Prayer is not Important;

It is Essential

Mark 11:17 “And as he taught them, he

said, "Is it not written: "'My house will be
called a house of prayer for all nations.’”
• http://youtu.be/BZnDt2wEFjk
 The Non-Praying Church
• This church will focus on various types of ministries and
activities that will involve and occupy the time, talent and
temperament of its people. This church will boast on
accomplishing many things but relegate prayer to symbolic
corporate prayer and individual practice and commitment.
They recognize the importance of prayer but they do not
practice it.
 Inclusive Praying Church
• This church considers prayer important but it does not value
it any more than other ministries for which they divide
their time, talents and temperaments. The prayer ministry
is just one of the ministries of the church.
 The foundational (House of
Prayer)
praying church
• This church passionately practices and participates in prayer
as the foundational or cornerstone ministry of the church.
This prayer ministry undergirds every aspect and life of the
church. Each ministry finds its motivation and strength in
the strategic prayer of the church. Not only does each
ministry find its strength in prayer, but it in turn refocuses
its attention back to strengthen the prayer life of the church.
 PRAYER SURVEY
PERSONAL PRAYER

1. I believe the Bible teaches that prayer should be a daily part

of every Christian’s life.
2. I pray regularly during the day. ALWAYS - 5
3. I believe that prayer works. OFTEN - 4
4. I feel adequately trained in prayer. SOMETIMES - 3
5. I regularly have times of prayer. RARELY - 2
6. I pray regularly for missionaries. NEVER - 1
7. I pray regularly for lost people.
8. I train others for prayer.
6
 CORPORATE CHURCH PRAYER SURVEY

1. The leadership in our church regularly teaches and

emphasizes the importance of prayer.
2. Before our church engages in any major effort we dedicate a
set time to pray/fast.
3. Our church regularly prays for non-Christians by name.
4. Prayer is a major emphasis in our worship services.
5. We have special prayer emphases in our church.
6. Our church maintains a current prayer list that is available to
the church.
7. A significant part of our Sunday School classes or small
groups is prayer.
7
 CORPORATE CHURCH PRAYER SURVEY

8. Our church emphasizes prayer for national and international

missionaries.
9. We have people set aside to pray during the worship services.
10. The people in our church regularly pray for the pastor/staff
and their families.
11. Prayer meetings in our church go no deeper than stating
health needs.
12. We see answers to prayer in our church all the time.
13. We have set aside a place in our church where people can
come to pray each week.
14. Our church has time when answers to prayer can be
communicated corporately.
8
 CORPORATE CHURCH PRAYER SURVEY

15. Our church is so busy “doing church” we have little time to

pray.
16. Our church has participated in prayer walking.
17. Our church regularly prays for a church planter in this state.
18. Prayer is involved in every function of your church.
19. Our church has an intercessory prayer ministry.
20. We have identified prayer warriors from our church to be
engaged in the ministry of prayer.

100 – 66 = Foundational Praying Church

34-65 = Symbolic Church
33- 0 = Non-Praying Church

9
Why Pray?
• Prayer is not simply getting things from
God- that is the most elementary kind of
prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect
fellowship and oneness with God.
Oswald Chambers

• To invite Him. Prayer is fellowship with

God. Working with God. “We then, as
workers together with Him…” (2
Corinthians 6:1). He wants us to grow,
and we grow when we pray. Dr. Adrian
Rogers
 Prayer is not important but
ESSENTIAL
• The one concern of the devil is to keep
Christians from praying. He fears nothing
from prayerless studies, prayerless work,
and prayerless religion. He laughs at our
toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles
when we pray.
– Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) Wesleyan Methodist minister.

• Prayer is the key to unlocking God’s

consistent and prevailing power in your
life. Bill Hybels
 POWER OF CORPORATE
PRAYER
• The 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. John Franklin

• Personal prayer in lives alone will not result

in the working of God to the degree needed
for spiritual transformation in our lives, our
churches, our cities or our nation. John Franklin
 Priority of Praying Together
A Non-Negotiable Mandate
• The Apostles belief Acts 6:1-4
“Our responsibility is mobilizing prayer &
teaching/preaching within the body”
Examples – Acts 1:14, 24; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31
• What Jesus modeled
37 times Jesus says “you pray” 33 are plural
Matthew 18:19 “..if any two of you..”
Mark 11:25 “..if you have anything against..”
• The pattern of Scripture
When believers were gathered together you
find corporate prayer.
 Leading Corporate Prayer is
ESSENTIAL?
1. The Heart Stays in A Loving Relationship
Practice of missions and evangelism was the effect of their
power with God. The by-product of hearing and obeying
the
Word of God and praying with others was being on
mission.

2. The People of God stay on His Agenda

Guiding the people of God to stay in the presence of God
guarded their usefulness to God. Neither external threats
nor
internal conflicts derailed the church.
 Leading Corporate Prayer is
ESSENTIAL?
3. You Model What You want Others to Practice
If you want to teach others to pray, you must model
prayer. The apostles knew the best discipleship strategy
was
to model prayer and create opportunities to pray.

If your church would see the power of God in supernatural

ways, if the power of God is to descend so that Christians
are renewed and the lost come under conviction of sin,
then
you must lead your people to pray. John Franklin
Leading a Dynamic Prayer Mtg.
• Question Asked to 5,000 Leaders
• When was the last time you
remember the manifest presence
and power of God on a regular basis
in your mid-week prayer meeting?
• Answer:
• Most remain silent or refer to distant
time in the history of the church
 What Makes a Dynamic Prayer Meeting?

