Think Outside the Box with 5 Summer Prayer Action Steps
CALL TO PRAYER: 5 summer prayer action steps
PALATINE, Ill. (BP) — We’ve entered the dog-days of summer (July and August) — this often oppressive and sweltering time of year that coincides with traditional summer slumps in church attendance as families scatter for summer vacations and other summertime activities.
But our need for prayer is never greater. Here are five suggestions to make your dog days of summer sparkle with spiritual freshness:
Family table time — Ask each church family to use at least one family meal each week to pray for their neighbors, whether those who live nearby, people they work with or fellow students. Keep a log of the names and needs of those the Lord leads toward in prayer. During a Sunday morning service in August, ask families to come prepared to share their prayers and God’s responses.
Schedule a church picnic — Before the festivities begin, ask every family to form a circle and to pray (facing inward) for the church, its spiritual health, its ministry vision and its evangelistic effectiveness. Reverse positions to face outward and pray for the community, its needs, its leaders and the church’s influence on it.
Weeknight prayer meeting — Take the midweek prayer service outside. Those who cannot handle the walk or the heat may stay inside and pray using this as a template. Ask everyone to pray with their eyes open, looking at and praying for:
* God’s good creation
* The church facilities
* Residential areas, schools, recreational, medical or business districts to the north, to the east, to the south and to the west
Secret saint — Ask everyone in the congregation to become a secret intercessor. Prepare cards with the names of your church family for distribution on a Sunday morning — perhaps a reverse offering where everyone picks a name as a basket is passed. Ask the church family, including youth and older children, to pray each day for a week for the person whose name they drew. The following Sunday simply ask for testimonies of what it was like to pray once a day for their person or if anyone sensed a special blessing from the Lord because someone was praying for them.
Pastoral prayer — Recruit volunteers to pray aloud for the pastor each Sunday during the summer. Encourage them to pray from their deepest passion.
So, rather than succumb to the slow-down, casual atmosphere of summer, put those dog-days to good use. Prayer — encourage every member and family to invite the Holy Spirit to alert them every day to special summertime opportunities to pray for people they may only see in July or August. Care — show the love of Christ to them through practical and appreciated acts of service or mercy. Share — invite them to investigate the often misunderstood message of the Gospel. Let’s love our communities to Christ!
BONUS...
Scroll comments for the "10-20-30" Format + Outreach Prayer Strategies
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Phil Miglioratti is state prayer consultant for the Illinois Baptist State Association and serves on the Mission America Coalition facilitation committee’s LOVE 2020, a “prayer-care-share” ministry initiative. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
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10-20-30 ... A Template for Interactive, Disciple-Making Prayer
Phil Miglioratti opened the winter leadership meeting of PrayerLink asking whether Southern Baptists are more interested in developing prayer guides (booklets and other resources about prayer) or prayer guides (individuals in congregations who help guide church members to be prayer warriors in the house of God).
Drawing his lesson from the purification of Jesus recorded in Luke 2, Miglioratti pointed to two individuals in Scripture who serve as prayer guides for twenty-first century believers—Anna and Simeon.
These two relatively obscure characters in the overall narrative of Scripture were “led by the Spirit to step up at just the right moment to announce God’s redemptive moment,” Miglioratti, prayer consultant for the Illinois Baptist State Association and national coordinator of Loving Our Communities to Christ, said.
Noting that we know nothing about them beyond this single instance, Miglioratti observed that Anna and Simeon both frequented the house of God and were devoted to the Lord in prayer.
“It is interesting to note that Luke 2:40 follows Luke 2:22–39,” he added.
Luke 2:40 states that Jesus grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on Him.
“We cannot underestimate the power of prayer on people’s lives,” Miglioratti noted, urging the PrayerLink leadership team to focus its ministry objectives on creating “Luke 2:40 followers of Jesus”—those who grow strong in the Lord, who are filled with the Spirit, and who reflect the grace of God in how they live their lives.
THE 10-20-30 PRAYER EXPERIENCE
Prayer leaders from across the greater Chicago area and beyond are invited to a day-long prayer experience and prayer tour.
The prayer gathering will be divided into five one-hour seasons of prayer using a “10-20-30” prayer model and following the missions and ministry structure of Acts 1:8.
