CONFERENCE EVENTS

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PRAYER FOR YOUR CHURCH

Lord, I lift up the adults in my congregation to You. May we live worthy of Your call on our lives. As we respond to that call, fulfill every purpose, every faith-filled act of service by Your power. May we be clothed in righteousness with hearts that sing for joy and delight greatly in You. We want to walk with You, Jesus, dressed in white, adorned with jewels. (Eph. 4:1; 2 Thes. 1:11; Ps. 132:9; Isa. 61:10; Rev. 3:4)
 
Home arrow May 2005 arrow May 2005 Complete Issue
May 2005 Complete Issue PDF Print E-mail

While final plans have come together for Empowered, we are already working on three Fall regional conferences: September 22-23 in San Jose, CA; October 24-26 in Terre Haute, IN and November 13- 14 in Dallas, TX. Keep watching www.prayerleader.com for information. Registrations will start in early July.

Spring plans are shaping up for conferences in Atlanta and New Jersey. Our desire is to begin to bring solid training conferences to as many locations as possible. Why not use these events to fire up your people. Make sure you bring some church leaders with you.


In this issue
  • Get 'em to Love to Pray!
  • It Seems to Me . . .
  • Maintaining Order in a Citywide Prayer Group
  • Uncommon Prayer Meetings
  • An Idea for Prayer Champions
  • Prayer Leader Interview Looks at Ancient Prayer Practices
It Seems to Me . . .

. . . prayer leaders are bridge builders.

The Holy Spirit has placed us in a strategic position to connect ministries and activities of the church that for too long have been too separate.

Too often our Bible classes, fellowship groups, age-level ministries are individual ministries that have no connection to each other. Praying has the potential to connect discipleship to stewardship and fellowship to worship and leadership to partnership. By saturating every ministry and activity with prayer, simple study of information becomes spiritual formation. Small groups turn into worshiping (in song and through service) communities. Seeking God’s will uncovers new and bold assignments for ministry and mission.

Help church leaders and church members connect the dots. Be their prayer leader!

Phil

Question & Response

Hello Phil,

I have spoken with you before about the Prayer Center that is in our city. We have had a very small group come together throughout the year to pray together. We will begin opening the Center each Tuesday for a time of citywide group prayer at 11 a.m. One thing that has hit me is maintaining order in such a group. I don't want to hinder the Holy Spirit in anyway. What do I say to those who have the gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 12) who may be praying and there are persons there who have never heard it and feel uncomfortable, etc?

I was called and told to be ready because a lady plans to be there to tell us we are not saying the Name of Jesus correctly, so, looks like good things are happening. The feathers are being taken out of the nest and it's time to fly (I am getting off the shore and stepping out into the deep over my head). I read a devotion in Streams in the Desert (Cowman) where the lions we face are God's opportunities.

I also have a mentor in another city who has led an intercessory group (50) for 20 years. so I can also try to reach her.

God Bless you.

Response

Sounds like you are on the right track! May I suggest something like: Before you begin, say to the entire group: “We are committed to giving the Holy Spirit freedom and certainly do not want to quench His work among us. We recognize the Spirit gifts and flows through persons differently. Our protocol may be different than your congregation’s or denomination’s but we ask that you do things decently and in order of the protocol we have set. If that is troublesome to you, please speak with me privately after our time of prayer.
   “Our protocol is based on 1 Corinthians 14:18-19: 'I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.' We understand 'in the church' to apply to meeting such as this, a variety of gifted believers gathering for the purpose of praying with one mind and one voice. The sacrifice of freedom for some will result in our greater ability to stay unified in our praising and petitioning."

This open but directed stance is standard in most citywide prayer groups. Our aim is twofold: Keep from quenching the Spirit (“put out the Spirit’s fire”) and to keep from grieving the Spirit (distracting or derailing the unity of the Spirit).

Hope this helps,
Phil

P.S. What a blessing to have a mentor from which you can receive further wisdom. Every church prayer leader ought to be in mentoring relationships; both receiving and giving.

