"Secrets to a Powerful Prayer Culture"
by Daniel Henderson
Last week I had lunch with my friend Woody. He is a seasoned, unassuming pastor whom God has used to lead an incredible church in the community where I live. While I do not attend his church, I have numerous friends and relatives who enjoy the passionate worship, solid messages, and array of practical applications. A Pastoral Turning Point Woody’s journey is an inspiring example of how God changes the heart of a leader, radically reshapes his ministry approach, and shows Himself strong through a praying church. I have heard Woody tell the story on numerous occasions that for many years he made his strategic plans for ministry, hoping God would bless and join the leaders in what they were trying to accomplish. (By the way, this is the predominant approach to church leadership today). He describes it as “trying to breathe life” into all the programs he came up with. Woody and his team would attend national conferences to see how everyone else was doing ministry, then try to duplicate those “success stories.” Soon, it seemed he was trying to “wear someone else's ministry clothes.” A year later, he would return to the same national conference only to discover that the “model church” had already discarded the approach Woody’s team was trying to imitate. A few years ago, God spoke to Woody in his industrious, clever, but weary state of being. The Sovereign Christ challenged Woody to resign as “God” and let God be God. Woody responded by concluding that from that time on, he and his leaders would seek the Lord first (and as long as necessary) until they had clarity about where God wanted the church to go. As he describes it, “We had been trying to make Acts 2 happen, but suddenly realized Acts 1 came before Acts 2.” This turning point was the beginning of a genuine culture of prayer that is now the essential DNA of Blue Ridge Community Church. Supernatural Blessing from Seeking Hearts I have enjoyed the privilege of praying with Woody and his leaders. When they pray, they get on their faces and stay there until God is finished with the prayer time. Three times a day, the staff leads the church in prayer times at the church. Before making any major ministry decisions, they spend significant amounts of prayer together to find the mind of Christ, not just drum up their own ideas. Before they begin any new initiative God leads them to launch, they sponsor 168 hours of continuous church-wide prayer. Every month they have multiple church-wide prayer services. Since this profound transformation of their leadership approach, God has blessed Blue Ridge beyond Woody’s imagination. The large campus is overcrowded to the point that they are now praying about what Jesus wants next. Satellite campuses? Additional buildings? New churches? They really do not have an agenda about the next step; they just want the will of God. I believe they will find it on their knees, as is their pattern. The Lord will launch a powerful new chapter of blessing for the sake of people who do not know Jesus in the region, for God’s glory. Five Keys to a Prayer Culture Woody’s journey and the fresh reality he is enjoying in his church illustrates some key principles I have embraced about a prayer culture in a church. Here is a quick review of those ideas: 1. A prayer culture is not a prayer program – Many leaders want a quick fix and decide to start some new prayer events. Often these activities simply attract the same praying minority of the church but do not infect the rest of the church culture. There may be pockets of prayer energy, but not a prayer culture. 2. A prayer culture always emanates from the epicenter of church leadership – Pastors cannot point the way to a prayer culture, they must lead the way by example – praying with their fellow leaders and the congregation. The prayer level of the church never grows beyond the personal example and passion of the senior leaders. These leaders are always characterized by substantive time spent praying together. This pattern sets the culture of every department, ministry, and gathering in the church. 3. A prayer culture is fuelled by experience, not explanation – One pastor friend preached on prayer every Sunday for a year. Later, he confessed that all of these sermons did not ignite a culture of prayer. In fact, this abundance of information without corollary practice probably broadened the gap between knowledge and true obedience. Prayer is more caught than taught. The life-changing prayer virus spreads as leaders and people spend more time together in prayer, not by talking about the idea of prayer. 4. A prayer culture is sustained by the right motive – As I have taught extensively in the Fresh Encounters seminar (available from Strategic Renewal on CD or DVD for small groups) our motives cannot be approval, church growth, or even revival. Ultimately, the only enduring motive for prayer is that God is worthy to be sought. As we seek His face, not just His hand, we experience the power of Scripture-fed, Spirit-led, worship-based prayer that continues to fuel the hearts of a growing army of prayer-energized saints. 5. A prayer culture is ultimately the secret to supernatural mission achievement – Prayer is not the only thing we do, just the first thing we do – leading to the ultimate thing we do, which is making disciples of Jesus Christ for His glory. Real prayer brings us close to the heart of God and transforms us to become world-transformers through the demonstrated and declared gospel message. What Could Happen? I am praying for the day when Woody’s journey becomes the norm for the vast majority of pastors in our nation. This passion drove me to do what I am doing through Strategic Renewal. As I travel and equip leaders in regional and national pastors’ conferences, so many are indicating a holy dissatisfaction with anything less than a prayer-energized ministry. As I speak in prayer conferences and churches, I see a growing passion for Jesus’ ideal of the church as a house of prayer. Change is occurring. A real desperation is arising in hearts, leading to a deep resolve to discover direction, power, and impact at the Throne of Grace. Together we can do our small part – and look forward to what Christ will do in fulfilling His BIG part in reviving the church and transforming our sinful society by the power of His truth. Copyright © 2010 Daniel Henderson. All rights reserved. |
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