The Praying Church 1

THE PRAYING CHURCH

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TOM GROSSMAN SR.

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Published by:

www.prayingchurchinstitute.org

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible: English Standard Version

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THE PRAYING CHURCH

Foreword...... 7

Introduction...... 17

Part I - Laying the Foundation...... 27

Chapter 1: A New Path for Discipleship...... 29

Chapter 2: It Happens Every Sunday...... 43

Chapter 3: Origins of Worship-Based Prayer...... 61

Chapter 4: The Great Commandment and the Great

Commission...... 91

Chapter 5: Expectations for the House of Prayer...... 101

Part II -Implementation Strategies...... 107

Building a Worship-Based Prayer Leadership Team...... 110

Prayer Leader Directions...... 115

Worship Leader Directions...... 122

The Worship-Based Prayer Model...... 125

The Praying Church Institute...... 126

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FOREWORD

PASTORS AND PRAYER LEADERS

I almost gave up several times while attempting to write a book about the Praying Church. I thought, “Surely, Lord, You have someone more qualified, articulate and competent to tell this story.” Yet, my ministry friends kept encouraging me, so what I offer will be one small piece of a giant puzzle that the Lord is putting together to prepare His church for the return of Christ.

The subject of prayer is on the hearts of many in church leadership. There is longing for authenticity in church life which is really a cry for God’s presence. Jesus is determined to have a church after His own heart, what He calls His “house of prayer”.

This book is not about the duty and obligation we have as Christians to pray. It is also not about praying over lists or binding the devil. On the contrary, this book is about God’s incredible heart of love for His people and how we can better experience that love through what we call Worship-Based Prayer.

I pray that a new vision for enjoyable, sustainable, worship- filled prayer will emerge in your heart. I pray that you will begin to experience more of God’s presence and power in your church community day after day.

Jesus said, “My church will be called a house of prayer.” In this statement, Jesus gave a simple and easy to understand di-

7 THE PRAYING CHURCH rection for church leaders for every age. When you combine this mandate with the Great Commandment, to love God wholeheartedly, we have the way and means to change lives and see genuine discipleship that will fuel fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Before we start the book let me address a few key points. The statistics below are not the reason we need to pray; on the contrary, they are the fruit of prayer-less-ness. Without the spiritual power and satisfaction we receive from the Lord in prayer, the church has become easy prey for our great enemy.

Here are some well-known statistics:

1. 1500 senior pastors a month are quitting the ministry disillusioned and burned out. 2. There is a steady flow of good people walking out the back door of the church. 3. Only one U.S. denomination is experiencing positive growth (1% per year). 4. Over 70% of youth upon graduating high school drop out of church. 5. Christian youth and young adults increasingly accept homosexuality as normal and acceptable. 6. The Southern Baptist Association in Texas has figured that it now costs over $30,000 to win and baptize one adult! In addition:

7. “Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent (and obscene) material been so easily accessible by so many

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minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions.” U.S. Department of Justice

“We are seeing an escalation of the problem in both men and women who regularly attend church,” said ChistiaNet.com president Bill Cooper.

“The most recent studies available suggest that one out of every two people - that's 50 percent of the people sitting in our pews, are looking at and/or could be addicted to Internet pornography. Truth be told, that statistic could be even higher” (Insight for Living Website, Chuck Swindoll)

Jesus mentioned days like this:

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matt 24:12, ESV)

Another version says it like this:

“Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.” (Matt 24:12, NLT)

But, here is the good news! Those who thirst for God’s mercy will discover that God is more than willing to pour out His presence on our thirsty hearts if we would simply take the time to ask. God is already pouring His Spirit out on thirsty hearts around the world and has promised His church in the last days the same power and presence that was available to the early church.

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“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:17-18, ESV)

There is a line in a song that says, “I don’t want to talk about You (God) like You’re not in the room.” As we set our eyes on becoming a praying church, we are asking the Almighty, All Present and All Knowing God to have His way.

We cannot talk about prayer without understanding that prayer involves a two way relationship with God Himself. The God of Genesis Chapter One wants to draw near to us and reveal Himself.

As you read this book, I hope that this will be like no other book on prayer that you’ve ever read. Why? I don’t want you to read another book and put it on your bookshelf. My heart is that you will say, “Our church can do this.” Shouldn’t heart to heart prayer and worship be normal Christianity?

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” (John 15:9)

This book is not about grueling labor and duty. It is not about guilt and law. On the contrary, this book is about God’s incredible heart of love for His people and how we can better experience that love through what we call Worship-Based Prayer.

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I pray that a new vision for enjoyable, sustainable, worship filled prayer will emerge in your heart. I pray that you will begin to experience more of God’s presence and power in your church community day after day. MESSAGE TO SENIOR PASTORS AND PRAYER LEADERS

This book is written to senior pastors and prayer leaders so that working together with the Lord they can build a praying church. As a house of prayer director, leader and teacher since January 2000, I have seen incredible success in building enjoyable prayer when there is clear vision, leadership and communication. On the other hand, I have witnessed many needless misunderstandings and miscommunications among church leaders that have stifled what otherwise could have been a powerful ministry.

The pastor need not be at all of the meetings for this ministry to be successful. At the same time it will be difficult for the pastor to promote something effectively without some firsthand knowledge.

My own church, Grace Community in Arlington, TX, has a senior pastor that is shamelessly promoting prayer. Pastor Gary Hutchison is convinced that the church is only limited by our prayer effort. At this time we have 64 Worship-Based Prayer meetings per month in our church’s prayer room. Pas- tor Gary leads two of these meetings per week.

Both pastor and prayer leader can start by reading this book and being willing to have conversations about their concerns. In addition, they can visit a ministry like ours for a few days to

11 THE PRAYING CHURCH get some personal experience. Why? Because Worship- Based Prayer is as much caught as taught.

Prayer leaders need to understand a few things about their pastor. Senior pastors wear many hats. They preach and teach; they give guidance, marry and bury, visit and pray for the sick. They deal with incredibly difficult marriage counseling issues. They also oversee various ministries, pay the bills, recruit, promote and envision others. Of course, pastors must also find time to study and pray, as well as take care of their families. If we were to expect the pastor to also become the prayer director for the church it would be too much for him to bear. Instead the pastor must have a reliable prayer leader that can serve the pastor’s vision for prayer.

