“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe
that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Mark 11:24

 

Have you had a burden for the spiritual welfare of your community? Have you been frustrated and felt inadequate to make a difference? Signs of the times are all around us. We are living less than the abundant life that our Christian faith tells us we should be. What about the condition of our neighborhood? Do our neighbors even know the life-giver? Look at our schools. Our children are being taught that there are alternatives to serving the Lord when scripture declares that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus alone is Lord. Are you asking, “What can I do about all this?”

Committing yourself to prayer can help you make a difference in the world you live in. You don’t have to be in full-time ministry to pray effectively. Scripture teaches us that we all need to bring our prayers and supplications before the Lord. We are encouraged to be persistent in our requests and to ask anything in the Lord’s name and it shall be given unto us. Much is written in the scriptures regarding ways, means, and types of prayer, as well as encouragement of their effectiveness, and even the unsaved recognize that there exists an unseen higher power who hears and answers prayer.

Whether we are a butcher, a baker, or candlestick maker, we are all capable of praying. There are no criteria in scripture as to who may or may not pray. What does matter, however, is that we recognize that the God whom we petition is a loving Heavenly Father who has a hope and a future for His creation. Whether you are a pastor, layman, whether man, woman, or child makes no difference. We can all participate together to call upon our God for great things. It has been said that nothing comes about without prayer first going forth to do battle in the heavenlies and to loose the hand of the Lord to move in power. I’m sure we can all agree that we serve an awesome God who hears and answers the prayers of His people.

Maybe you have felt an urgency for change in your community and have been praying for your home, church, school, place of work, for your neighbors, the homeless, and for those without hope in a presumably uncaring world. Maybe you have already experienced answers to your prayers, changed hearts and lives of those you’ve stood in the gap for. Or maybe you have been calling upon the Lord with what you feel is little results. Remember the widow who petitioned the judge endlessly till her request was granted and be encouraged that as you persist in prayer, your answer will come. Let us heed the call to be a people of prayer and to participate together with all the saints to make a difference in our neighborhood and in our world.

 

CORPORATE PRAYER
Reaping a Harvest Through Prayer

Prayer is a powerful tool when two or more unite together to seek the Lord. Where there is unity in prayer amongst believers, dividing walls come down, the blessing of the Heavenly Father is released, and what we ask for becomes ours. When we come together in agreement, we are humbly laying down our own agendas to be unified with the rest of the body of Christ in calling upon the Lord to hear and act.

In times of desperation the whole nation of Israel humbled themselves and turned from idols to worship the living God. Cying out in repentance for their sin and waywardness in corporate prayer along with nationally declared fasts ushered in restoration and healing by the Lord. Nehemiah wept for the sins of his nation before the walls could be rebuilt and Daniel offered up a sacrifice of prayer and repentance on behalf of the people of God previous to their release from captivity. Recorded in the book of Acts were those of the early New Testament church who were of one-accord in the upper room prior to the release of the “power from on high” at Pentacost.

The prescription for a sick and wayward society in Joel’s time was to bring the people together to seek the Lord in prayer and it is a prerequisite for us to humble ourselves, unite in prayer, and seek the Lord’s face before He will “hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land.” ( II Chronicles 7:14 )

 

“If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for,
it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two
or three come together in my name,
there am I with them.”
Matthew 18:19-20

 

A House of Prayer For All Nations

Jesus declared that His Church is a house of prayer for all nations. John’s Book of Revelation reiterated that the planting of the Lord would bear leaves for the healing of the nations and produce its fruit in season. The epistles instruct us to pray for those in authority over us and for all peoples. Are we tempted to go through a day spending little or no time with the Lord in prayer? Can our nation survive a prayerless generation filling pews in the House of the Lord? From where shall our help come if we neglect to call upon the Lord, and what kind of foliage and fruit can be borne of a lifeless branch that is not drawing from the vine? Jesus spent much time in prayer. He did nothing except what the Father told Him to do and He prayed that all those who would believe in him would be one with him as he was one with the Father. If this is the kind of relationship we are to have with the Father and the Son, prayer needs to be a priority on our daily agendas and with a scope that goes beyond our own interests, reaching out over barriers and across nations.

