Why say extraordinary? Some may think the focus is on how well you pray or even how fancy of words you might articulate to impress. That is not the case at all. Extraordinary is defined as “going beyond what is usual, or customary.” Jesus exemplified extraordinary prayer, and prayer was the lifestyle He modeled for all His disciples to follow. We have no record of the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to preach but this is recorded, “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1) Busyness is focusing on doing many good things, but Jesus refused to neglect the non-negotiable things required to fulfill His Father’s work.
The Bible records Jesus praying in the morning, when He was alone, at night and even all night (Luke 6:12). Jesus prayed for His disciples, and He even prayed for the following generations (John 17). The One Cry Daily Devotional states, “Scripture records eight actual prayers of Jesus, fourteen teachings of Jesus on prayer, eighteen references to Him praying, as well as three references to His intercessory prayer ministry after He ascended.” Prayer is the conscious and unconscious connection between you and God. Prayer is a part of our spiritual DNA which requires spoken and unspoken adoration.
Hebrews 5:7 describes Jesus’ focus on prayer, “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.” His prayer life was faith driven, vibrant, passionate and from a heart full of compassion. It is very safe to say that the prayers of Jesus were extraordinary. He truly was and is the ultimate intercessor which is defined as “a person who intervenes on behalf of another, especially by prayer.”
The very essence and personification of His prayer life is shown as He hung on the cross and prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Intercession is a thread you see running through the very fabric of His life being who He was and who He is today. Yet, it appears that many churches have become prayer resistant and far too many church leaders are prayer reticent. The Barna Group asked pastors to rank their top twelve priorities and prayer was at the bottom of the list. They report, “Only 3 % identified prayer as a major priority.” What happened to our passion for prayer?
Would you describe your prayer life and the prayer culture of your church as extraordinary, ordinary, below average or negligent? Here are some questions to help you evaluate where you are in the prayer culture of your life and ministry. Remember, the purpose of this is to reveal your present reality, determine your preferred future, and then begin taking the necessary steps to make the journey. What is the preferred future? Individually, it is I Thess. 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” As a church it is in Matt. 21:13, “My house shall be called the house of prayer.”
Is there a time you remember prayer as being more visible, powerful and important to you and your church? When corporate prayer is mentioned do you see your church as fearful, neutral, supportive or proactive? When was the last time your congregation was called to a season of prayer and fasting? How did that go and what was the overall response? Is the prayer life of your members more of a religious habit or an act of obedience? When you pray, are you focused more on God’s character than on the trials and tribulations of life? Has your church’s prayer culture been guided more by customs than by scripture?
You may struggle with how to answer these questions and that is ok. You may not even be sure of the correct answers but here is a thought. Begin to pray and ask for God’s guidance and to burden you in the areas He is most concerned about. Ask leaders and spiritually mature individuals how they perceive the prayer culture of the church. In the area of prayer, do they see the church as fearful, neutral, supportive or proactive? Hopefully, you will notice and be drawn to others who share your concern and burden to strengthen and move the prayer environment towards the preferred future, extraordinary.
In A Praying Church, Paul E. Miller states, “You can’t take our modern way of doing church, add more prayer, and get to a praying church…The church isn’t just weak in prayer; its current way of functioning makes it prayer resistant.” The reality is that the primary focus of time and energy in most churches, is an over reliance and trust in the power of our horizontal words to one another more than our vertical words to the Father. Quite often the first step is to make a commitment to preach a series on prayer but maybe you should begin by praying about prayer and what God would have you do next?
The goal is extraordinary prayer, actual time spent praying, not just teaching and preaching about prayer. Paul E. Miller continues, “I encourage them to slow down the horizontal (talking to people) and increase the vertical (talking to God). When our talking gets ahead of our obedience, it shuts down the Spirit’s work — which lies at the very heart of effective praying.” Prayer is not a ministry of the church it is the very essence of our daily relationship with God. The early church was devoted to prayer, and you see that devotion in how they did not talk about how they should pray more — they prayed.
Extraordinary prayer is seen in Acts 1:14, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” Acts 2:42, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Devoted prayer means to consistently and wholeheartedly give yourself to prayer. It is driven by your relationship with Christ not convenience nor crisis. Extraordinary prayer is not discussing prayer but praying!