Each hour-long season of prayer will include
The one-hour 10-20-30 format is designed to serve as a model that can be replicated and used in a local church setting.
YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER: THE ACTS 1:8 CHALLENGE
The five hour-long prayer sessions will begin with a time of personal renewal and then radiate out in concentric circles of ministry as follows:
Original/Complete article by ROGER S. OLDHAM
EXPLORE GOD CHICAGO PRAYER STRATEGIES
Phil Miglioratti • Prayer Consultant
Once-a-Week
EXPLORE GOD CHICAGO PRAYER STRATEGIES
Pray Scriptures
When you pray: give praise, declare truth, request help, confess sin (personal and corporate), ask questions (for discernment), pray from your seated-with-Christ position (Ephesians 2:6)
DAY
1 – Read, then affirm Jeremiah 29:7: “We will seek and pray for the prosperity of the city.”
2 – Read Psalm 22:27-28 then declare God’s promise that “All the families of the nations will remember and turn to the Lord.”
3 – Read Matthew 9:36 then pray we would “see the crowds and have compassion on the harassed and the helpless.”
4 – Read Luke 19:10 then declare “Jesus has come (to your community) to seek out and give life to those who are lost.”
5 – Read James 5:16-18 and pray for many more Christ followers to confess and acknowledge that “tremendous power is released through the passionate, heartfelt prayer of a godly believer!”
6 – Read Habakkuk 2:1-2 and declare, “Lord, you have told us to ‘Write the message on a billboard, large and clear, so that anyone can read it at a glance and rush to tell others.’ We have obeyed. May many thousands who read the message be led by your Spirit to explore truths about God.”
7 – Read 1 Peter 2:12 and commit us to “live honorable lives as we mix with unbelievers so they will see our beautiful works and have a reason to glorify/explore God.”
8 – Read Mark 5:19 then commit to “tell others how much the Lord has done for you.”
9 – Read Luke 19: 1-5 and ask the Lord to lead us to persons, like Zacchaeus, who are eager to see Jesus.
10 – Read Romans 5:8, rejoicing “Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly” and pray we will do the same to those we meet, invite, and when we share our Jesus story.
11 – Read Jeremiah 9:24 then give praise that we know the God who shows faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth … and that many who are lost would explore and delight in the gospel of the one true God.
12 – Read 1 John 4:16 and pray, that like us, many we invite will “come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and trust in the love he has for everyone. May they explore and discover God is love.”
13 – Read Titus 3:8 then pray on behalf of your church, that “we who believe in God will be careful to devote ourselves to doing good works, knowing it is always profitable and beautiful to demonstrate God’s love to others and to invite them to explore God.”
14 – Read Jonah 4:11 then petition the Lord on behalf of our city, that like Nineveh, “there are many in our neighborhood/community who cannot tell right from wrong. Yes! show your concern through our invitations to explore the faith, hope and love of our God.”
15 – Read John 17:20, 21 and plead for many neighbors-coworkers-students to ask “Would you take us to see Jesus. We want to see him.”
16 – Read Matthew 28:17-20 then declare that “we will go in his authority to make disciples of all peoples (ethnicities & affinities & communities).”
17 – Read Micah 6:8, agreeing with the Lord that he has told us what he wants from us: to do justice, love being kind and to walk in humble obedience to our God.”
18 – Read Luke 6:27,28 then affirm we will “listen to you, and will love our enemies and do something wonderful for them in return for their hatred. When cursed, we will bless. When bullied, we accept it as our mission to pray for them.”
19 – Read 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 and thank God “for the wonderful message of reconciliation” and for the honor of being “Christ’s ambassadors; God making his appeal through us, ‘Come back to God!’”
20 – Read Matthew 21:10 then ask for the whole city to be stirred and to ask “Who is this?”
21 – Read Isaiah 49:6 then believe and receive God’s promise to “make us a light to all peoples, to bring God’s salvation to every place (neighborhoods/communities; homes and schools).”
22 – Read Mark 11:17 and ask that your congregation will pursue with greater passion our Lord’s admonition to be identified as a “house of prayer; paying for all people (ethnicities).”
