I've kinda' been the one who will invest where I see interest. A friend of mine in Wycilffe Bible Translators taught me that principle a long time ago when I was an evangelist and people didn't seem interested in things that were a part of my ministry. He told me I should invest where there was interest and let the things people weren't willing to support die. This has always proven to be a good philosophy of ministry until it comes to prayer.
In January of each year we hold nightly prayer services during the Assemblies of God National Week of Prayer. The first one we had when I came to Calvary made me feel like I should just drop it and do it personally, not publicly. However, I went on and scheduled another Week of Prayer in 2011. It encouraged me to continue them because I added some structure to them and an order of prayer each night. Attendance was good through the week. In January of this year I felt an actual Holy Spirit drive behind our Week of Prayer and a seriousness to it each night. I also felt guidance from the Holy Spirit and a sense of accomplishment. During the week, in the Spirit, I heard something that sounded like a break in concrete under pressure, or a large mass of ice giving under the pressure of rising temperatures. It took a while for me to zero in on what God was showing me, but when I did, I thanked God over and over for this year's Week of Prayer.
This time of prayer has resulted in several new activities being birthed in our church. It led to God revealing the presence of a Jezebel Spirit attached to our church (I could write paragraph after paragraph on this subject alone). It led to the revealing of all the hidden things within our church. It manifested the thoughts and intents of many hearts. It has opened up so many doors. It hasn't been joyful on all occasions, but it has been real. Transformation has begun in many lives and hidden things are being brought to light.
Another thing the Week of Prayer has done for us is give several in our church a new determination to war in the Spirit. It has led to a Wednesday night and Sunday night Pre-Service Prayer Time. I was slow to realize this was a move of the Holy Spirit, but as I did, I felt I should not let this die out. We must invest.
Here's where the "invest in what people will support" doctrine does not apply. Prayer is a requirement of God for our church to move ahead. It is one of the eight Spiritual Disciplines we've defined. Even if people find no interest in increased prayer, we must invest in it. We must bring our people to a place where they understand the church's commitment to prayer is crucial for us to win the victory over the evil influences of the world and apathy from within.
The final three things that have happened, which have confirmed this in me, are as follows:
One, when I went to the District Conference, Laura Pongratz told me the story of their first church. There were five ladies who came to the church each day to pray. As they did, there was unbelievable growth and victory. After several years they finally came to the Pastor and told him that the Lord had instructed them to disband their prayer circle. When the Pastor asked why, they replied, "The Lord has shown us that we are carrying a burden that the whole church must learn to carry — the burden of prayer." Shortly after the prayer group ceased to pray the church fell into all sorts of problems. It was quite a while before the church itself learned the importance of prayer and recovered what was lost through the absence of prayer on a daily basis.
Number two, I have commissioned two ladies myself to be my personal intercessors. It has been evident that God is using them to support me in prayer, because they are beginning to talk about things that I thought only God was speaking to me. They have even had dreams and visions that spoke directly about things only I could know, and things I was dealing with privately. God is using them to intercede for their Pastor and their church.
Number three, in our last Leadership Lunch, Sadie Wimbley broke down in tears when she referred back to the Annual Week of Prayer. You could tell that the burden of corporate prayer was all over her. God was staying , "If you start anything new, let it be a ministry of prayer."
God doesn't have to tell me again — "Call the people to prayer." I've told the church several times, it takes me a while to hear and confirm what God is speaking to me. It's hard for me to lead a congregation in prayer. Why? because there is such a disinterest in lengthy times of prayer. Also my prayer life has always been a private time between me and God. Then there is the fact that many of the things that God and I discuss could not be spoken in public. However, the call has gone out and I must invest, whether there seems to be support or not.
In dealing with the Jezebel Spirit attached to our church, I keep going back to when Jesus told his disciples, "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29) I wrestle with this over and over again as I talk to the Lord. What I am beginning to feel is that this is the course, no matter who seems interested or not. Teaching about the intertwined spirit of Jezebel in our church is step one. The next step is to fall on our knees in prayer and fasting and cast this thing out.
When Sadie gained her composure at the lunch, she expounded on this need for prayer once again. She has always been a prayer warrior for the church and many times has stood alone in this calling. Others feign to be assaulting the powers of darkness through prayer, but Sadie actually does. I believe it is critical to have her on our Leadership Team as an advocate for prayer.
Although our fledgling Leadership Team is just now beginning to meet on a monthly basis, we must move this call to prayer forward. To implement this I am going to try two initial things. The first is to become involved directly in our Pre-Service Prayer movement. Secondly I will begin to develop a Leadership Team prayer time. This will give us a total of four prayer sessions on a weekly basis. 1.) My personal prayer team, who pray each week for me. 2.) our two pre-service prayer gatherings, and 3.) a weekly Leadership Team prayer time.
I know there is more the Lord is showing me. There will be a warfare prayer session designed after the Prayer Models the District is talking about, and there will be an invitation only prayer session one e a month in our home. I am still figuring out how all this will fit, but I'd rather give up other activities than to overlook this call to prayer that the Holy Spirit is leading us into.
I believe that if this is done properly, with the Holy Spirit's guidance, I will not be discouraged by the lack of interest on any front. Maybe there won't be a lack of interest. Maybe God had already moved things around to include this new move among us, if we will take advantage of it. Maybe I'm underestimating the devotion to prayer in our church.
So, as you're reading today's blog and want to be involved, join with me in prayer. Right now it may seem different, but we are praying about praying. Even if it seems like everyone just wants a turn in prayer request and have someone else do the praying, maybe we can find a new mandate for prayer and build towards a real prayer ministry on our church. It's one of the vital components still missing from the weekly life of our church.
I am so glad in our last Leadership Lunch when as I asked for additional ministry ideas, we had a person on our team who thought prayer was a great ministry to add to the mix.