THE NEED FOR TRAINED, COMPETENT PRAYER LEADERS IS IMMENSE

Before a prayer leader can be used in ministry he needs to understand these additional roles that pastors have. The senior pastor is the head Watchman and Gatekeeper for the congregation. In Bible times watchmen worked in shifts walking along the walls of the city at night looking for those who would try to sneak into the city without permission. This could be an invading army or bandits with bad intentions. If trouble was coming the watchman had the best vantage point to see it coming. The watchman would then blow the trumpet to alert the city to the coming danger.

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The gatekeeper of the city had the responsibility to keep the gate closed throughout the night unless something really unu- sual happened. One such example would be when officials from that city were returning from a long trip and needed to be let in. The gatekeeper would listen to the watchman on the walls to tell him to open or close the gate.

Today pastors still serve both of these roles. They are called to watch out for false and unclear teaching which could cause confusion in the congregation. It is this role of watchman and gatekeeper that helps the pastor evaluate potential leaders or those who might cause trouble. A seasoned pastor can pick up the scent of potential trouble with a new visitor in a casual two-minute conversation.

It is important for potential prayer leaders to understand the pastor’s various roles. The prayer leader’s responsibility is not to impress the pastor by telling him about his powerful prayer experiences or about the group that trained him. One thing that will close the gates fast is trying to bring new words and theology into the early discussions. All of these things mean little to the seasoned pastor. He is watching out for spiritual pride, a religious spirit, self-will or legalism in the prayer leader’s personality. The pastor knows that he needs someone with a calling to lead prayer, but if the prayer leader comes across as a “know it all” or an Old Testament prophet con- demning the church, there is no way a door will open for his ministry.

Prayer leaders and directors can only minister in a local church with the senior pastor’s approval and support. This is

13 THE PRAYING CHURCH where maturity, humility, meekness and self-control are put to the test for the prayer leader.

For the prayer leader to gain favor with the senior pastor, the best approach is to walk in meekness and set his heart to help build a prayer ministry that the senior pastor would invite his best friends to. If the prayer leader’s heart is to first understand and then express the vision of the pastor, I believe doors will open wide for his effort.

A prayer leader may have a great vision from the Lord for prayer, but that vision must be in submission to the vision of the local church. I pray that as both the senior pastor and prayer leader read this book, obstacles will be removed from the path, especially in the early stages. Conclusion? Walking in agreement with the pastor and his leadership team will determine whether doors will open and if genuine support will be given to the ministry of worship and prayer.

Pastors will recognize the prayer leader’s ministry and his giftedness AFTER they see his faithfulness, unity and love for the people. So prayer leaders should be willing to lay down their vision and agenda until they have been proven faithful. At that point the pastor will begin to rely on the prayer leader for advice.

It is important that the senior pastor understand a little bit about how to spot and work with a potential prayer leader. Because corporate prayer has been neglected for so long in many churches, these leaders may have never been identified nor had the opportunity to develop their gift. Many may not even know that they have a calling to pray, much less lead the

14 THE PRAYING CHURCH prayer ministry. It may take a little work to spot the right person to help lead this new ministry.

If the senior pastor has concerns, they should be openly discussed with the potential prayer leader. Leadership gifting should not be taken above someone who is humble and teachable.

There may already be a good prayer leader in place. If not, the pastor might think about the person that is always talking about “more prayer, deeper worship and revival”. This person, or it might be a small group of people, must be chal- lenged a little. They could be given a few tasks to see how they respond. Perhaps they could use this book as a point of study and discussion in a small group setting over 3-6 weeks. Pastors should keep in mind that just as prayer is the least developed ministry in the church, so are prayer leaders. Those who are attracted to this ministry will be hungry for God. They must love the Word and be teachable.

I pray that once the senior pastor sets his heart on becoming a praying church the prayer leader will come on the scene. Our enemy will throw 2-3 obstacles at these leaders right up front to try to shut prayer down, but through determination and the help of the Lord breakthroughs will come and the praying church will be raised up. Tom Grossman, SR Director of Praying Church Institute The Grace House of Prayer (GHOP)

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INTRODUCTION THE PROBLEM

Although the New Testament Church was born and sustained through on-going prayer, worship, and encounters with Christ, it would be rare to find a senior pastor today who would say that his congregation is a real praying church or what Jesus called His “house of prayer”.

According to recent in-depth research, 32% of believers are stalled in their spiritual growth or dissatisfied with their local church. This number grows to 49% for new believers. (Reveal Now*, Willow Creek Community Church)

Fewer than 4% of believers find prayer to be an enjoyable experience. (Phillip Yancey, Pray, Zondervan)

Fifty percent of believers never feel the presence of God in a church service. (Revolution, Barna)

The church has been weakened by lack of prayer. Spiritual walls that once protected us have crumbled and the enemy has gained strength. Immorality, pornography, homosexuality, divorce and sexual abuse are now a regular experience for many church members. We have lost the spiritual power that we need to influence our congregations and the culture around us. THE SOLUTION

If we face our spiritual barrenness and ask the Lord for mercy and determination to grow a genuine prayer community, this

17 THE PRAYING CHURCH lack of the power and presence of God can be restored and spiritual walls can be rebuilt.

When Jesus begins His instruction to His disciples on how to pray, He lays the groundwork for a heavenly vision of God, the Father.

Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matt 6:9-10

The foundation for a great prayer life or a good prayer meeting is the same. It starts with God and ends with God. Jesus says we should pray to “Our Father in heaven." He is telling us that His Father in heaven is now also “Our Father.” We can see that we have been adopted into ROYALTY.

Normally, books on prayer tell a lot of amazing stories of answers to prayer, so that our faith will be built up. But I want to tell a story that cannot be hyped up.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Rev 1:8

Before time began and before there were stars, planets, angels, or demons, there was God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). We don’t know what this really looked like or what the conversations were, but we know this: God was happy. Wouldn’t you be? The Father, Son, and Spirit existed together in perfect peace, joy, and love. The almighty, all-knowing,

18 THE PRAYING CHURCH omnipresent God was unchallenged by any enemy, was absolutely carefree, and was full of glorious affection for the other persons of the Trinity. There was no need for water, air, or food in the Godhead (three in one God - in perfect relationship).

