7 Ways to Get Our Church Into the Praying Field (by ptr. ronnie barrion)

7 Ways to Get Our Church Into the Praying Field
Ask any congregation of Christ-followers if they think that prayer is important, and all heads will
nod in unison. Ask that same group how many are committing daily time to prayer (i.e. in the
"closet,"), and very few hands will go up.
Stop and think for a moment about what this prayerlessness means. It means that most believers
are not praying for the salvation of their lost friends or for the spiritual protection of their children.
It means that they're allowing unconfessed sins to build up in their lives and that they're cheating
God of thanksgiving and praise. It means that they're not interceding for pastors, missionaries,
Christian leaders, government officials, schoolteachers and hurting friends.
1. Set a Good Example
Are you known as a person who prays? According to Acts 6, prayer was one of only two activities
for which the early church's leaders insisted on protecting their time. You may never be able to
lead like John Maxwell, speak like Andy Stanley, evangelize like Rick Warren or write like John
Ortberg—but there's nothing holding you back from praying like the best of them! Determine
today that you are going to excel at praying.
2. Pray as a Staff
Our focus is usually on ministry concerns, although personal issues also surface. We try to keep
the sharing of prayer requests to 20 minutes, so that the majority of our time is spent in actually
praying.
And when we pray, we pray!! We break into groups of three or four and pour out our hearts to
God. The room in which we meet rumbles with the sounds of intercession. Gently rebuke any
groups that don't get right to it, or that stop before the time is up to chit-chat. This is serious
business!
The staff that prays together stays together.
3. Teach Regularly on the Topic of Prayer
America OnLine website recently published a list of "Top 10 How To's" its users expressed a
desire to know more about. One of the surprises on the list was: "How to Pray."
Is it possible that the people in our churches don't pray more than they do because they just don't
know how to pray? Interestingly, this is the only activity that Jesus' disciples ever asked their
Master to teach them how to do! (See Luke 11:1.) How often do you preach about prayer,
complete with user-friendly suggestions for getting started?
4. Include Prayer Exercises in the Worship Services
What other exercises can you create that would engage your congregations in prayer? How about
asking them to pray for three unbelieving friends? Or what about listing the nine fruits of the Spirit
(Galatians 5:22, 23), inviting everyone to choose one that is conspicuously lacking in their lives,
and then instructing them to ask God for more of this particular quality.
5. Weave Prayer Throughout Leadership Meetings
Most of us wouldn't dream of starting a meeting with our staff or elders or volunteer ministry
leaders without "opening in a word of prayer." Similarly, at the conclusion of these gatherings, we
faithfully ask someone to "close us with a word of prayer." Prayer gets reduced to a mere
formality—like singing the "Star Spangled Banner (US National Anthem)" before a ballgame.
6. Train Small Group Leaders to Protect Time for Prayer
Small Group gatherings can often operate in a similar fashion to the leadership meetings I just
described. Prayer is used only as an opener and closer; the agenda, in this case, is Bible study.
Nothing wrong with that. But, unfortunately, it's often the only thing that a Small Group gets
around to. When time runs out on the clock, somebody quickly wraps things up with a brief prayer,
and that's it.
Small Group leaders must be trained to protect time for prayer. Occasionally, they should frontload
the praying so that it takes place before the Bible study component. They should set a limit on how
much time is spent "sharing" prayer requests versus actually praying. They should be given
creative lines with which to introduce prayer, so that it's not always: "Anybody got anything to
pray about?" (Try one of these: "What's the biggest challenge you face this week?" "Which
member of your family is in greatest need of prayer? Why?" "How does God want you to grow
these days?")
And don't limit praying in your Small Groups to intercession for each other. What about times of
thanksgiving, or confession, or praise?
We lack the basic vocabulary with which to praise God. We know a handful of his attributes—at
most.
Interestingly, there are over 250 names and titles and attributes by which God goes in Scripture.
Over 250! That's a lot to praise God for. Get a hold of that list and start praying it back to
God—and then teach others to do the same.
7. Provide Prayer Counselors at the End of Worship Services
Provide a number of prayer counselors who stand across the front of our auditorium and are
available to intercede for those who will come forward. This is not merely an evangelistic
invitation—although some who come for prayer end up putting their trust in Christ. People also
approach our prayer counselors because they are wrestling with the topic that was just addressed in
the sermon, or because there are struggles in their personal lives.
Try to serve as a role model to the congregation.
George MacDonald, the 19th-century novelist, said that a runaway boy may head for home
because he is hungry—but, ultimately, he needs his mother more than dinner. In the same way, our
needs may drive us to pray, but we need Christ even more than answers to our prayers.
Source: churchleaders.com/