Healthy churches are praying churches. I Tim. 2:1 says, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men.” Prayer is to be a priority. The challenge in prayer is to live with intentionality and not just good intentions. Have a scheduled plan for a time and place to pray, but also live a life of unceasing prayer. As you study Jesus’ life, you immediately notice that He did not allow anything to interfere or distract Him from intimate fellowship with the Father. There is no substitute for disciplining ourselves to seek Him in prayer and allowing Him to teach us how to pray.
Tom Landry, Hall of Fame NFL coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was asked how he was able to develop a winning team out of a group of such unique individuals. He replied, “My job is to get people to do what they don’t want to do in order to achieve what they have always wanted to achieve.” If the goal for your church is to glorify God, experience revival and live with a renewed commitment to Great Commission ministry, the pathway requires disciplined, intentional and unceasing prayer. Charles Swindoll states, “Achieving anything requires discipline — determined, deliberate, definable actions with a clear goal in mind.”
In So You Want to Be Like Christ?, Swindoll continued, “God will never adjust His agenda to fits ours. He will not speed His pace to catch up with ours; we need to slow our pace in order to recover our walk with Him.” Churches need to listen closely to the seven letters in Revelation 2-3, because of the emphasis on corporate repentance being stressed, if our goal is to be His church carrying out His agenda. The key is determined prayer that seeks the Father’s will and heart no matter how long it takes. It is through prayer that you will receive God’s perspective and plans for your ministry. There is no other way, and there are no shortcuts.
In Experiencing Prayer with Jesus, Henry and Norman Blackaby remind us, “Once Jesus heard from the Father in prayer, He lived out His life with a determined purpose to obey everything set before Him… Prayer in our lives is purposed by God to change and shape us to His will and purpose so He can accomplish His redemptive will through us.” Our goal is to pray like Jesus prayed, and the quicker you move from your will to His will, the quicker God will show you what you need to know. Dr Charles Stanley stated well, “It is on our knees that the greatest good is done, and it is on our knees that we will face the greatest assaults.”
Building a prayer culture begins with you. Oh, you mean the pastor or the deacons, or the church leaders, right? No, it means you, whoever you are. The goal is intimacy with Christ, and the means to reach that goal is the discipline of prayer. Consider going on a 24-hour prayer retreat to recommit your time and energy to deliberately seeking and pursuing God. A prayer retreat has been defined as, “A time you set aside to go away to be alone with God.” Plan your retreat and utilize this time to draw back closer to the Lord and seek His plan as you willingly adjust your will to His. Email us (larry@bmaam.com or heidi@bmaam.com) and request our materials on having a prayer retreat.
Next, have a prayer weekend with your church leaders. Invite someone in to teach on building a prayer culture. Gary Rohrmayer describes this type of event as “a focused time of passionate teaching on prayer, consulting with church leadership in the area of prayer, coaching prayer team leaders on how to expand the prayer ministry and engaging the whole church in the act of prayer.” Train your people in leading your church through a prayer initiative such as 21 Days of Courageous Prayer, 21 Days of Dangerous Prayers, 21 Days of Victorious Prayers, all by Rohrmayer, or Bill Elliff’s Prayer With No Intermission: 40 Days of Unceasing Prayer.
Develop triads where three men or women meet regularly to pray for one another and hold one another spiritually accountable. These triads should always be gender specific for caution’s sake, but they focus on praying for one another and being willing to spend the time and energy needed to get God’s attention. Consider not only intentionally organizing these triads in your church family but also meeting and praying with pastors from other churches in your community and area. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing pastors gather together for a focused time of prayer for one another, their churches and their communities.
We have prayer resources to help you personally and your church. One of our goals is to provide you and your church resources to help you be spiritually healthy. Check out this free prayer resource at AllAmerica.org/resources. This ministry has a burden to make sure every individual in our circles of influence is being prayed for. They have PDFs of a leader guide, community guide, church guide, small group guide and more. AllAmerica’s strategy is to be “a comprehensive framework that helps you plan strategically to see the Great Commission fulfilled in your area with tools, expertise and resources that help you.”
Paul, in I Tim. 2:1 reminds us of the priority of prayer by saying “first!” Charles Swindoll shares this: “First, before you slide out of bed. First, before you take a shower to start your day. First, before you make your way to work. First, before any appointment. First of all, pray, pray, pray.” It has been stated very well, “Prayer should not be our last resort but should always be our first response!” If there is something we can pray with you about or for you, please let us know!