Father

Son Holy Spirit

Again, we don’t know why or how a thought enters the mind of the all-knowing God, but the love within the Trinity was so profound, so glorious, that our good and generous God wanted to share His love with us, even before the universe existed.

Let me share a story from my own life that will help us understand this concept. My wife, Louise, and I love taking vacations in Colorado. When we get there, we usually drive to Helen Hunt Falls near Colorado Springs. There are several amazing trails that we hike. These trails lead us to incredible panoramic views of God’s spectacular creation. Even though

19 THE PRAYING CHURCH we are huffing and puffing from the lack of oxygen, our eyes are filled with splendor. WE SAY TO EACH OTHER “I WISH THE KIDS WERE HERE TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE THIS”. We wanted to share with our grown children the pleasure that we were experiencing because we knew that pictures wouldn’t come close to the reality. We wanted them to enjoy the experience. This is what I believe was in the heart of God, before He created the universe: “I want to share this experience. I want a bride for my Son and many, many grandchildren”.

The forth circle in this diagram represents God’s desire for you and your congregation, as well as all the believers since time began. The blood of Christ has redeemed us, washed away our sin, and brought us near to God as Sons and Daughters. Of course, we are also called the church or the Bride. This fourth circle is the place He has given us. No, we do not become part of the Trinity, we are not gods. Yet, in heaven we have the highest, nearest, and dearest place in God’s heart. We are royalty. We sit with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you, yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-6

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Father

Holy Son Spirit

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people or his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellency of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9-10

On planet earth, man was dying in sin, without true hope. The most that he could hope for was religion to numb some of his pain. God, however, had an amazing plan. He would send His own Son to be born in a manger. This Son would live an absolutely perfect life, without sin, in thought or deed. He would enter His ministry at the age of thirty and be crucified at thirty-three. Of course, all of this was part of God’s plan.

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This Son was raised to life after three days. He did some more training for His disciples for a few weeks and then “ascended up to heaven” in front of their own eyes.

This was not the end, but really the beginning of another chapter in “His Story”. A few days after His ascension, Jesus poured out the precious Holy Spirit on His friends and something new was created that was called “the church”, “the family of God”, or “the Bride”. This new entity, which includes us, consists of individuals who are part of something much bigger and more amazing than we realize. We have been invited into the Holy Trinity, that Holy Circle of love. Have we become gods? NO! NO! NO! We have been adopted into the “beloved”. We are “sons” and “daughters” of God and have been granted access into the Holy throne of heaven, because of Christ’s precious blood.

This is an incredible invitation that goes beyond Sunday morning or anything we can imagine. We are told in Colossians 3 to set our hearts and minds on heaven – where we have been raised. So, when Jesus says, “pray this way,” in Matthew 6, we must raise our sights to where He sits at the right hand of God. The amazing thing that we are told is that we have been raised up “with Christ” and “sit with Him in heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6). All of this is made possible because Jesus “purchased men for God” from every nation, tongue and tribe (Revelation 5).

Today, we as Christians may view our lives from a worldly perspective. We think about work, family, hobbies, etc. We may serve in a role at “church”, yet are we really alive on the inside? Are we really in love with and excited about Jesus or

22 THE PRAYING CHURCH has our salvation experience become the high point of our spiritual life?

The question we must ask is this: “Can we really know God outside of prayer?” When we understand that Jesus left the Holy circle of love and His heavenly home to purchase men and women for God, we must ask, “Why?” We understand the Gospel message: “for God so loved the world”. But why? What was He thinking? Certainly the answer is deeply tied to both our temporal and eternal destiny.

Jesus was sent by the Father to uncover a treasure in human hearts! (Matthew 13:44-46) This treasure is the heart that says “yes” to His Son Jesus. So prayer is not some kind of duty or labor. Prayer is saying YES to the royal invitation from the King of Kings to draw near to and engage with the blessed and Holy Godhead.

Keep in mind that you are being “invited” into the throne room, which is a Divine circle of power and love. (Hebrews 1:8, 4:16) What happens if we ignore the invitation, over and over again? Think about it. Where in Scripture does God approve our excuses or busyness? Many who were mightily gifted to build successful ministries will be shocked when in the end he hears God say, “I never knew you”. (Matthew 7:21-23)

The Father has been waiting patiently for thousands of years of history to unfold so that we could be with Him and know Him. He wants to spend time with and know His children. Why? He created the universe, planet earth, and mankind so that we would have a place to grow in our love for

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Him and in the knowledge of Him. Saying “yes” to prayer is saying “yes” to Him! EXPLANATION OF TERMS

I use many terms in this book which, at first glance, seem familiar enough. However, some I use in new ways, with specific emphasis. Therefore, here at the beginning, I will explain and define the terms which I feel might be confusing, or which I use in a new or different way.

THE PRAYING CHURCH is a Christian congregation that has a plan in place and has begun taking determined steps for growing prayer throughout their community.

THE HOUSE OF PRAYER is the “people of prayer” who gather during the week, usually in a room set aside for the purpose of prayer. The house of prayer or (HOP) becomes the prayer hub for the praying church. Access to this room is usually available 24/7 for those who are scheduled to pray there.

THE PRAYER DIRECTOR is the key leader who is responsible for representing the Leadership Team of the local church and supervises the meetings for the House of Prayer.

WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER, although there are many definitions, we define as an enjoyable prayer model for building sustainable prayer meetings. These meetings are led by a worship leader and a prayer leader who serve together to bring the people into the presence of God.

REFLECTIVE PRAYER USING THE BIBLE is an exciting model

24 THE PRAYING CHURCH of prayer. It is more than reading through the Bible in a Year. Reflecting on scripture is slowing down and focusing on a smaller passage of Scripture and using it as a lens to look into God’s heart. It is filling our mind and heart with the Word and inviting the Spirit of God into the dialogue by asking questions and waiting for answers. Many believers will record their reflections in a journal that they can look back on.