Uncommon Prayer Meetings

Turning Prayer Meetings into Adventures

Have a "Mary Prayer Meeting"

A lot of our prayer meetings focus on people seeking God for answers, for things that are on their hearts. Here is a formet that simply brings people together to--like Mary--sit at Jesus feet. Try it for a change of pace.

 Foundation: Mark 14:1-9

Focus: Extravagant Worship--Becoming A House of Exorbitant, Abundant Praise and Prayer

"While he was in Bethany (“house of affliction”), reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head" (v. 3)

Format:
  1.  Welcome Jesus into your home (House of Prayer) --We desire to be a place of affection (“reclining at the table;” “in the home”) in a world of affliction (Bethany means “house of affliction”)
  2. Express your gratitude to Jesus --Simon the Leper must have been healed by Jesus of his disease in order to host the meal --Thank God for healings and answered prayers Martha must have been grateful to once again use her gift (hospitality, helps) to serve the Lord a meal --Thank God for the privilege of serving him and His Kingdom Lazarus must have been joyous as he had been raised from the dead by Jesus --Thank God for salvation, for second chances, for renewal and restoration
  3. Extravagantly worship Jesus Mary’s act of worship was courageous; uninhibited by conventional rules (men usually excluded woman from their conversations) --Ask the Spirit for freedom from customs and rules that inhibit biblical expressions of praise and worship Mary’s act of worship was costly; her perfume was imported, often invested like gold, and worth one year’s wages --Confess that our worship (singing, giving, living) is often limited to leftover time or minimal dollars Mary’s act of worship was sensual; the perfume released a beautiful aroma that filled the room --Light scented candles, sit in silence, then offer prayers of adoration Mary’s act of worship was beautiful (14:6: Jesus said ... “She has done a beautiful thing for me.”) --Ask the Lord for individual and corporate opportunities to do something beautiful for Him
Feedback: Conclude with a discussion.
  • What was new or fresh about this experience?
  • Did you hear Jesus speak at some point in our time of praying?
  • How does the Lord commune with you? (thoughts, feelings, word pictures, scripture?)
  • How can we praise and pray extravagantly in the future?
An Idea for Prayer Champions

Offsite Learning

Many corporations and learning institutions have discovered the benefit of moving a work group or task force offsite to cast vision, renew commitment, or introduce new training modules. Taking even a short excursion to a different setting enables individuals to see with clearer eyes and listen with unfiltered ears. The location doesn't have to be exotic nor expensive to give everyone a fresh perspective on the ministry of prayer. Taking even a few hours will enable the team to go beyond the typical talk of details and activities into discussions about purpose and strategy.

Do you seem like the Lone Ranger when it comes to having a vision for a saturated in prayer church?

Invite several leaders/influencers to attend a prayer workshop or conference with you.

Has your prayer meeting stagnated?

Cancel one or two of your regular prayer meetings and travel together to Visit another congregation that has a fresher, more creative approach to corporate prayer.

Is your prayer ministry too limited in its vision?

Schedule a one day retreat with a special speaker for prayer ministry team members only. Include plenty of prayer and dialogue to help the team apply the teaching.

Do you need help evaluating your progress toward becoming a praying congregation?

Take a few key leaders away to meet with a Prayer Coach, someone who can guide you in seeking prayer and by asking strategic questions. Consider assigning “homework.” Hand everyone a resource (book, tape, video) and ask them to be prepared to share insights from their reading/listening/viewing. You can give everyone the same item (assign different chapters to each member as the one they will use to initiative discussion) or give everyone a completely different resource.

Prayer Leader Interview--Reviving Ancient Prayer Traditions

Prayer Leader OnLine interviews, George Allen, a prayer leader at the Community Church of Greenwood, Greenwood, Indiana. George shares insights into how to incorporate several ancient traditions of the praying church.

