Beginning in corporate prayer
This article is an excerpt from our study-guide entitled, A Call To Prayer: Addressing Spiritual Crisis in the Land.
Start One by Joining One
I once sat in a meeting where I told a pastor friend of mine that the easiest way to grow prayer in your city is to join an ongoing, healthy prayer meeting. I still hold to that. If you have a vision to pray for your city, region, or nation find like-minded people that are already praying and join them. As I mentioned earlier, my wife and I are prayer missionaries. Our job description includes mobilizing and catalyzing prayer in our region and one of the ways that we do this is by regularly attending and serving at other leader’s prayer meetings.
The Importance of Relationship
The body of Christ is more than just an idealistic concept. It’s a people learning to relate to one another in love. As such, healthy relationships are essential for church growth. This rings true for growing prayer together. Consistent, long-termed corporate prayer requires vision, partnership, and trust. Building trust takes time. We need to see one another’s character in action in order for deep roots of partnership grow.
I believe one of the biggest detriments to the viability of prayer in any region are previous corporate prayer efforts by churches and leaders which have failed due to division. There are other reasons why prayer efforts fail. These should be addressed and if necessary corrected, in such a way that healing is promoted and life restored into intercessors, leaders, and ministries. But war in the camp, so to speak, is disastrous because it demonstrates from the top down an unwillingness to apply the outworking of grace in order that God’s highest ideal for that group or movement would be realized.
Now, I am sensitive to many of the unseens that take place behind the scenes. Every time leaders chose to separate doesn’t mean that factions and division have won the day. I have personally been involved in situations where separation in prayer effort was due to the need for one group to grow on their own. And they did, and we did! Remember, God sometimes initiates separation.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Gen.2:24
But when separation exists because we are unwilling to work together, or unwilling to work through differences according to the way in which the scripture requires, then we affect, often long-term, damage to the progress of prayer.
Because corporate prayer, Biblically speaking, concerns the culture of the church more than simply praying about success in ministry, impact in message, or galvanizing the infrastructure of an organization, we need to develop a long-term perspective for working together with others, even those with whom we don’t necessarily see eye to eye.
Give special attention to relationships with those who have a similar desire to pray corporately. Let them see your good example, your speech, conduct, love, faith and purity (1 Tim.4:12). Don’t just lead by principle. Remember that you are working with people that in many ways are just as weak as you are. It takes time to grow in revelation. Don’t expect that something that has taken you years to understand is going to be learned in moments by those around you. Lead with humility and patience. Remember, your character and leadership style will be for many your most valid testimony concerning the importance of gathering for prayer.
Plan for Success
Think long-term. Don’t seek to measure the success of your prayer meetings by the number of people that attend or even the number of hours that you meet. Success in prayer has more to do with consistency than anything else. Brick upon brick builds the wall.
Thinking long-term will cause you to have to ask critical questions regarding what values will govern your meeting and what your central focus will be. It is good to ask these types of questions. Jesus said, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.” Lk.14:28-30
Often people start a prayer meeting with unrealistic expectations, especially those with a burden to see day and night prayer become a reality in their cities. It can be easy to put the proverbial cart before the horse. Start slow. Try meeting in your home once a week or once every other week for an hour or so. Add some music to your time. Maybe you know a friend who plays the keyboard and sings. If not, go online and connect to any number of archived worship sets or devotional music. Remember that worship and prayer are one reality before God’s throne (Rev.4-5).
Make prayer a priority. Don’t let every little event upset your prayer schedule. Be just as faithful in prayer together when it’s the two of you as when it’s the fifteen of you. You might be surprised to know that people are longing to pray together but are often hesitant to commit because they are waiting to see if you’re really going to show up when you say you are. Give folks some time to realize that you’re serious and let them come as their able. Don’t despise the day of small beginnings (Zech.4:10), especially if you feel called to be a builder and an ambassador for prayer in your church, on your campus, or in your city.
