Pray Network Forum

To continue our "Better Together!" series on Corporate Prayer, I want to introduce you to a pastor friend of mine. John Whitsett is the Lead Pastor at Lakeside Community Church of the Nazarene in Hastings, Nebraska. I first met him through Pray.Network,  where I read a doctoral thesis he wrote on corporate prayer and revival. John was buried in 15” of snow last week in the Midwest’s “Snowmageddon,” so I had the unusual pleasure of interviewing someone who is normally very busy! 

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Revitalize your church's prayer ministry, using NDP as a jumping off point

What a gift!

Every first Thursday of May, your congregation has an opportunity to join the Church across America in praying for our nation … and in so doing, revitalize your prayer ministry at the same time.  The observance of the National Day of Prayeris the perfect time for a spring-cleaning of your approach to prayer and praying. No better time to review and revise the systems, structures, and strategies.

“Every church prays, but not every church is a praying church.”  

Ask every member of your congregation, young children to senior saints, to establish a personal plan to participate on May 3^rd

·      Prayerwalk their street, praying for neighbors

·      Devote all or part of their lunchbreak to praying for our nation’s leaders

·      Pray for our President and other leaders at the evening meal

·      Attend a community-wide prayer breakfast or concert of prayer 

·      Spend 15 minutes in the prayer room (or a designated prayer location) in the church facility

·      Write a letter to a local or national leader and indicate you have taken time to pray for her or him

Challenge each class and committee, fellowship group and ministry team t prayerfully discern a plan for National Day of Prayer

• Prayerwalk together a section of town near city hall
• Gather at the church for a 30 minute prayer meeting
• Meet early for breakfast and prayer before going to work
• Attend together a community-wide prayer event

After the National Day of prayer, announce a planning session for every leader in the church (deacons, Awana, Sunday classes, music, etc.). Begin with a bathed in prayer assessment of the state of prayer in your congregation. Invite core leaders to participate in an honest discussion of the vitality of praying in each of the church’s ministries and for each of the congregation’s activities. Use a tool, such as Article #062   Diagnostic Tool To Assess The Prayer Life Of A Congregation.  http://nppn.org/Articles/Article062.htm

A praying church not only invites everyone to the place of prayer (usually a weeknight prayer meeting) but also takes prayer to the places where everyone already connect.  Invite members to experience a fresh approach to corporate prayer, one that emphasizes Spirit-led participation, praying scripture, and praying for names and needs and neighborhoods … SO THAT the answers to each of our prayers results in a greater revelation of the glory of God (John 17:1-5).

Lastly, provide practical, biblical training through an experiential workshop, so that, prayer is no longer limited to the 60 seconds of a Sunday morning pastoral prayer or the often mechanical opening and closing prayer of a meeting.

May this National Day of Prayer see a release of the Holy Spirit’s fresh wind and fresh fire of prayer that stirs revival among believers and awakening in our communities.

Prayer again last night yielded a 'run' on thoughts geared to FULLNESS.
 
1. Fullness of God and all His attributes.  How exhausting this is to not be able to comprehend all His attributes of their fullness!  And that God is complete in all of them.  A truly mesmerizing, thought provoking, heart searching, mind yielding to how great is our God, the Lord God Almighty.
 
2. Fullness of time - for us time is complete, whether our lifetime, or generations or the whole of time since God stepped out and said, 'Let time begin.'  Fullness of 400 years for Israel to be in Egypt; fullness of 70 years the land had rest while the captives were away at Babylon; fullness of each dispensation of law, grace, church. God has all this in His hands.
 
3.  Fullness of creation - of His people, purpose, and all that is found in the earth that He created; He knows each stone, each water drop, each snow flake, each animal, He knows the fullness of all HIs creation.  In us as His people, He has our fullness in His hand and thoughts, He knows how many hairs we have, how many breaths we take, the intents of our hearts, the actions of our lives, our words, He knows all for all 7 billion souls on the earth.  Thsi is the fullness of God's omnipresence, and omnipotence.
 
4.  Fullness of Your ways, O God - complete, perfect in all fullness for His glory.  Consider again attributes and aspects of who He is.  Fullness in holy, perfection, entire in all ways of salvation, redemption, santicfication, justification, glorificeation.  
 
5.  Fullness of being filled with the Spirit - 'Be ye not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit of God.'  And they souls in the upper room were filled on the day of Pentecost.  It is necessary and needful for us to understand this, seek for it, find it and walk with Him in it.
 
6.  Fullness of the cup of wrath - each sin, each actions taken by men against God, puts another drop of indignation in the cup of His wrath.  And when that cup is full, He pours His retribution upon the souls of the wicked.  I often think while I am in prayer, that if the sin of a nation, people, family, or myself, or His church, puts drops into the cup; how much our prayers and intercession take drops out as we seek His mercy, forgiveness and cleansing.  But if no souls are seeking His forgiveness, then no drops are taken out, and it fills up that much faster.  You think your prayers of confession have no merit?   Think again, on the cup of wrath and what happens when it is full.
 
7.  Fullness of the earth - filled with His glory; Glorify Thy Name in all the earth.  Every aspect, as in the creation emphasis, we see that this earth is the Lord's and the fullnes thereof.
 
until,
dan biser