Tag Archives: team

What to Prayerfully Consider

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11130260_964162560313518_4399395163024787223_n-2“Church of Christ, awake, awake! Listen to the call, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Take no rest, and give God no rest… God’s spirit will reveal to us the power of a life of intercession as a divine reality, an essential, an indispensable element of the great redemption and therefore also of the true Christian life. May God help us to know and to fulfill our calling!” Andrew Murray

Day and night prayer is God’s desire, and He will enable us to do it. As you grow in establishing a House of Prayer, realize that many dedicated intercessors and worshippers are needed. You need churches that have a vision for prayer. The good news is that God is awakening His Church to pray. Prayerfully consider the following when starting a House of Prayer in your city, or increasing the prayer meetings and prayer focus in your church:

  • A small, consistent start – It is better to start small and be consistent than to try to plan a big 24/7 all year and then quit. More personnel are needed for a 365-day House of Prayer. It’s important not to despise small beginnings. Good things usually start small and appear humble. Remember Jesus was born in a manger. Speak blessing over your small prayer meetings. God will enlarge them when He wants to, and He can explode grace on your little prayer meetings in an incredible way. Stay steady and consistent.
  • A faithful team – Many different individuals with various gifts are needed in a House of Prayer. How large a team you need depends on the size and length of your House of Prayer. For longer ones you may need a general coordinator, a daily coordinator, an administrative team and office, a way to collect prayer material and make it available to intercessors, a team to clean and decorate the prayer room, someone to work out the prayer times, etc. You’d be surprised at all the little tasks that need to be done. Delegate the responsibilities carefully.
  • Dedicated intercessors and worshippers – Pray that God will raise up intercessors to pray as well as worship leaders, singers, and others. Those with a lifestyle of devotion will be the bedrock that will sustain the House of Prayer along the journey. You need to pray that God will lead you to these people. Build deep, not just wide.
  • Careful planning and clear guidance – You must think about the ongoing process of recruiting new intercessors and maintaining the House of Prayer. Ask God continually for guidance, and wait for His Spirit to lead. As the House of Prayer grows, you will need more individuals to help meet the growing practical and spiritual needs. Pray for gifted individuals, especially ones who are strong in administrative or organizing gifts.
  • Training and motivating intercessors – It is easy for intercessors to get discouraged over time so provide ongoing encouragement through seminars, training, and finding ways to minister to them. Teach people how to pray. Help them to focus on the needs of their church, community, or city rather than their own personal needs.

I’ve written several books designed for training in prayer with an application at the end of each chapter to be applied personally or in small groups. See the books dropdown button on this site for books you can study together. You will want to use these or other resources on prayer for training and motivation for your House of Prayer. Keep communicating and feeding people with prayer information.

God will give you His creative wisdom as you build the House of Prayer in your city. Perhaps your testimony will exceed your wildest expectations just as this one did:

“Our 24-7 week exceeded all expectations. More than 200 people used the prayer room, and more than 20 churches got involved. 24-7 has been one of the most productive (yes, prayer is productive!) weeks I have ever known. People were saved. The lukewarm were ignited. Unity made huge steps forward. Through 24-7, a radical vision was imparted way beyond anything our puny little talks could have accomplished. The week has also multiplied itself into three other locations.”
Peter Greig and David Blackwell

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Values to Help Facilitate Unity in Prayer

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11169247_994914043905036_2077199318887040447_nThe following are three values that will help facilitate unity in your House of Prayer:

  • Mature team ministry – When there are instruments, antiphonal singing and prayer together, then there is a need for unity between the worship team, the intercessors, the singers, and everyone in the prayer room. There needs to be the desire to function as a divine symphony. We truly need each other. Skilled hands and trained minds are needed. The musicians must play with restraint in order to bring out the best in the team. Intercessors must refrain from lengthy prayers. Mature team ministry is vitally important.
  • There needs to be the desire to include everyone – The ungifted, weak, or untrained need to feel welcomed. Everyone is needed. Everyone is part of the prayer room. We must be very careful that one or a few people do not dominate the House of Prayer. I have experienced this many times. When one or two people dominate the prayers because they are quick or loud, the quieter ones can feel frustrated or left out. We need to guard against this.
  • Centrality of the Word – Praying the Bible should be included. Mike Bickle from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City says that we should be a singing seminary.

“We are to be rejoicing in the language of God’s heart as opposed to being frustrated by the limitation of biblical language. The Scriptures impart a governmental function into the model that automatically hinders the use of error and weirdness.” Mike Bickle

Think about the beautiful sound in a united symphony orchestra. This instrumental ensemble containing sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments which when united make a beautiful symphony.

A psychologist at Union College and R. Scott Builione, a graduate student at Columbia University, were presenting their discoveries at a meeting of the American Psychologist Association. They were showing how various sections of eleven major symphony orchestras perceived one another. String players were seen as arrogant and unathletic. The percussionists were viewed as hard-of-hearing, unintelligent, and insensitive. The brass players were thought of as loud and woodwinds were seen as meticulous, quiet, and quite egotistical.

With such widely divergent perceptions and personalities, how could they ever come together and make such wonderful music? The amazing answer is that even though these musicians see each other with different eyes, they come under submission to the leadership of the conductor. Because of his guidance, they play breathtaking music.

In the same way, those in the prayer room might all be different and have a variety of ways of doing things, but when they submit to the leadership of God and His Word, they play and pray in harmony. No one is left out; they function as a divine symphony. They are of one heart, giving glory to God through their unity. Just as in the book of Acts, God will show forth His power through His people when they are of one heart and soul. I look forward to that day, don’t you?

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind… With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 4:31-32a, 33).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC