BECOMING A HOUSE OF PRAYER

Over the past four years, I have devoted myself to the study of prayer. Not just an exercise in academics...My goal has been to not only learn about prayer, but also grow in my personal prayer life. Working with a group of leaders in our church, I have focused on how to initiate a culture of prayer. (More about that work in upcoming entries.) For today, I share the words of a Baptist Pastor from California.

Teaching a Church to Pray: How to have a vital prayer ministry. by Daniel Henderson

I followed a pastor who served the church 40 years. Bringing change to this
congregation would be either a supernatural work of God or professional suicide.
My first sermon at this new church stressed the importance of learning to pray
in community. Our priority, I said, was to become a house of prayer.

Most people are prone to become complacent; instilling a desire to seek after
God was essential to revitalizing Arcade for a new level of impact. And that
desire had to ignite in the lives of individuals if the church as a whole was to
be transformed.

Gather the Prayer Leaders

I announced we were looking for people who seriously wanted to pray for the
church. I didn't know them well enough yet to select leaders for a ministry, so
I sought out people who were already passionate about prayer. A handful
volunteered. Along with the current prayer leaders, they formed a core that
would lead a prayer renewal. I trained these leaders in four areas.

1. The personal attributes of a prayer leader. Building the hearts of prayer
leaders is the most important step. I remind them, "Prayer ministry will never
go any farther than the personal passion of those who lead it."

The first attribute we target is motive. The leaders must be clear in mind and
heart on why we pray. It's not a church growth strategy; it's not to twist God's
arm to bring revival. Prayer is not about the church. The focus must be on
seeking God and knowing him, not on seeking what he can do for us.

The second attribute is conviction. We have 130 programs going on at Arcade.
Some people think of prayer as program number 131. Our leaders cannot. Prayer is
not another program at the church, prayer is what drives everything we do.

The third attribute is longevity. Inspiring others to pray is a permanent
calling. Early on the morning of a scheduled prayer gathering, I reluctantly
tossed the warm covers aside and dragged myself out of bed. After leading
multiple prayer meetings every week for years, I pleaded with God, "I'm tired,
Lord. How long must I do this?" "How long will you dress, shave, and brush
your teeth?" I felt him say. "Until you die. So shall you pray." Prayer leaders
need a dream of dying on their knees.

2. The vision for corporate prayer. Our individualistic culture robs us of a
vision for corporate prayer. Private devotion is upheld as the ideal. But
Scripture teaches that the church prayed together. And Jesus taught us to pray
in a collective sense. The language of is essentially, "When y'all pray, pray
'Our Father,' and 'give us our daily bread.'" His ideal was that we pray in
community.

People who have considered this teaching have asked me, "Which is more
important, private or corporate prayer?" I respond, "Which leg do you need
to walk on more, your right or your left?"

3. The practical dynamics of effective prayer meetings. I grew up in a church
whose prayer meetings were, well, boring. A mournful hymn, an unrelated Bible
study, and thirty minutes listing the woes and needs of the community left me
feeling as though the whole world was suffering from slipped discs and financial
trouble. Effective prayer meetings move beyond "bless him, be with her" prayer
to elevate pray-ers into the presence of God.

Jesus taught the disciples to begin in adoration—"hallowed be thy name." We
developed meetings that began in worship and focused not on informing God of all
the troubles he already knows about, but on drawing the people into communion
with God. I teach our leaders, "If you pray to seek God's face, you'll know his
hand. But if you're looking for his hand, you may miss his face."

Our weekly prayer meetings now begin with opened Bibles, prayerful declarations
of God's character, and spontaneous songs of praise. All requests are held at
bay until we have worshiped well and connected with God's heart, mind, and
kingdom purposes.

4. Principles for managing prayer meetings. We want prayer leaders to facilitate
effective, engaging prayer meetings. Part of their training involves managing
the common distractions—lack of focus and members who mumble lengthy,
disconnected discourses. We teach the leaders to implement clearly defined
themes for focus, and to use a song and gentle instruction to center a group
that has disengaged.

Some of our leaders fret over whether God approves of the direction they give
the meetings. I tell them, "God's not wringing his hands over whether you pray
for India or South America next. He's simply delighted that you are leading his
people into his presence."

That first training class became a six-week program that we have repeated many
times. During the program, each leader has opportunities to lead the group in
prayer, and afterward we discuss and encourage their leadership. We also expose
them to extraordinary forms of expression—prayer walking, prayer partners, even
Internet chat room prayer. The goal is to release them to begin prayer
initiatives in the ways God is leading them. Shortly after we began our
first training class, I announced a three-day out-of-town prayer gathering. I
anticipated twenty might accept the invitation. More than one hundred came to
that first prayer summit. The enthusiasm of our trained prayer leaders had
already begun stirring the church. In the past eight years, we've had 22
retreats, each one directed by lay prayer leaders and attended by between 80 and
250 people.

Our Thursday evening prayer meeting, which attracts hundreds of people, has become the church's context for vision casting and ministry initiation. Our trained leaders have created dozens of opportunities for prayer expression, including prayer meetings, pastor's prayer partners, and our World Prayer Center, an intercessory ministry for the church worldwide.

It's been said that when we work, we work; but when we pray, God works. I'm discovering the best work I can do is to pray and train others to lead prayer with a passion to see God at work. It's the investment that brings life change and lasting renewal as we build a house of prayer—together.