23 – Read Daniel 9:3 then ask the Lord to give every congregation across the city Daniel-like men and women, old and young, who turn to the Lord to ask for help; even expressing our dependency with fasting.
24 – Read Luke 19:41, 42 then pray we would, as Jesus did, “see the city, burst into tears, weeping over Chicago.”
25 – Read Matthew 23:23 and confess we have often “neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” Ask for leaders who equip us to do justice, become known for mercy and integrity.
26 – Read John 8:2 then remind Jesus he “sat down to teach as the people gathered” and invite him to the group you participate in.
27 – Read Mark 12:30-31 then plead for the Church to realize we are commanded to “love God and love our neighbor;” one great commandment, not two different commands.
28 – Read Genesis 16:18-33 then pray for your community/city the way Abraham interceded for Sodom: “Please forgive me Lord for daring to speak to you like this [God is actually very pleased with this prayer] … please save our city, bring peace, reveal Christ as Lord and Savior …”
29 – Read Matthew 7:7, then whenever you pray, Ask the Spirit to lead you in who and how to pray. Seek by being still & silent, in scripture. Knock; pray boldly when you know how to pray God’s will.
30 – Read Luke 19:37 and express to the Lord we will “joyfully praise God for every miracle of a transformed life.”
31 – Read Philippians 4:9 then commit to “keep putting into practice all you have learned, so the God of peace goes with you as you invite others to explore God.”
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Prepared by Phil Miglioratti, Explore God Chicago Co-Chairman
Pray.Network Founder • Prayer Consultant, Illinois Baptist Churches • Mission America Coalition Cities
EXPLORE GOD CHICAGO PRAYER STRATEGIES
Affinities Prayer Guide
Pray the “Everyday • Everywhere • Everyone” prayer for people who live-work-play inside these affinity spheres, roles, sub-cultures . . .
1 – Schools/Educators
2 – Medical/Mental Health Facilities
3 – Religious Leaders/Religious Communities
4 – Children
5 – Social Services/Substance Abuse
6 – Elderly
7 – Law Enforcement
8 – Athletes
9 – Unborn
10 – Judicial
11 – Military
12 – Government/ Civil Service
13 – Arts & Entertainment
14 – Business/Workplace
15 – Gangs/Jails/Prisons
16 – Unemployed & Under-resourced
17 – Marriages
18 – Warehouse/Factory Workers
19 – International Visitors
20 – Broken Families/Orphans
21 – Gender Challenged
22 – Students & Young Generations
23 – Mothers
24 – Fire Protection
25 – First Nations people
26 – News Media
27 – Fathers
28 – Women
29 – Single People
30 – Physically Disabled
31 – Men
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Prepared by Phil Miglioratti, Explore God Chicago Co-Chairman
Pray.Network Founder • Prayer Consultant, Illinois Baptist Churches • Mission America Coalition Cities
EXPLORE GOD CHICAGO PRAYER STRATEGIES
Your Explore God Chicago Prayer Meeting
A format for an all-church or small group gathering
Pray For People [Those who are lost, with less, who lead]
Pray About Places [Locations & Institutions]
Pray Against Problems [Issues & Influences]
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Prepared by Phil Miglioratti, Explore God Chicago Co-Chairman
Pray.Network Founder • Prayer Consultant, Illinois Baptist Churches • Mission America Coalition Cities
EXPLORE GOD CHICAGO PRAYER STRATEGIES
The Explore God Chicago ~ “Everyday • Everywhere • Everyone” Prayer
I will pray as the Lord leads me; everyday, everywhere, for everyone.
“In Jesus’ name …for this day … I ask you Holy Spirit for confidence and opportunities … to pray for someone who is far from God … to care for someone at their point of need with love … and share my Jesus story with an invitation to explore God.”
Mobilize Your Congregation
Our Purpose / Our Passion
Our Objectives
Our Strategy
* * * *
Secrets to Mobilizing an "All-Pray!" Strategy in Your Church
MORE Outreach Strategy Formats
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Prepared by Phil Miglioratti, Explore God Chicago Co-Chairman
Pray.Network Founder • Prayer Consultant, Illinois Baptist Churches • Mission America Coalition Cities