August 2208

Vol. 5, No. 8 

Introduction

We apologize that our website was down for two-and-a-half days due to technical difficulties. We were scheduled to send this issue last Sunday evening, but were not able to complete it due to that issue.

Thank you for understanding.

We want to encourage you to participate in this Monday's teleconference. I will be sharing on "The Spiritual Characteristics of a Prayer Leader" on August 18 at 8:30 PM. It is open to anyone.

Call: 1-712-432-0232
Pass Code: 2756#

You also should check out the August Special at our website, www.prayershop.org. We currently have all prayer guides on sale for 25% off. Stock up for your congregation. Perhaps you should get packs of "Scripture-based Prayers to Pray for Your Pastor" in time for pastor appreciation month. Get your congregation praying  for your pastor as a gift for him or her.

Blessings,
Jon Graf

It Seems to Me . . .

. . . we need to take sailing lessons!

Alex Araujo of Spokane-based Partners International from Brazil compared the mission churches of the majority world with the mission movement of the West. Araujo likened the Western mission movement to a powerboat. The powerboat has its own source of power and fuel on board. Except for extreme weather conditions, the pilot can set the course and stay on schedule. He needs to pay attention mainly to the instruments and the running of the engine, though of  course he needs to watch ahead and steer the boat and govern the speed accordingly. But he can do that. Everything is under his control.

Mission from the Western perspective is mainly a managerial operation: List your needs. Get your ducks in a row. And "just do it!"

Missions in the majority world, Araujo said, is more like a sailboat. The crew receives a totally different kind of training. They are skilled in reading the sky, the wind, the waves. The boat can move only when the winds are favorable . . . or can make rapid progress only when the winds are behind them. At other times they buck the wind and the waves, and must make many zigzags to make a little forward progress. [Illustration taken from John Lindner at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ]

Aren't the applications obvious?

Western industry and technology have given us high speed power boats and automatic pilot, which, in spiritual realms, has given us a false sense of ability and security. We chart our course with the help of strategic planning guides, often with a modicum of listening prayer. Our high octane fuel may rely more on glossy post cards and banners than people praying and caring and sharing with their neighbors. And, maybe most crucial of all, our destinations may be set more by the stars of our own vision than by the often surprising and humbling leading of the Spirit.

Sailing, on the other hand, requires spiritual skills completely different than what it takes to design a slick power point or website. Neither of these are bad; they can both be used effectively for ministry and allowed persons in the Body to use their gifts in creative ways. The problem, as I see it, is that the skills of listening, discerning responding, and facilitating become undeveloped and unvalued. Prayer, the corporate variety especially, is in need of skilled sailors who can take us far away from the comforts of the shoreline to enable the Church to explore new destinations for service and evangelism.

Power boat praying may be needed in specific circumstances related to a spiritual attack but sail boating is much more the norm of daily personal and weekly corporate praying. What will it take for the Church to affirm the skills of those who can facilitate, as well as those who forge, in prayer?

It seems to me ...  we need more pastors and prayer leaders to sign-up for sailing lessons!

Pastor Phil 

If God Is God . . . Why Pray? (Overcoming the Devil’s “Logic”)
Part 2

Last month we shared the three most highly acclaimed attributes of God--identified in Psalm 139:1-16 --as: 1) OMNISCIENT (All-Knowing), and 2) OMNIPRESENT (Ever-Present), and 3) OMNIPOTENT (All-Powerful). With a focus on the first attribute, we learned how to overcome Satan’s attack of deceiving-logic which is designed to create doubt and discouragement about the true identity of God, and ultimately lead us to disengage us from praying. These “logic” attacks seem to come strongest when we begin to communicate with the Lord through prayer! How do we combat this?

This month we are looking at the final two attributes and zeroing in on how to defeat the devil’s ever-ready--but totally erroneous--“logic” that he bombards our mind with as we begin to pray to the Father in Jesus’ Name.

