On November 19th, I had the privilege of sharing at Breakpoint, the monthly meeting of some Grand Rapids area pastors. I set two goals for the time.
- Challenge each of us, as pastors and ministry leaders, to pray more.
- Give time to pray with and for each other's ministries.
Most of the material I presented was not original to me. It was quoted or adapted from Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church by Onwuchekwa, Praying with Paul by D.A. Carson and The Praying Church by Paul Miller.
The time began by getting into three groups to see what the following passages say about prayer and how to pray.
- Daniel 2:17—23
- Psalm 13
- Philippians 1:9—11
Here are other prayer passages from Ephesians 1:15 - 24, 3:14 - 19, 6:18 - 20.
- Seems like a waste of time.
- Lie: Let's get working and doing
something.
- Truth: We are commanded to pray. We need to grow in our dependence on God.
- "I don't know how to pray."
- Lie: There is an exact way
that I need to pray.
- Truth: Ask others to help you
grow in your prayer life. If you aren't sure how to pray, look to
the Bible for examples of prayer.
- If God is sovereign, why bother
praying.
- Lie: There is no reason to
pray if God is sovereign.
- Truth: We are commanded to
pray. The purpose of prayer is not to change God's
mind.
- Prayer does not work.
- Lie: I have prayed for specific things and didn't get what I wanted.
- Truth: ” Effective prayer is the fruit of a relationship with God, not a technique for acquiring blessings.” D.A. Carson
KEYS TO PRAYER
- God and His Glory
- Man’s dependence on God
- God’s Word
- God's family, the church
Marks of a praying church?
- People
pray more.
- Harmony
and unity in Christ.
- Growing
dependence upon God
“Where prayer is abundantly present, it teaches the church that we really need the Lord. Where prayer is absent, it reinforces that we believe we are okay without God.”
- Understanding
that prayer is not ONE MORE activity of the church. Prayer lies at
the heart of all the church's ministry. (The Praying Church, p.
28)
- Individuals
pray for each other and ask others to pray for you.
Here are some ways you and others in your congregation can pray for churches.
1. Pray they will keep their eyes on God.
King Jehoshaphat faced three combined enemy armies and did not know what to do except to lock his eyes on God. That’s the answer whenever we have no clue about the next steps.
“For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to You.” (2 Chron. 20:12, HCSB)
2. Pray they will not take a step apart from God’s
leading.
Moses prayed this prayer when God would send only an angel to lead His people after their fiasco with the golden calf. He would rather the people not start the journey if God Himself were not leading them.
“If Your presence does not go,” Moses responded to Him, “don’t make us go up from here.” (Exod. 33:15)
3. Pray they will beware of relying on their own strength
instead of God's
David, who knew the Lord is the one who fights for him (1 Sam. 17:47), trusted in his own might when he took a census of the Hebrew armies. Recognizing his sin, he prayed a prayer most leaders need to pray at some point:
“I have sinned greatly in what I’ve done. Now, Lord, because I’ve been very foolish, please take away Your servant’s guilt.” (2 Sam 24:10)
4. Pray they will be wise in leading God’s people.
When Solomon might have asked for much more, he instead asked God to give him a “listening heart” as he governed the people of God. All of us who lead congregations need this wisdom.
“So give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who can judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings. 3:9)
RESOURCES:
PERSONAL
PRAYER: Do you pray? A Question
for Everybody by J.C. Ryle
Free ebook @ www.monergism.com/call-prayer-ebook
1. I ask, `Do you pray?' because prayer is absolutely necessary to a person's salvation
2. I ask, `Do you pray?' because a habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian
3. I ask, `Do you pray?' because private prayer is the most neglected Christian discipline
4. I ask, `Do you pray?' because the Bible is full of encouragement for all who want to pray
5. I ask, `Do you pray?' because faithfulness in prayer is the secret of true holiness
6. I ask, `Do you pray?' because neglecting prayer is one of the great causes of backsliding
7. I ask, `Do you pray?' because prayer is the best recipe for happiness and contentment
CHURCH—WIDE PRAYER: A Praying Church by Paul Miller
“We’ll hear sermons on prayer, listen to a pastoral prayer, and begin meetings with prayer, but prayer seldom happens naturally in conversation. It just feels too religious.” (18)
“Prayer is not one more activity of the church—it lies at the heart of all the church’s ministry.” (26)
“Good preaching (and teaching) needs good praying, or we begin to rely too much on the power of our horizontal words.” (56)
“The act of praying itself is a kind of dying, where you give up your self-will to “make things happen” and go to God with a collective “Help us.” The initial feeling of prayer is dying to self because praying is an act of the will, a decision to shut down your activity and open the door to God’s activity.” (111)
“Prayer isn’t just another ministry; it is the ministry that sparks the rule of the Spirit of Jesus in all ministries.” (154, emphasis authors)
Think about these questions…
- How can I grow prayerful dependence in my own life?
- How can you help grow prayerful dependence in your church?