THE PRESENCE OF GOD is a distinct sense of God’s pleasure, holiness, goodness and power. Since God is omnipresent, there is nowhere that we can go where He is not. We experience His presence during prayer and even more so in Worship-Based Prayer.

24/7 MOVEMENTS are ministries that exist to provoke the local church to take a greater lead in what will become a global movement in the years preceding Christ’s return. We are grateful for all that we can learn from these other ministries.

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PART I: LAYING THE FOUNDATION

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CHAPTER 1

A NEW PATH FOR DISCIPLESHIP

We are holding this book in our hands because the Lord is drawing His people back to the place of intimacy with Him while growing in maturity, prior to His return. A deep, spiritual hunger for God is arising all across the earth. This spiritual hunger spans a wide variety of congregations, church expressions and age groups. We see this hunger expressed in the growing number of communities or houses of prayer that are springing up and committing to day and night prayer. These include twenty-four hour efforts, city wide events, and local churches that are offering multiple prayer meetings per week.

These activities, however, are not the result of any man’s carefully planned church-growth strategy. They are part of God’s plan and are strategic to the discipleship of men and women around the world. What is the Lord’s discipleship strategy? It is changing the church into a "praying church". Remember what a "praying church” is? It is a local congregation that is determined to see greater dimensions of prayer, that lead to God’s power and presence being established.

How is becoming the praying church related to discipleship? The answer is found in our relationship with the Lord. Remember those disturbing statistics mentioned earlier? Let's take a closer look at the study which produced those statistics. The research was carried out by Reveal Now of

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Willow Creek Community Church. This research is one of the most in-depth studies that has ever been undertaken on spiritual growth. The results give us a surprising path to spiritual maturity, discipleship and fulfilling the Great Commission. This study shows that believers, who have deeper, Christ-centered lives, become the best givers, evangelists and volunteers. In other words, true disciples.

Senior Pastor Bill Hybels from Willow Creek Community Church, near Chicago, commissioned this massive research project, which began in 2007 and continues to this day. His team wanted to determine the level of spiritual growth that individual church members in their congregations were actually experiencing. After five years of studying 280,000, in-depth responses from congregants in 1,200 churches across a wide variety of church expressions, they have learned:

 Church activity (Sunday services, small groups, Sunday school, serving, etc) is NOT a blueprint for spiritual growth. Spiritual growth is defined by loving God and others more, which is The Great Commandment.

 Instead, a person’s love for God and love for others (The Great Commandment) increases along a SPIRITUAL GROWTH CONTINUUM defined by their personal and active relationship with Christ.

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(Used with permission, Reveal, Willow Creek Community Church)

Spiritual behaviors do increase, somewhat, as people increase their participation in church activities, but not nearly as much as the leaders expected. In fact, Bill Hybels and his team were surprised at how little spiritual growth happened through normal church activities. This is disturbing for all church leaders because it suggests that attendance in various church activities alone—low or high— does not indicate whether or not the programs and activities are having an impact on spiritual growth.

If we can’t measure spiritual growth by counting heads at various activities or meetings, how do we know whether or not what we’re doing is working? How do we decide where to

31 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N invest our limited time and ministry resources for maximum impact?

(Used with permission, Reveal, Willow Creek Community Church)

Of course, every pastor wants to see genuine spiritual growth in the hearts of his people. Yet, this growth is not automatic. The graphic above shows the true goal; bigger hearts that love God and others more. This is the growth needed to fulfill the Great Commandment.

The Reveal Now research on spiritual growth discovered a spiritual growth continuum that every believer walks in. It starts as people show an interest in God and begin to attend various church activities. As this person becomes a believer, they proceed along the continuum until they either “stall out” or move forward and grow to become Christ centered.

Remember, 49% of new believers quickly stall out or

32 THE PRAYING CHURCH become dissatisfied with their church, while overall 32% of church goers stall out spiritually or become dissatisfied. This stagnation in the congregation slows down the work of God, which is commonly referred to as the Great Commission. People who are stalled in their faith or dissatisfied may be trying to live for Christ. However, for various reasons like sin, addictions, passivity, busyness or lack of knowledge, they have hit a plateau. Some in these groups may feel like they have heard all the basic messages of the church, but have not learned how to apply them. This is especially true with the spiritual practices (prayer, reflecting on the Bible, worship, journaling etc). Many of these good people want a deeper personal understanding of and experience with their Living Savior.

Regardless, every believer is on this spiritual growth continuum. The path to growth is not guaranteed, nor is it a straight line from start to finish. The spiritual continuum chart also reveals that the Christ-centered segment demonstrates the highest levels of spiritual attitudes and behaviors. This means that the most mature Christ-followers are also our best evangelists, financial contributors and volunteers.

“Since Christ-Centered people are our best financial contributors, volunteers and evangelists, it makes sense that we would direct sizable resources toward their spiritual development”. Reveal Now

It follows that understanding how to effectively move someone from Exploring Christ to being Christ-Centered should be one of our highest priorities for our church. Spiritual growth and growing to be “Christ-Centered” is the

33 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N path to making the most effective disciples that will carry out the Great Commission most successfully.

This is the critical point: After looking at the research results, Pastor Hybels said “believers must become self- feeders, they must practice the spiritual disciplines”. Since spiritual transformation draws us into a deeper walk with Christ, this then is the true path to discipleship, evangelism, giving and growth. APPLYING THE RESEARCH RESULTS

In most congregations there are already pockets of thirsty believers waiting to be led into deep and genuine lives of worship and prayer. Prayer is the vital connection with the Lord that they long for. When led by trained and competent leaders, times of prayer can become a growing, enjoyable and sustainable ministry within your church that will help your congregation stand firm when everything else seems to be shaking. There is good news: many times there are leaders within these pockets who would love to step in and lead, but they only need training.

Interestingly, for all of the books written, and for all of the seminars and messages devoted to prayer, the fact is that few senior leaders would declare that their church is really a praying church. Many efforts have been started with high hopes only to fall short of the expectation when it began. It could be that many of our expectations of what should happen when we pray are inaccurate to start with.