Psalm 139:7-12 identifies God’s “Omnipresent” attribute, which enables Him to be “ever-present” at all times. This bugs Satan greatly, because it means the devil’s schemes never catch God by surprise!

As you and I are implored by the Apostle Paul’s plea that we pray entreaties, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings on behalf of all men (1 Timothy 2:1), have you ever begun to do that when the author of all confusion (Satan) whispers something like this: “If your God really is ever-present, then why do you have to pray for Him to be with someone as she travels or as he is going through a difficult time?”

As I have faced that deceptively logical question many times over the years, my victories only came when I simply responded with God’s Word. When I didn’t do that, I struggled to press onward with my praying! My best answer to this doubt-designed question has always been two-fold:

1. I will always pray for others because:
    *It pleases God (1 Timothy 2:3) that I choose to honor Him by praying for others and not just myself! Plus, He promises to honor those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30b). So, as I demonstrate my sincere concern for others, God is more than willing to show His concern for me!
    *It enables me to join with Jesus in the very ministry that He is still doing daily: intercession (Romans 8:34 / Hebrews 7:35). Can we have a better “prayer-partner” than Jesus?

2. God’s Word (John 15:13) tells me that there is no greater way to demonstrate our love for a friend than to lay down our life for them. When you and I employ “intercessory” prayer for others, that is surely a form of laying down our lives, because we have willfully chosen to put them and their needs ahead of our own. In essence, we are investing a part of ourselves for the blessing and benefit of another person(s); and God’s Word promises that to the degree we give, it will be given back to us (Luke 6:38). That encourages me to be a faithful intercessor!

Psalm 139:13-16 identifies God’s attribute of being “Omnipotent.” His being “all-powerful” assures me that there is absolutely no thing or person that can alter or change His mind or plans for me! Yet while I believe that 100%, as I begin to pray for something really big--at least big in my mind--the devil is there to quickly inject this question of doubt: “If your God really is All-Powerful and already has His mind made up for the plans He has for your life, what makes you think that your prayer could or would change it?” My immediate response is: Why would I want to change God’s mind and plans for my life, when I consider these truths:

1. Luke 22:42 tells me that even Jesus Himself did not try to alter the Father’s plan; but, was totally yielded to it. Likewise, because God’s plan is designed to bless me, I am totally yielded to it and have no desire to alter His plan!

2. Proverbs 16:9 and Psalm 37:23 tell me that the Lord is directing my steps . . . and He is delighting in them; why would I want to alter His perfect plan for my imperfect plan! Not only am I not smart enough to change God’s mind nor powerful enough to alter God’s plan, I have already communicated to Him and to the devil that I have no desire to do either one!

In conclusion, we see again and again that the devil’s logic is no match for God’s Word. That is why the Apostle Paul declared in his letter to the Ephesians 6:17-18 that when we are confronted with “spiritual warfare,” we must pick-up the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) and pray at all times.

So the next time the devil tries to cause you to doubt God and His unchangeable attributes or that Jesus really does want us to be men, women, and children of prayer--and our churches to be “houses of prayer”--simply rely on God’s Word as your response, as Jesus did when confronted by Satan continuously during His 40-days in the wilderness! You will find that your prayer life will move from a discouraging duty to an anticipated delight!

--Dennis Conner, along with his wife, Betty Jo, is the director of member relations and Southwestern representatives for the CPLN. They founded and minister with Called to Serve, a ministry that coaches pastors and churches in becoming a house or prayer.

The Secret of Effective Leaders--Prayer

Phil Miglioratti interviewed Liberty Professor, Dr. David Earley, author of Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High Impact Leaders.


Q. Dave, what prompted you to write a book on prayer specifically for leaders?
After thirty years of studying, practicing, teaching, and writing about the subjects of prayer, leadership, and ministry a convergence of experiences prompted me to write this book. Let me explain. Early last fall, I was teaching the principles and practices of spiritual formation to a room full of eager seminarians. I was repeatedly struck with the notion that if I could help these future pastors develop a prioritized, passionate prayer life, they would have a foundation for better navigating through the problems they will encounter in ministry.

