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Once More With Emphasis “...you must make praying together a priority equal to preaching and teaching.”
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Transitional Pastor UpdateCorporate Prayer in a Transformational Church
Starting PremiseThe greatest workings of God come by
corporate prayer, and we will not see the power of God in sufficient measure to
transform the world around us until we pray together. As a leader, you must make
praying together a priority equal to preaching and teaching.
p. 26
Once More With Emphasis“...you must make praying together a priority equal to preaching and teaching.”
Acts 6:4“It literally reads, ‘But we to the prayer
and the diakonia (service) of the word will steadfastly continue.’ When I read that, I pushed back from the computer screen in
disbelief.”
p. 30
A Standard Interpretation“...the apostles recognized the need to delegate ministry responsibilities to others so they would be freed up to spend time in prayer and receive
a fresh word from the Lord...”
p. 30
A New Insight“The apostles were not referring to their personal prayer life but to the ministry of
mobilizing the people of God to pray together. They were declaring that the
two ministries they especially must do...were mobilizing the church to pray
and preaching/teaching the Word.”
p. 32
How do most pastors lead a prayer meeting?
They abdicate: allow the sharing of prayer requests and updates to dominate the entire meeting
They filibuster: lengthen the Bible study teaching time and leave no time at the end for prayer requests
Why some prayer meetings are dead
“Before Orville and Wilbur Wright could fly, they had to unlock the secrets of flight. To watch a bird fly was one thing. To know the aero-dynamics at play was another....You
may know when God is present, but you may difficulty identifying why God is working.”
p. 14
Six Foundations•God-centered relationship•Meaningful relationships•The leader’s walk with God•Hearts right with God•Believers in one accord•Leader responsibilities
pp. 32-50
God-centered Relationship(The apostles) “The first secret that unlocked the resources of heaven for them was this: they went from being on their own
agenda to being on God’s agenda.”
p. 33
God-centered Relationship“They changed from being self-centered to being God-centered.
This determined their power with God---or rather God’s
power through them.”
p. 34
God-centered Relationship“If you lead prayer, you must grasp this one truth above all others: your primary job is to
help the people of God be God-centered.”
p. 35
Meaningful Relationships
“Dynamic prayer follows dynamic fellowship because we pray best with those we
love most.”
p. 40
Meaningful Relationships
“In church life the depth of corporate prayer will be in proportion to the depth of
relationship believers have with one another.”
p. 40
The Leader’s Walk with God
“Why have I written about this at length? Because I don’t want you to pick this book up as a how-to
manual and bypass the relationship with God.”
p. 43
Hearts Right with God“...if you want to see the power of God in your prayer meetings,
invest time in preparing the hearts of those you lead.”
p. 49
Believers in One Accord“Evidently God especially
loves to make us interdependent in fulfilling
his purposes.”
p. 49
What Do I Do With All This?
Discerning the activity of GodShepherding the people of GodDesigning a God-centered formatFacilitating activities that involve
participants
p. 53
Overview: You Need...The objectives: the three desires
of God (pp. 52-53)The structure: a one-hour format
(pp. 60-63)The tactical: facilitating activities that involve participants (pp. 63-
66)
Reveal Himself to His peopleMove His people onto His
agendaBuilding and minister to His
people through His people
The Three Desires of GodOBJECTIVES
pp. 52-53
A One-hour FormatFocus on God -- 10-15
minutesRespond from the heart -- 10
minutes
pp. 61-63
STRUCTURE
“Wherever the people of God truly focus on God, their hearts respond.”
Focus on God -- 10-15 minutesRespond from the heart -- 10
minutesSeek first the kingdom -- 20-
25 minutesp. 62
STRUCTURE
“...Jesus taught us to pray for the
kingdom before we asked for our daily
bread.”
STRUCTUREFocus on God -- 10-15 minutes
Respond from the heart -- 10 minutesSeek first the kingdom -- 20-25 minutesPresent your requests -- 10-15 minutes
Close in celebration -- 5 minutes
pp. 61-63
KEEPING REQUESTS IN BALANCE
“Have you ever been to a prayer meeting where you felt worse
after attending than before you went?...That’s because the God-
centeredness languishes.”
pp. 86-87
KEEPING REQUESTS IN BALANCE
“...to listen to how people give a prayer request, one would think a
direct inverse proportion exists between how bad it sounds and
the likelihood of God’s answering.”
p. 86
KEEPING REQUESTS IN BALANCE - HOW?
“Help members see their request from God’s perspective. For example,
if someone requests prayer for a loved one in the hospital, you might encourage him to think about why
God might have allowed this.”
p. 103
KEEPING REQUESTS IN BALANCE - HOW?
“Does He want to save a nurse in the process? Is the doctor a Christian who
needs strengthening in his faith? What is God teaching the person who is sick? You
can ask these questions appropriately and guide people to pray in line with
what God is doing.”p. 103
TACTICALFacilitating Activities Focusing activities Participating activities Ministering activities
pp. 63-66
1. Seek God’s direction because you are a shepherd
2. Remember your three key means: Scripture, testimony, music
3. Use the template to build the service4. Enlist others’ involvement in advance5. Let the structure (format) guide the
order of the service
Ten to Put It All Together
6. Choose and use appropriate activities‣ Focusing activities: Focus on God, Close with Celebration
‣ Participating activities: Respond from the Heart, Seek First the Kingdom, Present Your Requests
‣ Ministering activities: Seek First the Kingdom, Present Your Requests
Ten to Put It All Together
Focusing Activities•Big Three: Scripture, testimony, music
•Others: video, drama, visual objects, small objects, physical location, words, printed material, acronyms
Participating Activities•Common examples: small groups, singing, shared leadership•Allow people to play a part•Involve as many people as you can numerically and physically
Ministering Activities“...one that leads people to minister to one another.... According to Ephesians 4:11-16, God gave ministers (pastors) to equip the saints to build up the Body...”
p. 123
Ministering Activities“...and as each part does its job, the Body builds itself up in love. Prayer meetings provide a rich opportunity to do just that.”
p. 123
Ministering Activities
•Pray for others by name•Highlight special groups•Use a prayer chair•Write prayer cards
p. 123
Ten to Put It All Together6. Choose and use appropriate activities7. Pay attention to transitions and move to
next section before getting flat8. If you use one, keep the prayer list current9. However awkward, allow sufficient time for
heart responses10.Build the service around a particular theme
(Resources: Zondervan Dictionary of Bible Themes, Nave’s Topical Bible)