Q. George, the evangelical segment of the Church often relies on list-praying and revival-praying. Both are essential to corporate prayer but leave out many historical, even ancient traditions of the Church. How were you introduced to some of these methods?
First a little background. I graduated from Eastern University (formerly Eastern Baptist College) in St. Davids, PA., in 1967, where I matriculated with intent to become a pastor in the American Baptist Convention. Upon graduting, however, I opted for military service, as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Marines, rather than full time Christian work. I was married and a father by then, and within a year was in the Republic of Vietnam as a combat engineer officer. Though a Christian at the time, it was during a traumatic combat experience that I survived the first stage of my personal testimony.

Thirty-five years, a successful career as author and consultant, same wife (PTL!), two kids, six grandchildren and one great grandchild later--along with 25 years involvement (as occasional discipler and flock leader) at the Community Church of Greenwood--I was asked, during early 2004, to head that body's dormant Prayer Planning Task Force. This was not an easy decision or action for me; I knew I could not take on such a heady (at least it was to me) responsibility unless fully confessed-repented-restored. Not that I was engaging in anything all that sinful; rather, in word and thought life, I knew there was room for improvement. Once effected, I rallied approximately 20 folk with me to plan and pray CCG toward becoming more a House of Prayer! A year later, while we've seen a fair amount of progress to that end, we believe there's remains a lot of house-building to do. But that's another story.

Q. George, you have incorporated a few ancient prayer practices into your church. Describe some of those ancient methods and how they might be used in a typical prayer meeting or traditional church.
During my closer walk with the Lord this past year, I've had opportunities to experience, learn and practice a couple "prayer communication enhancing" techniques totally unknown to me a couple years ago. First was taize' (pronounced teh-ZAY). While named after an ecumenical monastery in Taize', France, founded in 1940, the taize' service is simply a musical form of corporate prayer, a.k.a. taize' music. The taize' service consists of Bible readings (sometimes in other languages), simple meditative chants, a period of reflective silence, and prayers of adoration and intercession. Lit candles, and sometimes burning incense, lend an ancient flavor to the hour long experience. To date I've attended and participated in taize' services in several Protestant churches, and once in a Roman Catholic setting. What I like best about the experience is that I attend knowing it will be an extended period of quiet and beautiful singing/chanting (often with eyes closed), meaningful scripture reading, and a period of silence during which I'll commune with God. It never fails; when the service is over and I walk out the door, I feel not only thoroughly cleansed, but filled with God's presence, relaxed, at peace with the world, and much blessed by being in God's presence.

Then, a little less than a year ago, at a day-long prayer seminar in a United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, I learned of a scripture-reading, meditation-prayer contemplation technique called Lectio Divina. During my initial experience, which lasted close to 3/4 of an hour, I was able to deal--for the first time--with a hurtful personal experience dating back 35 years to my last firefight in Vietnam and how what happened then had related directly, but poorly, to a recent experience with my teenage granddaughter. I was the only male present at this mini-seminar, but by the time we finished tears were coursing down my cheeks.

OK, so what's Lectio Divina (or "Praying the Scriptures") all about? It involves selecting a scripture (e.g. the first two I learned from were Rom. 8:14-17 and Ps. 63:1-4. You prepare by quieting yourself, then slowly reading the selected passage, listening for a word or phrase that resonates personally. Next, you re-read the passage. During a moment of silence, you repeat a word/phrase reflectively. Then, re-read verses for third time. Then you consider "How has the word/phrase touched you?" During a moment of silence, you reflect on how your life has been touched. For example: "I hear . . . ," "I sense . . . ," "I see . . ." Then you re-read the verses for a fourth time. Is there an invitation to do or be? During two minutes of silence, you reflect on whether there you sense an invitation to do or be something during next few days. You try to sense inner harmony at this point. Verbalize: "How do I sense this passage invites me to . . ." Finally, breathe slowly and deeply and empty your mind. Rest in God's presence. Take the word or phrase with you to work, school, church, home, wherever. Today I practice a degree of lectio divina everyday during my daily quiet time.