In my 30 years in the church, I have personally seen prayer

34 THE PRAYING CHURCH efforts begin after a fiery evangelist had visited the church and promised everything from church growth, to financial prosperity, to miracles, signs and wonders – if the church will pray. While any number of blessings from God may be poured out on the Praying Church, it is important to enter the process for the right reasons and with reasonable expectations. Otherwise, the sense of failure and discouragement from the enemy will quickly envelope the prayer meetings causing many to give up. In fact, I would even be bold enough to say that wrong motives and wrong expectations have killed more prayer efforts than any other thing.

It is important to understand past failures so as to not repeat them, and you must know why and how the biblical model for building enjoyable prayer can be sustained in a local church setting. Prayer cannot be sustained as a work, program or duty. These things steal the very life from the people praying. If you get nothing else out of this book, please get this: God has given us prayer as the means to connect with His own heart and God intended this connection to be enjoyed and delighted in.

You see, for too long we have tried to turn prayer into an obligation, duty, work, responsibility, etc. This causes it to become drudgery, a chore, labor and a grind. God sent Jesus to bring us into relationship with Himself and the Father. David said, “there is joy in His presence, pleasures forevermore at His right hand.” (Psalm 16:11) Does this sound like “duty”? David said to “taste and see that He is good” (Psalm 34:8) and to “drink from His river of delights”. (Psalm 36:8) God’s love for us reaches higher than the highest heaven. (Psalm 103:11)

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Nothing can separate us from His love. (Romans 8:35)

This kind of prayer could actually satisfy the parched hearts in our congregations. Jesus said, “if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink”. (John 7:37-39) This is not a one-time event at salvation, but an ongoing pursuit of the living Christ.

Here’s the good news. After having led prayer training in a wide spectrum of local churches and missions groups, I have never visited a group that was not longing for this type of ministry. They only need someone to lead them. What I will share in this booklet is a model of prayer that is fully biblical, enjoyable, and easy to sustain. Any local congregation can be developed into the Praying Church. Remember, it is the Praying Church that will release a greater measure of spiritual power and intensity for Global Missions so that the Great Commission is fulfilled in our time. It will also prepare the Bride for Christ’s return.

There is no higher priority for the church in this hour than to pray. Prayer is the connection with God that we were created to experience. We know that if we pray, good things will happen. We assume, though, that when we pray, God quickly sends revival and the church grows as in the picture below.

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Church Prayer Growth

Revival

This is where our motives for prayer are tested. If our prayers brought in a rush of new people into our church meetings, it could be a problem. If God sent the church lots and lots of new people we would likely be overwhelmed by the ministry demands placed on us and our leadership team.

Let’s ask ourselves this: 1 - Do we want more prayer to get more people? or 2- Do we want more prayer so that we, our leadership team and our congregation can grow closer to God, enjoy His presence, hear His voice and have transforming joy in our lives?

The correct answer is obvious, but I had to ask so that from the beginning of this journey the motive would be clear. God Church Centered Growth Prayer

Transformation

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What actually happens in prayer is this. Our time with the Lord produces something far better than obtaining more people; it produces inner transformation in our lives and the lives of our people. As we pursue Him, we grow more in love with Christ, a genuine humility grows, our hearts are quicker to forgive, and marriages and families get reconciled. Our congregation begins to look more attractive and AUTHENTIC to outsiders. It becomes a place of healing and transformation for new people as well. The presence and power of God grows into a tangible reality among us.

God, the Person, is both the target and reward of our times of prayer. (Gen 15:1)

The Praying Church, if it is to be successful, must create an atmosphere where believers do more than come to meetings, but where they actually connect with God. Pastors have struggled with getting people to pray and read their Bibles for many years. The solution is to gather “the sheep” and not only teach, but to model these practices and give “the sheep” time to practice. Just as a sports team must “practice” the plays, so must the church “practice” the spiritual disciplines.

The research of Reveal of Willow Creek Church pointed to the fact that the most influential and personal, spiritual practice across the board was reflective prayer using the Bible. This spiritual practice was most effective at moving believers along the spiritual continuum. This prayer model can be learned in an hour, yet, like other spiritual practices, it will be mostly ignored unless believers are gathered together to practice and experience it. We will share more on reflective prayer later in our application section.

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Your HOP becomes the place (regardless of what room it is in) where those more experienced are practicing the disciplines alongside inexperienced believers. There is modeling and participation in your HOP environment that produces an inner transformation. The House of Prayer then becomes God’s greenhouse for growing prayer, raising up worshippers, and cultivating spiritual gifts and doing personal ministry.

Let’s sum up where we are so far. The two main points from this chapter are as follows.

1. Those that move along the Spiritual Growth Continuum and grow to be “Christ Centered” turn out to be the best evangelists, financial contributors and volunteers (disciples).

2. “Since Christ-Centered people become our best financial contributors, volunteers and evangelists, it makes sense that we would direct sizeable resources toward their spiritual development”. Reveal Now SHEPHERDS AND SHEEP

Pastors are the “Shepherds”, or leaders in the body of Christ and the “Sheep” are followers. This is how God has designed us. Even if a church member is very successful in business life, or highly educated; this is not a guarantee that he/she will become a spiritual leader as well. In the same way, those who have been in the church for many years do not give us an assurance of growth.

A person’s stature in life is no promise of spiritual growth.

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As a shepherd, we must gather the sheep, cause them to lie down in green pastures, and bring them to the quiet waters – just like all of the other sheep. The nature of this book suggests that private devotions are very important for growth. Yet, the church, by nature, is a collection of people, called out, to pursue God – together, like sheep. This means that our people can learn to pursue some of their private devotions, in a group setting and especially while they are in the learning stage. THE CHANGING CHURCH

The church has made some significant changes over the last 25-30 years that have helped it grow. First, the Church around the world has changed the way that we do community by allowing small groups to gather in homes during the week that are led by lay people. Secondly, churches all over America have dramatically upgraded worship on Sunday morning by allowing electric guitars, drum kits and contemporary worship songs. Of course, as pastors we can see the biblical basis for these changes and the benefits they bring.