Later in the fall, I was training missionaries to Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists. We were talking about church planting. We discussed the book of Acts and the prayer meeting leading up to the first church planted on Planet Earth. In doing do, I was overwhelmed with the reality that without a vibrant prayer life, these missionaries were doomed to frustration and failure.

A few weeks later, a long time friend of mine and a very gifted leader resigned his ministry because of immorality. A marriage, a family, a church, and a community were facing terrible turmoil because of his sin. Neglecting his prayer life played a big role in his costly downfall.

Early last winter, I taught several dozen veteran pastors the tools needed to lead healthy, growing, multiplying churches in our changing culture. Of the thirty separate lectures and discussions we shared, the majority of the students agreed that the most life-changing session was the one on the importance of prayer in the life of the leaders. Again I was overcome with the sense that if these leaders could only master one leadership skill on which the rest would build, it had to be prayer.

I spent several weeks reviewing the lives of the great leaders of the Bible to confirm my belief. As expected, I found that a vibrant prayer life was central in the leadership skill-sets of Jesus, Moses, David, Daniel, and Paul, among others. Then I cracked open my works of church history and saw the church fathers and other high impact leaders through the centuries leading out in the area of prayer. In pulling down my forty plus biographies of modern day Christian leaders, I again noted the common denominator of prayer.

Q. What process did you use to identify the "nine prayer disciplines" and what is the connection to "high impact leaders"?
As I studied the lives of these 75 leaders I began to see patterns and similarities reappearing.  I noted several of them and then wrote them up into chapters of similar lengths. There ended up being nine chapters.

Q. I have discovered many Christian leaders hesitate to become a champion for prayer because their personal prayer life is weak and, in some cases, their skill at leading prayer is also undeveloped. What steps would you recommend for a pastor or leader who struggles in this department?
Read this book! Seriously, I would suggest investing time doing two things: First, recognize how little you can truly accomplish in your own strength. Second, spend time praying with a person or a group of people who know how to pray. This is why prayer summits are valuable. 

Q. You employ a creative juxtaposition of historical and scriptural examples to explain each principle. Give us a sample of a leader from scripture and from history that have made an impact on your prayer life.
Scripture, Jesus. Like all spiritual leaders, Jesus found ministry to sometimes be draining and stress-filled. Mark's Gospel records a sample twenty-four hour time period in the life of Jesus. It's a day that nearly rivals one of Jack Bauer's days spent saving the world from terrorists. In the span of twenty-four hours, Jesus gave an amazing teaching at the synagogue (Mark 1:21-22), cast a violent, belligerent demon out of a man (Mark 1:23- 28), healed Simon-Peter's mother so she can fix Jesus and the disciples lunch (Mark 1:29-31), then spend the rest of the day and late into the night healing sick people and casting demons out of the terrorized (Mark 1:32-34).

I cannot imagine a more draining day. If He was like most of us, after such a draining day of ministry, the next morning would have been spent sleeping in and chilling out. But Jesus lived and led at a different level than most. He had a deep capacity for ministry because He practiced a few holy habits that yielded powerful results.

Was Jesus sleeping in the next day? No. Mark 1:35 is very clear. It reads, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (Mark 1:35).

It strikes me that if Jesus needed to start His day in prayer, how much more must I!

History - Martin Luther. Luther was of course, the very active and influential pastor, professor, author, and father of the Protestant Reformation. Like most of the people in my book, he truly understood the power of prayer to save time and effort. When asked of his plans for the coming week, Martin Luther mentioned that he generally spent two hours a day in prayer, but his coming week was extra busy. Therefore he said, "Work, work from early till late. In fact I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer."