Don’t go crazy with a website and an organizational chart just yet. Build a history in prayer with a few faithful friends. Start with a one-year commitment on the front-end and reassess your meetings after that. Look for creative and practical ways to connect folks with what you’re doing without overwhelming them. Let others know when and where you meet and consider drawing up an informational page to help those new to your meetings connect with the why’s and what’s of what you’re doing.
Starting Your own prayer meeting
Don’t get overwhelmed with the “corporateness” of prayer. Remember, corporate prayer is not necessarily the same thing as city-wide prayer. You don’t have to get every leader and every believer to pray together. You simply need to start praying. Get a friend or two and go for it. Many of us would have no second thoughts about getting together once a week with friends for dinner or a movie or a brisk walk around the park. We just make a phone call, set a time and go. No planning meeting necessary. Keep it simple.
You’re not an island. You can’t do it all yourself. And, as I’m sure I don’t need to remind you, you don’t have all the answers. Include other people and, for the love of Pete (whatever that means), don’t stop attending church. If you need to withdraw from something, try caffeine or TV or trans-fat, but not healthy body life and fellowship.
Don’t be afraid to lead. Is ok to set guidelines for your meetings. You’re not the enforcer, but gently feel the need to lead the room into a place of engagement as the situation requires. Be sensitive to what the Holy spirit is saying and how He is directing. You may be surprised to find out that He is not as easily quenched as you might think. Making a mistake in leadership will not chase Him off. Remember, the call to prayer was His idea.
Be clear about the purpose of your meeting. Why are you meeting, what does it accomplish and where is it all going? You will need to be able to answer questions like this and more in order to help others along the way. One of the great blessings in my own journey has come from realizing my own lack of understanding through trying to explain something to someone else. Let those around you drive you to the place of study.
Stand in Faith
I really, really like this part. Standing in faith can be incredibly simple and everyone can do it. As a matter of fact, without faith, our prayer meetings will certainly fail. In encouraging the Ephesian congregations, the apostle Paul wrote, “and having done all…stand.” (Eph.6:13). There comes a time when the preparation is done, and the due diligence accounted for. Now it’s time to pray. And so, we pray, and we do so with confidence. We come confidently to the throne of grace, give ourselves in worship, and make bold requests…and then we put the microphone down, or walk back to our seat, or simply quiet our voice and let the next person pray. I love that about prayer. I don’t have to yell in the mic, I don’t have to pray precisely articulated prayers and I don’t have to feel anointed when I begin or when I end. None of those things have any bearing whatsoever on God either hearing or answering my prayers. I simply stand in faith knowing that, “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their cry.” (Ps.34:15). And, usually, as a note, much of the drama that accompanies certain intercessors during a corporate prayer meeting serves as both a distraction and a detractor to prayer.
Calling Solemn Assemblies
I know an increasing number of men and women who are zealous to trumpet the message of prayer rooted in repentance and the necessity of contending spiritually for revival. In my own city and surrounding region, I have seen a growing number of intercessors take leadership roles in regional prayer and really begin to press these issues to those around them. And while I love prayer for all of its God-ordained reasons, I rejoice to see this specifically. I believe it is the wisdom of God for our generation. Maybe you too, have a stirring to be such a voice. Maybe you’re asking yourself, “What can I do, how should I get started?” I’d like to make a few suggestions that I think can be a great help to you in a number of different areas.
First of all, it is right and wise to call prayer meetings focused specifically on healing, family restoration, financial provision, and blessing on outreach. But to call a prayer meeting presupposing repentance requires a bit of preparation. You will need to develop a basic understanding of the message of repentance; what it is, why it’s important, how it applies to the church etc.
A. Preaching Repentance
You might be surprised by how many are fundamentally challenged by a biblical doctrine of repentance. As we mentioned earlier, we live in an age where the current of postmodernism is slowly eroding the bedrock of a number of the cardinal doctrines of the historic Christian faith. One of the gross off-springs of this movement is the spawning of a culture that refuses to accept ownership for its behavior and incurred consequences. As admittance of guilt is one of the basic ingredients for turning to the Lord, we as a church have much work to do in the reintroduction of a doctrine of repentance as well as in many of the other foundational tenets of our faith.
