Transitional Pastor UpdateCorporate Prayer in a Transformational Church

Starting PremiseThe greatest workings of God come by

corporate prayer, and we will not see the power of God in sufficient measure to

transform the world around us until we pray together. As a leader, you must make

praying together a priority equal to preaching and teaching.

p. 26

Once More With Emphasis“...you must make praying together a priority equal to preaching and teaching.”

Acts 6:4“It literally reads, ‘But we to the prayer

and the diakonia (service) of the word will steadfastly continue.’ When I read that, I pushed back from the computer screen in

disbelief.”

p. 30

A Standard Interpretation“...the apostles recognized the need to delegate ministry responsibilities to others so they would be freed up to spend time in prayer and receive

a fresh word from the Lord...”

p. 30

A New Insight“The apostles were not referring to their personal prayer life but to the ministry of

mobilizing the people of God to pray together. They were declaring that the

two ministries they especially must do...were mobilizing the church to pray

and preaching/teaching the Word.”

p. 32

How do most pastors lead a prayer meeting?

They abdicate: allow the sharing of prayer requests and updates to dominate the entire meeting

They filibuster: lengthen the Bible study teaching time and leave no time at the end for prayer requests

Why some prayer meetings are dead

“Before Orville and Wilbur Wright could fly, they had to unlock the secrets of flight. To watch a bird fly was one thing. To know the aero-dynamics at play was another....You

may know when God is present, but you may difficulty identifying why God is working.”

p. 14

Six Foundations•God-centered relationship•Meaningful relationships•The leader’s walk with God•Hearts right with God•Believers in one accord•Leader responsibilities

pp. 32-50

God-centered Relationship(The apostles) “The first secret that unlocked the resources of heaven for them was this: they went from being on their own

agenda to being on God’s agenda.”

p. 33

God-centered Relationship“They changed from being self-centered to being God-centered.

This determined their power with God---or rather God’s

power through them.”

p. 34

God-centered Relationship“If you lead prayer, you must grasp this one truth above all others: your primary job is to

help the people of God be God-centered.”

p. 35

Meaningful Relationships

“Dynamic prayer follows dynamic fellowship because we pray best with those we

love most.”

p. 40

Meaningful Relationships

“In church life the depth of corporate prayer will be in proportion to the depth of

relationship believers have with one another.”

p. 40

The Leader’s Walk with God

“Why have I written about this at length? Because I don’t want you to pick this book up as a how-to

manual and bypass the relationship with God.”

p. 43

Hearts Right with God“...if you want to see the power of God in your prayer meetings,

invest time in preparing the hearts of those you lead.”

p. 49

Believers in One Accord“Evidently God especially

loves to make us interdependent in fulfilling

his purposes.”

p. 49

What Do I Do With All This?

Discerning the activity of GodShepherding the people of GodDesigning a God-centered formatFacilitating activities that involve

participants

p. 53

Overview: You Need...The objectives: the three desires

of God (pp. 52-53)The structure: a one-hour format

(pp. 60-63)The tactical: facilitating activities that involve participants (pp. 63-

66)

Reveal Himself to His peopleMove His people onto His

agendaBuilding and minister to His

people through His people

The Three Desires of GodOBJECTIVES

pp. 52-53

A One-hour FormatFocus on God -- 10-15

minutesRespond from the heart -- 10

minutes

pp. 61-63

STRUCTURE

“Wherever the people of God truly focus on God, their hearts respond.”

Focus on God -- 10-15 minutesRespond from the heart -- 10

minutesSeek first the kingdom -- 20-

25 minutesp. 62

STRUCTURE

“...Jesus taught us to pray for the

kingdom before we asked for our daily

bread.”

STRUCTUREFocus on God -- 10-15 minutes

Respond from the heart -- 10 minutesSeek first the kingdom -- 20-25 minutesPresent your requests -- 10-15 minutes

Close in celebration -- 5 minutes

pp. 61-63

KEEPING REQUESTS IN BALANCE

“Have you ever been to a prayer meeting where you felt worse

after attending than before you went?...That’s because the God-

centeredness languishes.”

pp. 86-87

KEEPING REQUESTS IN BALANCE

“...to listen to how people give a prayer request, one would think a

direct inverse proportion exists between how bad it sounds and

the likelihood of God’s answering.”

p. 86

KEEPING REQUESTS IN BALANCE - HOW?

“Help members see their request from God’s perspective. For example,

if someone requests prayer for a loved one in the hospital, you might encourage him to think about why

God might have allowed this.”

p. 103

KEEPING REQUESTS IN BALANCE - HOW?

“Does He want to save a nurse in the process? Is the doctor a Christian who

needs strengthening in his faith? What is God teaching the person who is sick? You

can ask these questions appropriately and guide people to pray in line with

what God is doing.”p. 103

TACTICALFacilitating Activities Focusing activities Participating activities Ministering activities

pp. 63-66

1. Seek God’s direction because you are a shepherd

2. Remember your three key means: Scripture, testimony, music

3. Use the template to build the service4. Enlist others’ involvement in advance5. Let the structure (format) guide the

order of the service

Ten to Put It All Together

6. Choose and use appropriate activities‣ Focusing activities: Focus on God, Close with Celebration

‣ Participating activities: Respond from the Heart, Seek First the Kingdom, Present Your Requests

‣ Ministering activities: Seek First the Kingdom, Present Your Requests

Ten to Put It All Together

Focusing Activities•Big Three: Scripture, testimony, music

•Others: video, drama, visual objects, small objects, physical location, words, printed material, acronyms

Participating Activities•Common examples: small groups, singing, shared leadership•Allow people to play a part•Involve as many people as you can numerically and physically

Ministering Activities“...one that leads people to minister to one another.... According to Ephesians 4:11-16, God gave ministers (pastors) to equip the saints to build up the Body...”

p. 123

Ministering Activities“...and as each part does its job, the Body builds itself up in love. Prayer meetings provide a rich opportunity to do just that.”

p. 123

Ministering Activities

•Pray for others by name•Highlight special groups•Use a prayer chair•Write prayer cards

p. 123

Ten to Put It All Together6. Choose and use appropriate activities7. Pay attention to transitions and move to

next section before getting flat8. If you use one, keep the prayer list current9. However awkward, allow sufficient time for

heart responses10.Build the service around a particular theme

(Resources: Zondervan Dictionary of Bible Themes, Nave’s Topical Bible)