 years since. I decided prayer worked, because God worked in response to praying people.

Q. You have held a unique position related to prayer.
For years I thought I held the only fully endowed Chair of Prayer in any theological institution in the world. Then I discovered another Chair of Prayer at Asbury Seminary. Needless to say there are not many of us in such a chair or even teaching a course in prayer in theological education. North American theological education has failed a couple of generations of ministers by not teaching them the full discipline of prayer. The struggling churches of North American and the growing churches of the third world, are evidences of this.

Q. Share with us your personal observations on the prayer movement.
When I began to teach prayer in a theological seminary, I received maybe three invitations per year to attend or participate in a "prayer conference." Today, if I had the time and travel expense, I could attend one each week. Unfortunately, with the growth of the movement, has come a more popular approach to prayer. In the Bible and in church history, the most effective prayer came from a remnant of faithful prayer warriors. Not to say the growing movement is bad, but with growth comes popularity, and with popularity comes a broadening of purpose, and with a broadening of purpose, comes a lessening of genuine prayer. For years I have been taking groups overseas on prayer journeys. The most frequently asked question is, "What else are we going to do?" Likewise the question I hear most often from students who are thinking about taking my course on prayer is, "What else do you teach in the class?" Following the prayer journeys and the class, the most heard response is, "Wow! I had no idea it was so involved." Many pastors and vocational ministers I know believe strongly in prayer but don't have a clue what all it involves. Missionaries are different. Because of who they are and where they serve, they know.

Q. Most pastors have had minimal experience and no training in prayer. What key concepts do you present to your students; future leaders in the church?
I teach first that prayer is throughout the Bible, from the first mention in Genesis to the final verses of Revelation, as well as modeled by Jesus. The most often used verb in the ministry of Jesus is not preach, teach, or heal, but pray. There is a popular bumper sticker that reads, "the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it." Well the Bible teaches prayer and that settles it whether you believe it or not. I also teach the principles and methods of corporate prayer and personal prayer. I teach simple, often overlooked truths, like--We don't talk "to" God, we talk "with" God. And never talk to people about God until you've talked to God about the people. Then I always teach the global implications of prayer. If God's purpose is for the nations, then how can we pray for less? The bottom line, like with other disciplines, is that prayer is more caught than taught. So, in addition to my classroom teaching, I try to model a life of prayer for my students.

Q. Explain to us how prayer and discipleship intersect.
First let me offer a few definitions. Disciple making (as in Matthew 28:19), is the umbrella that covers three things: (1) Cultivation (or pre-evangelism, building relationships, etc.); (2) Evangelism (the actual sharing of the faith with an intent of conversion); and (3) Discipleship (or follow-up, nurturing, spiritual formation, etc.). Even though it is often valuable to take non-believers (or better "pre-believers") through a study of Christian discipleship as a part of the cultivation process, genuine discipleship is for believers. I believe prayer is the priority discipline of discipleship, just as prayer was the priority discipline for the Lord. I know this is a controversial belief but I'm not so sure how interested God is in the prayers of non-believers, until that non-believer begins to turn toward God (we sometimes call that conviction). Prayer then, is primarily for convicted non-believers and believers and it is the priority discipline.

Q. Dan, please write a prayer for the leaders of Christ's Church.

"Gracious Father. We who have experienced your call to leadership, stand in awe that You would call such as us. But when we study Your Word, we discover that has always been Your practice--not so much ability, but availability. For whatever reason You had in mind when You singled us out, we offer thanks. As you continue to shape us into Your image, please remind us frequently of the importance, yea the priority, of communication with You. And when we remember this, and when You respond to our intercessions and petitions, remind us to give You the praise. To You be all glory because we ask this in no other name but the name of Jesus. Amen.

Dr. Dan R. Crawford Senior is Professor of Evangelism & Mission; Occupant of the Chair of Prayer, Southwestern Baptist Seminary, and President of Disciple All Nations, Inc. http://www.discipleallnations.org

January Super Special: The Power of Personal Prayer

By Jonathan  Graf 

An effective resource for the average person in the pew, The Power of Personal Prayer, is the foundation of Jonathn Graf's Learning to Pray with Faith and Purpose seminars. It provides a thorough look at the basics and breadth of prayer and encourages even the weakest pray-er to go deeper.

Normally it retails for $10.00, but during January, you can purchase it for $7.00 or $6.50 in quantities of 10 or more.

Click here for details.