 

“My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Mark 11:17

 

PRAYER, PRAISE, & WORSHIP
Warfare Strategy

We are in a battle, not against our neighbor, not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities and spiritual wickedness in high places, and our weapons are not carnal, but spiritual and mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. The army of the Lord is comprised of warriors taking back what the enemy has stolen. The writer of Ephesians warns believers to have the full armor of God on, that we may be able to take a stand against the attacks of the evil one. To effectively fight the war, we have been given important and interchangeable weapons of warfare.

Ephesians 6:18 encourages us to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” We are told that faith is our shield and salvation is our helmet. Believing that God hears and answers our prayers, trusting him to perform his promises, and taking hold of what he has accomplished for us on the cross are part of our defense. Wielding praise and prayer, however, are weapons of offense.

The word of God is our spiritual sword. Declaring to the heavenlies the greatness of our God is important warfare strategy, and and effective way to use this sword is through praise and worship. Psalms 114:2 tells us that the Lord inhabits the praises of his people and scripture tells us that his presence causes the enemy to flee. Worshippers were sent out ahead of Israelite armies to break ground and rout the enemy’s strongholds. In the spiritual realm, as we worship the Lord with spiritual songs, dance, shouts of victory, and with musical instruments, making a melody unto the Lord, as we lift up the name of the Lord, declaring who He is, what great things He has done, and what great things He is able to do, we are taking ground from the enemy. As we testify to the goodness of God, we come into agreement with His word that declares his victory over sin, death, and the works of darkness. Recognizing that the battle is a spiritual one, let us take up the weapons of prayer, praise, and worship to collect spoil from the enemy.

 

”Proclaim this among the nations:
‘Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw
near and attack. Beat your plowshares into swords
and pruning hooks into spears.”
Joel 3:9

 

 

ORGANIZED PRAYER

An effective prayer time would include praise and worship, thanksgiving, intercession for all people, supplication, petition, and binding and loosing in the Lord’s name, as well as listening and hearing what the voice of the Lord is saying through prophetic revelation. Recognizing that all aspects of prayer need to be included, an overview of areas to be addressed and a willingness to co-operate with the Holy Spirit can bring about desired results.

Since an emphasis needs to be given to honoring the Holy Spirit, attempts to divert attention away from its flow should be avoided. A list of prayer directives passed out at the beginning of the prayer time would give an overall focus and a schedule allotting time for worship, sharing scriptures the Lord is highlighting, urgent prayer requests, testimonies directly related to prayer, and intercession would help to keep prayer on track.

1Thessalonians 5:20-21 tells us not to despise prophecies, to test them, and hold fast to what is good. Prayer, being communion with God, lends itself to hearing from the Lord in a corporate setting, thus accommodating revelation through the prophetic gifting is important. Having paper and pencils available to write down prophetic messages to be shared with the group at the end of the session would eliminate breaking the flow of prayer. At times the Spirit may lead into longer and more in-depth intercession in specific areas where prophetic prayers may be offered up. To include the revelatory gifts in personal prayer, a time of ministry could be reserved for after closing.

Since the Holy Spirit is desired to facilitate prayer, worship ushering in his presence may be recognized as first and foremost in importance on the agenda. Because of its ability to flow with the Spirit, vocal and musical worship through the prophetic song will need to be encouraged and simple percussion instruments could be provided for all to participate. Although worship may be scheduled for a short time at the beginning of the meeting, the group may need to be sensitive to change in this area. It may be that worship would continue on longer than planned, or that spontaneous worship is continued throughout the prayer time at low key simply because the Lord is leading in this way. Remembering that the Lord dwells in the praises of his people will take the pressure off to move too quickly out of worship and onto the next step. Keeping in mind that the Holy Spirit is not just the leader, but a full participant in prayer, your organized prayer time will be a success.

 

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness.
We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the
Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot
express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind
of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints
in accordance with God’s will.”
Romans 8: 26&27