Q. How did your pastoral experience influence your passion for prayer?
When it comes to our church's prayer ministry, there are several things I am happy about.

1. We used to block out time every year to focus strategically on prayer. We usually called it Eight Great Days of Prayer and Fasting. After one such period we concluded with a Bring a Friend and Sunday and 50 adults gave their lives to Christ that morning.

2. When I was a pastor, we saw a definite change in the spiritual climate of our city when we began to institute several forms of prayerwalks. First, I began to drive the perimeter of the city several nights a week, claiming it for God. I would drive by churches and pray for the pastors, and the schools and pray for the kids. Second, I organized the evangelical pastors in our town to pray in each other's churches once a month. We started with only three, but within a few years, God had moved the theologically liberal, spiritually cold pastors out of the churches in town, one by one. Within a few years, twelve pastors were faithfully meeting each month to pray for revival in our town. A few years later these pastors worked together to deliver a copy of the Jesus video to every home in our town in one day! Third, I loaded up our church bus once a month to pray in the parking lot of every church, school, and bar in town. When we started our late night prayer drives, our schools were in terrible shake. The new superintendent, among other things, had been aggressively hiring lesbians to fill every open principal and teacher position he could. One Halloween a group of about forty of us got off our church bus, held hands and began praying at the school board. We fervently prayed that God would change the superintendent one way or another. We prayed that God would give us a godly superintendent.

We did not know that at the exact time the school board was meeting to discuss all of the problems with the new superintendent. The next day, I discovered that at the very time we were outside praying, that inside the school board members voted to fire the superintendent. A few months late they replaced him with a godly Christian man who served as an elder in his church!

One of our small group leaders prayerwalked her neighborhood daily, interceding for the salvation of each family. She also served her neighbors and took an interest in their children. As a result she spiritually impacted her neighbors. One day she asked if she could use one of the large classrooms at the church after the next week's worship service. When asked why she said, "Nearly a dozen of my neighbors and their children are being baptized here next week. We wanted to throw a party in their favor."

3. As a pastor, I developed a team of 12 men to pray for me daily. I asked them to make a one-year commitment to:

--Pray for our church, themselves, and their family every day. 
--Take a few minutes of extra time to pray for me one day a week.
--Take a few minutes every Saturday night to pray for me.

All twelve agreed! Every two weeks, I met with them for Bible study and prayer. I would also share my prayer requests for the next two weeks. We would pray for one another. That year went amazingly well. Our church grew more and baptized more people than the previous year. My health improved, as did my marriage and time with God.

The next year, I recruited a team of 50 men to make a one-year commitment to pray for me daily. Several of them served as teams who would pray for the worship services every Sunday. The impact the prayers of those men had on our church was huge.

Q. Recently, in my opinion, you did something extraordinary. You brought your seminary class to the National Pastors' Prayer Summit; you even participated with your students! Why did you take this step and how valuable was their experience?
The simplest and most effective way to teach people to pray is to pray. Most people are not familiar with worship-based prayer and it is positively stretching to spend three full days in worship-based prayer. Also, my students are mostly Millennials who learn more through experience than through reading or lectures. A prayer summit is a life changing experience. It also was a good opportunity for our students to interact with veteran pastors in a positive, spiritual setting.

My students were profoundly impacted by the experience and we are planning on doing it again next summer.

Q. Dave, please offer a prayer for pastors who know they need to live and lead more in prayer.
Lord, I long for you. You are my dearest treasure, greatest advisor, closest friend, and glorious king. I hunger to know you more and grow deeper in my relationship with you. I need you. I yearn for all of your power to impact my ministry.

Forgive me for proudly living as though I can do it myself. Forgive me for neglecting this most vital aspect of my life and ministry. Please give me the desire and the discipline to seek you early, often, and passionately.

As you transform me, revolutionize my prayers. As you rekindle the flame of my prayer life, revitalize my ministry. Amen.