Preaching repentance is in essence preaching reform. We aren’t simply declaring that we must turn fromsomething, we are primarily saying that we need to turn to something. And what is that something? That’s a question that you will need to be able to answer. What is it exactly that we should be doing? What does Christianity look like? How do we impact our culture? Does the church need to be reformed? If so, how do we do this? All of these require sound, biblical answers. In other words, it’s not just where have we been, but where are we going?
II. Internalize the Word
I recommend that you begin to familiarize yourself with the message of the old testament prophets who were tasked with preaching this very same gospel. Begin to understand the cultural and spiritual backdrop for their message. Ask the Lord to help you understand how it applies today. Be ready to give an answer to all that ask about the legitimacy of what you’re saying. Stand equally prepared to admit when you’re uncertain about a particular nuance.
Again, don’t put pressure on yourself to be the next John the Baptist or Elijah. Just be faithful with the message that you have and committed to growing in grace and understanding. It takes time to internalize a prophetic disclosure, far more time than it does to grasp the working of a few principles and communicate those to others. Let the fullness of the message consume your life.
In Jeremiah’s day the prophetic ministry was being actively sought by major leaders looking for some sort of direction or word from the Lord concerning His intent. Delusional dreamers and visionaries were everywhere vainly flaunting not only their giftings but their high-flying idealism as well. With these ministers in mind, God poses this question to Jeremiah,
Adonai-Tzva’ot says: “Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are making you act foolishly, telling you visions from your own minds and not from the mouth of Adonai. They keep reassuring those who despise me, ‘Adonai says you will be safe and secure,’ and saying to all living by their own stubborn hearts, ‘Nothing bad will happen to you.’ But which of them has been present at the council of Adonai to see and hear his word? Who has paid attention to his word enough to hear it?” Jer. 23:16-18 (CJB).
Make it a priority to understand the broad strokes of what God is emphasizing in the earth today. Major on developing a history in prayer and devotion to the word as you think to lead others to do the same.
III. Calling Others
Be clear about what you are calling others to. It will probably require a bit of instruction and education on the front end for folks to connect to the reasons for a Solemn Assembly. Consider printing out a one-page handout or making a bit of easy-to-understand material available for reading. Perhaps you feel confident enough to gather a willing group together for a few sessions on the urgency and necessity of prayer related to national crisis. And of course, present the glorious gospel of the grace of God as the context for all that you are doing. Remember, God isn’t an illogically angry, threatening judge. He is a tender Father who speaks the truth because He so zealously longs for fellowship with human beings.
IV. Don’t Alienate the Church
Always remember that God dearly loves His church. She is His bride. We are not to criticize her and make rash judgments with a condemning spirit. Many times, leaders with a bit of a prophetic anointing and a degree of revelation get off-track as they try interpret how God can hate sin and releases judgment and yet still remain loyal to His people. Paul taught that knowledge puffs us up (1 Cor.8:1). New information, specifically new revelation (that is, new to us) tends to make us proud. We get poofy.
The winter time in Buffalo, NY gets pretty cold. People here start layering their clothes in November and by January we look two sizes bigger than we really are. Not because we’ve grown any, but because our clothes are puffy. This is the same thing that knowledge does to us. It puffs us up, not because we’ve grown spiritually, but because it makes us look like we have. We know some things, have some facts, a bit of new insight and suddenly we’re spiritual giants ready to enlighten and correct the church. We must be careful not to alienate the church from our message and not to alienate ourselves from the local church.
Look for ways to include other leaders in what you’re doing. As relationships are built, let them speak into your life and ministry. Allow them to work together with you as you call others to your Solemn Assembly. By doing this you create an on-ramp people to receive your message, and test it, and seek legitimate expressions of God’s call to prayer that effectively reach numerous social, ethnic and religious groups.