1. God – Centered Relationship

If you lead prayer, you must grasp this truth above all
others: your primary job is to help the people of God be
God centered, to teach them that the primary purpose of
prayer is a lifestyle of walking with God.

Prayer meetings are ineffective because leaders allow and

encourage people to be self-centered instead of training
them to be God centered.
 What Makes a Dynamic Prayer
Meeting?
2. Meaningful Relationships

We must indeed seek first the Kingdom of God

when we pray, but if we haven’t paid the price to
build deep relationships with those whom we pray,
then prayer will always lack depth
Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35; 5:12-16, 41-42

Meaningful prayer follows meaningful relationships

 What Makes a Dynamic Prayer
Meeting?
3. The Leaders Walk with God
Can anyone give what He does not have?
God limits a discerning heart to those who first
have a seeking heart.

4. Hearts Right with God

Faith and desire set the stage to meet God,
and in
the average prayer meeting today they are
desperately lacking
 What Makes a Dynamic Prayer
Meeting?

5. Believers in One Accord

Acts 1:14 (first 5 chapters “one accord” 5
times)

6. Leaders Who Lead

Leadership is not accidental
 God’s Desires in Dynamic
Prayer Mtgs.
God’s Three Desires
1. Reveal Himself to His People
When His people know Him, they glorify Him, learn to live
in relationship with Him and become like Him.
2. Move His People onto His Agenda
Embrace His agenda – Go on mission with Him – Change the
world
3. Minister to his people through his people
The result is koinonia, a deepening of the love believers
have for one another
 The Leaders Four Responsibilities

1. Discerning the Activity of God -Where is God at work?

2. Shepherding the Heart of the People of God
We “Undershepherd” by guiding people into the three desires
of God. 2 Chronicles 6 --- Solomon
3. Designing a God-Centered Format
(Template): Focus on God
Respond from the heart
Seek first the Kingdom
Present your requests
Close in celebration
 The Leaders Four Responsibilities
4. Employ activities that involve participation
(Template:)

Focusing Activities - singing, testimonies, etc.

Participating Activities – groups, holding hands,

kneeling

Ministering Activities – new members, new

mothers, laying hands on for special needs

Biblical Example: Solomon’s Temple Dedication

Designing A God-Centered
Format
• Focus on God (10-15 minutes)
Acts 4:23-24 “Lord you are God who
made..” Peter & John have been
threatened with death but begin prayer
focusing on God. The result in v.31 was
great boldness.
How to focus:
1. Scripture reading focusing on Gods
activities
2. Personal & Historic testimonies
3. Worship through song or praise
Designing A God-Centered
Format
• Respond from the heart (10-15 minutes)
May be uncomfortable initially. Resist the
temptation to rush ahead. Responses may
take on different forms such as praise,
confession, adoration or praise. The key is
to allow Gods people time to respond to his
presence.

• Seek first the Kingdom (15-20 minutes)

The heart priorities of the people must be
transformed into the heart priorities of
God.
Designing A God Centered
Format
• Present your requests (20-25 minutes)
Help members to see their request from
Gods perspective & allow people to
minister to one another.

• Close in celebration (5 minutes)

Allow people to affirm the blessing of
having been in Gods presence.
Guiding Activities That
Involve People
• Read a passage & expound on it.
• Have different people read assigned
verses on a particular theme.
• Have people read from different
translations.
• Let people read favorite verses on a
subject.
• Let people read verses that have
spoken to them that week.
Guiding Activities That Involve
People
• Ask for personal testimonies.
• Worship through music using songs with a
thematic message.
• Use video: Flash a PP collage of scripture
on the screen or a testimonial.
• Use Drama: Dramatize the scripture used
in the service or act out a related skit.
• Use visual objects: Props, banners, posters,
etc.
• Physical location: Create an atmosphere
for prayer. (spotlight on an empty chair,
circle that building, prayer walk around the
community)
•
Shepherding the People of God
• Do my people have a passionate, growing
love for God?
• Do my people act and think more like Jesus
than they once did?
• When they go to pray in their prayer
closet, are they praying differently based
on what they learned in prayer meeting?
• Is there greater evidence of God’s activity
in our prayer meetings because my people
are changing to focus more on His desires?
• Is there love for one another growing? Do
they have an increasing heart to
ministering to one another? Do I see their
koinonia deepening? Does their love drive
them to persevere in prayer for one
 Discerning the Activity of
God
• Pay attention to how people’s spiritual
understanding is being affected.
• Listen to what they are learning in the Bible.
• Look for areas of growth in people’s lives.
• Look for areas of growth needed in people’s
lives.
• Watch the testimonies that arise. Look for
how God has worked and answered.
• What has come to your heart that bears
sharing?
 Transitioning from Stale to
Vibrant
• Prepare Hearts
• Model and Teach
• Change the Mentality
• Pray for Reference Points for Dynamic Prayer
• Challenge Traditionalism
• Involve Others
• Begin with Leadership
• Consider Small Groups for Informal
Mentoring
• Get Feedback
The ultimate goal is to not transform a prayer
meeting but to transform a people
Focus on God
Respond from the heart
Seek first the
Kingdom
Present your
requests
Close in
Prayer Resources
• http://
www.sbcv.org/articles/category/prayer_reso
urces
• http://pray4everyhome.com/
• www.onecry.org
• www.flbaptist.org
• http://www.ncbaptist.org/index.php?id=87
• www.christlifemin.org
• Coming:
• www.prayva.com
Prayer is not Important;
It is Essential

Mark 11:17 “And as he taught them, he

said, "Is it not written: "'My house will be
called a house of prayer for all nations.’”