Dear Phil,

God has given me a burden to help make our church a house of prayer. I currently put out a monthly bulletin containing an article on prayer and a section of An Urgent Appeal. In the last issue I explained that Jesus taught us in His tutorial on prayer (Luke 11) that God builds His kingdom and accomplishes His will through our prayers. My pastor’s response was "you made it sound like God is dependent upon our prayers to work. If God really wants to do something, He doesn't need us, He is sovereign and can do anything He wants."

Phil: I firmly believe God is sovereign; He has the power and authority to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants. I also believe that God has sovereignly decided to involve believers in His work on the earth as we partner with Him through and in prayer.

George: I do not believe that this is so. Ezekiel 22:29-31 makes it clear that He destroyed the people because an intercessor was not found.  Is my premise true?  Does the Bible clearly teach this?  If so, where? Is it true in all cases considering "the scripture cannot be broken" (Jn. 10:25)?

Phil: Yes, I believe God’s search for someone to stand in the gap reveals that He expects His followers to do their (our) part in prayer.

George: I'm familiar with passages of scripture where God works through prayer; Exodus 17 where Moses must hold up his hands for Israel to prevail, Luke 1 where John the Baptist' birth is an answer to his parents' prayers, Psalm 2:8 where God asks instructs us to ask for salvation of souls, 1 Timothy 2:1-3, intercessions for all men, Hebrews 5, Christ's example of intercession, Eph. 6, instruction to pray for all saints, Paul's examples of his prayers for spiritual growth of believers, his preaching, safety, etc., and finally the altar of incense burning day and night in the temple typifying prayer (Psalm. 141:2, Revelation 5:8)

Is there a passage which clearly states God's design for a priest and His working only through an intercessor? Or are we just to assume that this is the way He chooses to work and we must cooperate or thwart His will?

Phil: Every passage on prayer is a clear statement our Lord intends on communicating with us to accomplish His purposes in our lives and in His world. I believer prayer is a sign to us of what Adam and Eve experienced with God in the Garden. Prayer is our post-Garden blessing of “walking” (being in fellowship) with the Creator.

George: I pray that you can provide the scriptural justification that will open not only my pastor's eyes but for also the eyes and hearts of the congregation for the need of proactive and faithful prayer. 

Phil: May I encourage you to pray ( of course you are) God will show you how you can best communicate your heart and what you see form Scripture. Avoid any method or style that will simply cause defensiveness on your pastor’s part or a sense of judgment by the congregation. In situations like this, I find that questions are more effective than (what appear to be) a debate:

• Why do you think prayer and sovereignty are mutually exclusive?
  Paul taught about God’s sovereignty (predestination, foreknowledge) yet called the Church to prayer. He even says that their prayers kept him going (2 Cor. 1:11). Why?
• Jesus prayed in many different circumstances. Why?
• Why did Jesus tell us to pray and why did He give us a model prayer? Wouldn’t it be disobedient to Scripture not to pray?

George: We have a prayer leadership committee that prays for an hour bimonthly on Sunday evenings. We have three men meet each Sunday morning at 8. We are working on a prayer partner's ministry and a monthly concert of prayer. We currently have a prayer team that waits at the altar at the conclusion of each service to pray with any needy people. But people rarely come. We also have a few people pray before the service. What do we need? What are we lacking? Thanks for any info. Your ministry is awesome! I praise the Lord for it.

Yours in Christ,
George

Phil: Simple and fair questions that are best answered as you continue to ask the Holy Spirit to teach and tutor you. Your description fits many thousands of congregations; churches with prayer activities and ministries but not yet a church directed by a prayer strategy! May I suggest:

• Realize this is a marathon not a sprint. Pace yourself and your expectations.
• Remind the team they are called to pray and to persevere; the Holy Spirit is responsible for results.
• Keep a strong focus on seeking authentic repentance and genuine revival.
• Plan an all-church-leadership retreat with a focus on the possibilities of prayer.
  

Have you seen the new MyPrayerTeam.com resources for your prayer partner ministry?

Ask for a budget so you can:

• Purchase a bulk order of Pray! magazines to give to leaders
• Arrange for several key leaders to attend a prayer conference
• Purchase a few books on prayer and have them passed throughout the congregation
• At the early Sunday prayer time, walk throughout the pews/seats and ask the Holy Spirit to give people courage to seek God through prayer.
• Try a variation on the altar call for prayer. Invite people to write their prayer request and walk it up to the prayer team members. (Visit Terry Tekyl’s website for several training resources: http://www.prayerpointpress.com/store/menu.htm. His book Praying Grace is an excellent resource to train altar prayer teams.)
• Ask for permission to place a prayer request (for revival and awakening) in the weekly prayer list or church bulletin.

Hope this helps,
Phil