In the same way, we need to look at the way we have approached prayer in the past. Is it working? Have we become the house of prayer? Are we the Praying Church? Are people being transformed by the power and the presence of God? Are they growing in biblical revelation and understanding? Are they becoming true disciples? If not, we must embrace another round of change.

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CHAPTER 2

IT HAPPENS EVERY SUNDAY

Something wonderful happens every Sunday as believers from every nation, tongue and tribe gather together in their various local churches. While there are many expressions of church life around the world, all believers gather together to worship God. We do this with singing and music. Many believers are carrying various burdens, losses, failures, sin, shame and guilt. As they come, by faith, to their various congregations to worship, they are also coming to the “throne of grace”. They are singing and praying to the Living God, our Father, and His Son Jesus. As they engage their hearts with God through worship, awesome things begin to happen.

God’s power and presence is released from heaven as we sing our simple worship song to the Lord! This power and presence comes in varying degrees. New research from the Hartford Institute of Religious Research, describes corporate worship as a “high” similar to a drug in many worship services. This may sound odd; but when the Spirit of the Lord touches humans, there is a lifting of burdens and a release of joy in His presence. We feel better. You may remember that on the day of Pentecost, the disciples were accused of having too much wine. The Praying Church will encounter various degrees of God’s presence that might include weeping, laughing, or even a shout from time to time. These are all biblical expressions and they should not be looked down upon, as long as they are in order.

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We want more than just an intellectual assent of God. We want and need fresh mercies and grace every day as the Lord fills us with His presence.

For those who come to worship in humility and with even a little thirst, God does something wonderful. The music begins to play and these believers begin to sing the words of the worship songs that are sung every week in churches around the world. Faith is restored. A connection happens. These humble believers make contact with the heart of God. Unpretentious human beings who are singing simple worship songs that describe God’s power, mercy and love, begin to experience the presence of God. Their sin is forgiven, their burdens are lifted, their shame is washed away and any loss is put in the right perspective. This all happens in a few minutes, as hearts and minds are set on “things above” where Christ is seated. As we sing to the Lord with engaged hearts, His presence comes to comfort and encourage us. This is, in fact, a mini-miracle. God is meeting with man. His presence comes in response to the truth in these songs that we sing by faith.

We are singing our prayers just as David did 3000 years ago. David would write out his prayers and set them to music in order to be sung by choirs of priests on Mt. Zion. Saint Augustine later said, “when you sing, you pray twice”. Today when we sing in church, we call it worship. Worship and prayer are two sides of the same coin. ENJOYABLE, WORSHIP-FILLED PRAYER

Why don’t believers like to pray? Why do they resist when

44 THE PRAYING CHURCH we encourage them to pray?

I was meeting with one of the key leaders in one of the major denominations to discuss prayer. He said, “Believers need to get on their knees and pray. They must seek the Lord!”

I asked him to picture, in his mind, what that really looked like. An inexperienced believer hears an inspiring message about prayer and then he or she goes home to “pray”. Now, on their knees and seeking God they begin to experience something unexpected. While there, on their knees, they begin to hear a voice saying to them “what are you doing here” and “who do you think you are? Don’t you remember what you did last night, the TV show you watched, etc…”? As our sheep are trying to pray, they are being bombarded by accusations from their ancient enemy, the Devil. Prayer may last about three minutes and then they say to themselves, “if that is prayer I don’t want any part of it”. They were not prepared for the very real opposition that they would face. Let’s explain. THREE MODELS OF PRAYER

There are three basic models of prayer. The vast amount of teaching and practice in the church over the past generation has focused mainly on the first two models.

1. SUPPLICATION is asking God for things, especially personal things. This includes prayer that uses various lists. Example: How many of us have been in a thirty-minute prayer meeting with five other people. One by one we share

45 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N in detail our requests; twenty-five minutes go by leaving us five minutes to pray. These types of meetings happen week after week. There is little room for God’s presence, power, or revelation from His word. Of course, the Lord kindly answers many of these prayer requests because of His goodness and mercy towards us.

2. INTERCESSION is praying for things, like revival, the election, or praying against things like abortion. Intercession is a powerful weapon for The Praying Church. A challenging aspect of intercession is that often our intercession involves issues that may take many years to see answered. Many intercessors are praying for an end to abortion or for a great spiritual awakening to sweep through our land. Many have come to the Lord to intercede for these issues week after week and see little, or no, tangible change. When this happens, it is easy to get disillusioned and give up in a very short time.

While these two prayer models are biblical, necessary, and at times very effective, they are not the foundational “heart- to-heart” prayer that God is looking for in His people, throughout scripture. Why? It is difficult to build a solid relationship with someone if the only time they see you is when they have an urgent need. This kind of relationship mimics the behavior of the very emotionally immature who are always coming to us with urgent requests.

This behavior does not work well in building human relationships and it does not work very well with God our Father either. Of course the Lord wants to be involved with every area of our life, which includes praying for emergencies

46 THE PRAYING CHURCH or personal requests.

3. DEVOTIONAL PRAYER is a heart to heart connection to the Lord. He wants sons and daughters who will pursue Him because of love.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Prayer is meant to be so much more enjoyable than asking for things. We can actually enter into friendship with the Lord and He will take care of many of our needs, even before we ask.

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:6-9

As you can see, it is a “devotional” or “worship” centered relationship that the Lord seeks.

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OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD WILL THEN LOOK MORE LIKE THIS.

WE BRING OUR THIRSTY, NEEDY HEARTS TO HIM AND GOD MEETS WITH US. WE CALL THIS MEETING “ENCOUNTER”.

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:23-25

ENJOYABLE PRAYER MODEL ROOTED IN SCRIPTURE

Here then, is the third kind of prayer. It is in direct line with the model many churches use on Sunday mornings. We call it Worship-Based Prayer. WBP is simple, natural and enjoyable. We take the SAME songs that we sing on Sunday, along with a few new ones, into our “prayer room or HOP meetings” and streamline everything. Many of our teams have only one or two musicians, a singer or two, a prayer leader and a few worshippers. We will describe the meetings in detail later, but essentially, as we worship, God’s presence comes

48 THE PRAYING CHURCH just like He does Sunday morning. In these meetings, however, we have less time constraints and a more relaxed attitude because there is more time to experience His presence, reflect on His word, and minister to each other. We don’t need a big band or rehearsals. We only need a worship leader who has a heart after God and who will lead us into His presence.