Q. What has hindered many of us from utilizing these approaches to prayer?
In retrospect, thinking about why evangelical Christians generally don't avail themselves of these and other traditions or techniques (so it seems), during personal prayer time, boils down to two related reasons. Lack of knowledge. I had never even heard of Taize' or Lectio Divina during most of my Christian walk. Related to lack of knowledge is the unwillingness to stretch or believe there's something worthwhile, like these techniques, outside one's historic tradition or comfort zone.

Q. Can you point prayer leaders to several resources which can explain more about these methods? Taize': The Source of Taize' by Brother Roger of Taize', available, along with CDs, VCRs, etc., from GIA Publishing in Chicago (1-800 442-1358). This is also source of songbooks generally used during Taize' services. My favorite CDs are: In the Spirit of Taize' and Taize' Instrumental.

Lectio Divina: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina by Michael Casey. For me, by far, the best book tying together scripture-meditation-prayer-contemplation is Kenneth Boa's The Trinity, A Journal. Unfortunately, this latter title is currently out of print.

Q. George, write a prayer we can pray along with you, asking the Holy Spirit to expand our horizon of how we might more creatively devote ourselves to prayer.
While not a big fan of most prepared prayers, here's one that I recite every day during my DQT. It is called the "Prayer of the Chalice." It's often printed on card stock and laid out in a fashion to represent a chalice.

Father, to Thee I raise my whole being--a vessel emptied of self. Accept, Lord this my emptiness, and so fill me with Thyself--They Light, Thy Love, Thy Life--that these Thy precious Gifts may radiate through me and overflow the chalice of my heart into the hearts of all with whom I come in contact this day, revealing unto them the beauty of Thy Joy and Wholeness and the serenity of Thy Peace which nothing can destroy." Unknown

One last thought. Any CPLN member who cares to do so, may call me at (317) 888-7156 to request a "Prayer of the Chalice" card, along with two wallet-sized cards: one detailing the Lectio Divina process, the other, identifying various stages of intercessory prayer, along with the P.R.A.Y.E.R. acronym = Prayer Really Affects Your Everyday (& Eternal) Relationship with God & Others!

Featured Resource

Get 'em to Love to Pray

You’ve heard of 40 Days of Purpose, but what about 40 Days of Prayer?

Forty in Scripture seems to have special emphasis: Jesus was in the dessert for 40 days; Noah and crew were 40 days in the ark, the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness, Jesus spent 40 days on earth between His resurrection and ascension.

In recent years a number of prayer initiatives have followed this 40-day pattern: Seek God the the City, and Ready for Revival to name two. Forty-day fasts have been popularized in recent years. Why? Beyond the spiritual significance, there is a commitment factor within this time period. Commit to doing something for that long and it becomes habit!

Now there is a powerful little devotional book—and church-wide initiative—that will get your people praying . . . and give them such a love for prayer that many will stay praying after the 40 days. Love to Pray!: A 40-Day Devotional for Deepening Your Prayer Life, by seasoned prayer movement veteran Dr. Alvin VanderGriend, is a book that will have powerful results in your church.

Divided into eight, five-day weeks, Love to Pray! is doable for everyone—even those who don’t pray at all. Each week has a theme: “What’s the Good of Prayer?,” “The Requirements of Prayer,” “Prayer as a Way of Life,” “Model Prayers of the Bible,” “Claiming God’s Riches,” “Praying for Others,” “Heroes of Prayer,” and “The Difference Prayer Makes.” Each day teaches something about pray (the user gets a complete theology of prayer within the 40 days), provides reflection questions, prayer points, and something to act upon. All this in only five to fifteen minutes of the user’s time each day.

Many churches are now using it as a planned prayer event. The book retails for $6.00, but multiple copy discounts are available to churches. A new video series designed for Sunday school classes and small groups will soon be available.

To purchase the book go to http://store.prayerleader.com or call 1-800-217-5200.
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