Worship-Based Prayer is a powerful “heart to heart” connection with God using live worship music in a group setting. As we worship and minister to the Lord together amazing things take place. The Lord releases glimpses of His great love to us by emphasizing a Scripture passage to us. His love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. In this way, we are built up and encouraged in our faith. This often leads to reconciled relationships, and ministry to one another. During this time gifts of the Holy Spirit are released. Many times people will pray over the exact needs other people have, without being told what they are.

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:7-8

On a personal level, you might call it your private devotions, reflective prayer using the Bible, or your quiet time. For the sake of this booklet, since we are dealing with corporate prayer, rooted in worship, we will call it Worship- Based Prayer.

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THE WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER MODEL LOOKS LIKE THIS.

LOVE - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 Worship And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these Based two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:37-40 Prayer

WORSHIP - But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people Encounter to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in True with God spirit and truth. John 4:23-24 Discipleship

RELATIONSHIP- I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

FELLOWSHIP - Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Transform- Presence of me. Revelation 3:20 ation God

Intercession for the church, the community, or the nations will, many times, begin during or right after these times of personal ministry.

In the long term, God is seeking worshippers, who will worship in Spirit and truth. He is looking for friends who will love Him with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength, as a way of life; and not only during seasons of trouble or when a serious need arises in the church or in their family. The Lord is looking for love, worship, and fellowship with His people.

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WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER

Fruitful Outreach

Spiritual Renewal

Worship Driven

God Centered

LOVE - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

WORSHIP - But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,

51 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23-24

RELATIONSHIP- I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

FELLOWSHIP - Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

SO, IN THE PAST, YOU MAY HAVE LOOKED AT PRAYER LIKE THIS.

Supp- Inter- Prayer lication cession

While these two models of prayer (supplication and intercession) are important, most believers will eventually see that without devotional prayer, these two models of prayer become a duty, labor or obligation. Again, unless sufficient time is spent in God’s presence this kind of prayer becomes a burden that will wear us out. True intercessors that are consistent have learned to develop a strong devotional life as their foundation.

This third model of prayer is devotional or centered on God. Its focus is all about growing more passionate for the Lord. The focus IS God.

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Heartfelt Worship Devotional Prayer

John 4:23-24 Word Centered

THIS IS A PICTURE OF CORPORATE WORSHIP AND PRAYER.

We have made the whole prayer experience easier for our people by teaching that prayer and worship are two sides of the same coin. The idea of connecting with God through worship is crucial. God is seeking worshippers. This is our daily invitation into God’s presence. We need faith to pray. There is no easier way to begin group prayer than by singing a few worship songs that are packed with truth about God’s greatness, mercy and love.

When we come into God’s presence with engaged hearts, singing, God rewards us with His presence. He said “when two or more gather in My name I am in your midst”. (Matthew 18:20) We have access to God’s throne through the blood of Christ and when we come boldly to Him, Christ encounters us. (Hebrews 4:16) Since Jesus actually lives in us, (Colossians 1:27) encountering His presence should not

53 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N surprise us.

We may be thinking that if God releases His presence on Sunday, why is there a need for other meetings during the week? Let me respond by asking this question, “Is our leadership team and congregation experiencing the fullness of God’s presence in the same way the early church did?” A brief review of Acts shows:

 The church was in one accord while they met in prayer. Acts 1:14

 They met daily. Acts 2:42-47

 They met in the morning, in the afternoon and prayed all night long on special occasions. Acts 2:15, 3:1, 12:12

 The apostles made prayer and the word of God the central part of their ministry. Acts 6:4

 Their prayers released power. Acts 3:6-8, 4:31, 16:25- 26

We could equate daily prayer to the day and night activity of burning incense and lighting of the lamps in the tabernacle of Moses.

If we were to survey the entire Bible, we would find two periods of time in history where more miracles, signs, and wonders were performed than any other time in history. The first period is during the ministry of Moses, when God released the ten historic plagues, signs, and wonders in

54 THE PRAYING CHURCH response to the prayers of Moses. What was the result? The entire nation of Egypt, Pharaoh, and his army were destroyed. God followed these signs by giving water from a rock, manna from heaven, and victory over opposing armies. Yet, because of the Israelites’ unbelief, they died in the wilderness and did not enter the Promised Land.

But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. Numbers 14:21-24

Say to them, 'As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Numbers 14:28-30

The second period of incredible miracles is found during the ministry of Jesus, as He walked as a man on the earth.

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Lepers were cleansed, the crippled were healed, blind eyes opened and the dead were raised to life. Jesus fed multitudes with just a few loaves of bread and a little fish. He cast out demons and calmed raging seas. Yet, we read in the following passage:

Then he (Jesus) began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you." Matthew 11:20-24

Here is another passage that puts things into perspective.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me,

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'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' Matthew 7:21-23

Jesus seems to be warning us that if we run after ministry success, large crowds, salvations, signs, and wonders and do not put relationship with Him first, we will risk losing everything. We cannot get around the Great Commandment, which is to love God and others.

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:36-40

Of course, the Lord loves to heal us, save us, and deliver us out of various troubles in response to our active prayers; but make no mistake about it, the Lord of all is looking for relationship. This is what the “praying church” is all about. We know that God created the universe. But why? He wanted a chosen people out of a fallen race, to love and fellowship with. We were made for His pleasure.

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Prayer is mostly about a growing relationship with God. It is a relationship that produces a transformed heart and a lifestyle of obedience to Him and His word. Remember that it is those who are transformed and grow the closest to Christ who become the best disciples, evangelists, volunteers and givers.

So, why do we make prayer so difficult or imagine that it is only for special, emergency situations? What kind of prayer model can we engage in that will be sustainable and produce long-term fruit? SUMMARY

We learned in the first chapter that those who grow closest to Christ become the best disciples, evangelists, volunteers and givers.

In the second chapter, we learned that there are three (3) main models of prayer. With Worship-based Prayer, we sing worship songs with engaged hearts, which brings the release of God’s presence and power. This goes beyond Sunday mornings. We can purposely take WBP and use it as a tool to bring our congregations closer to Christ.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; 2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, 3 to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. 4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

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Psalm 92:1-4

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95:2

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:2

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CHAPTER 3

ORIGINS OF WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER

On Sunday mornings when we worship, we are actually functioning in the biblical tradition that goes back 3000 years to Samuel, the prophet, and David, the man after God’s own heart. This model was used by Israel and the early church. It has been part of Christian worship, in every generation. In essence, on Sunday, we are singing Bible truths that express the nature and glory of God. We sing the Gospel story and about the power of God’s love, the cross, Jesus' blood, His victory over death and His Second Coming.

Worship-Based Prayer is the model of prayer used by the vast majority of Christian churches throughout the earth. In this chapter, we will give several Scriptural examples of God’s power being released through Worship-Based Prayer.

We could write volumes about the ministry of music that was used in worship throughout the Bible. Instead, I want to focus on a few key passages where it is shown that the power and presence of God is released when we worship with engaged hearts. There is something mysterious and wonderful in the way God reveals Himself to humans when we worship Him. In the midst of God’s presence, power is also present. We mentioned how the Lord manifests Himself on Sunday mornings when the church worships Him. Let’s look at the biblical foundation for this Divine activity.

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SAMUEL - JUDGE, PRIEST AND PROPHET

Samuel the prophet came on the scene about 450 years after Moses and Joshua. If we read the book of Judges, we will see that during that entire 450 years it was rare to find anyone in all of Israel that ever had a genuine and intimate relationship with the Lord!

Much of this had to do with the system of worship that was put in place by the Lord through Moses. The Old Covenant’s sacrificial system with the constant killing, skinning and burning of animal sacrifices was bloody. It was also a filthy business. Animals were killed, blood was poured out on the altar, the tent, etc. This bloody work must have attracted flies, and all kinds of hungry bugs. The smell of death was ever- present. Day after day, the sacrifices were presented. I’m sure the priests worked hard at keeping things clean, but they were outdoors, with no air conditioning or running water. In those days, it was not a romantic job to be part of the priesthood. The worst part of the entire operation was that only the high priest could come into God’s presence; and only once per year, on the Day of Atonement. That left the rest of the nation out of fellowship with God. (Hebrews 9:6-7) Samuel, you will see, breaks new ground in spiritual depth and insight.

Read 1 Samuel 1-3

Samuel was born in answer to his barren mother’s prayer. She promised God that if He would give her a son, she would give her son back to God, for all his days. So after Samuel was weaned, his mother dedicated him and gave him to Eli, the high priest at Shiloh. Samuel ministered alongside Eli as a

62 THE PRAYING CHURCH sort of apprentice. Keep in mind that Eli’s two wicked sons were selfishly stealing from those who came to make offerings and they were abusing the women. Little Samuel wore the priestly robes and learned the duties of the priesthood from the High Priest, Eli, who took an interest in the boy. Little Samuel took his priestly duties very seriously, while Eli’s two sons continued in their wickedness.

Eli, while ministering during the night shift alongside Samuel, would actually sleep in the holy place by the lampstand, in the tabernacle. It was not long until Samuel began to sleep behind the curtain where the Ark of God was kept, in the Most Holy Place. (1 Samuel 3:1-3) Of course, this was against the Law of Moses for anyone but the High Priest to go behind the veil. This may be the very reason why God chose to use Samuel, a child. Picture this. Here is a small child of four to six years old who is ministering as a priest, in the tabernacle. This is a ministry that was normally reserved for those over 30 who were in good standing. I’m sure Eli warned Samuel many times not to go behind the veil, because “God” was back there. Picture any young boy that age. Filled with curiosity, he must have wanted to know what God was really like. So it was Samuel’s childlike faith that led him behind the veil in his pursuit of God.

"Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." Luke 18:16-17

Samuel was actually giving us a picture of the New

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Covenant worship. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we now have access to God’s throne through the blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 4:16, 10:19-22) The veil has been torn in two and the Praying Church comes boldly into God’s presence without restrictions.

It was in the Most Holy Place that the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel through visions and thru His audible voice. The very first prophetic word that Samuel received was a judgment against Eli and his two sons!

As time went on, Samuel grew into Israel’s prophet, judge and high priest. 1 Samuel 3:10- 14

Though we don’t know how the music ministry started with Samuel, the scriptures do give us a hint. Samuel’s mother, Hannah, brought Samuel to Eli, just as she vowed to the Lord, and this is what she brought with him.

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine [nebel], and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 1 Samuel 1:24

According to the Brown, Driver and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, the word “nebel” can be translated two ways: 1) a skin-bag, a jar, a pitcher; 2) a harp, a lute, a guitar, a musical instrument.

The word “nebel” is used 38 times in the Old Testament. Thirty-three times it is used as a musical instrument. We

64 THE PRAYING CHURCH know that wine was often used in the Levitical sacrifices; yet, this passage is the first time the word “nebel” is used. Could it be that the wine bag or pitcher was used as a primitive musical instrument when it was empty? We don’t know for sure. Nevertheless, we will see that Samuel becomes the father of worship music for all of Israel.

Samuel discovered the power of using music and prayer to minister to God, and the release of God’s presence, in the midst. Samuel became Israel’s spiritual leader after the death of Eli. Over the years, he passed down this new model of worship to the Levitical Priests that were under his charge. These priests included Heman, Samuel’s grandson, and well as Heman’s 14 sons, who were all worship leaders in David’s Tabernacle.

Samuel is one of the great leaders in the Old Testament. (Psalm 99:6, Jeremiah 15:1, Acts 3:24, 13:20) What makes him even more interesting for our purpose, is the hidden, but obvious, connection between Samuel and David, the man after God’s own heart. Together, they are responsible for writing over 250 chapters in the Bible which include, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, and Psalms. For a comparison, Moses wrote 185 chapters, Isaiah wrote 66 chapters, while the Apostle Paul wrote 87. David’s name alone is mentioned over 1000 times in the Bible. This is more than any other man in Scripture, including our Lord Jesus.

Samuel is pivotal in the development of worship in the Old Testament. He is the first official prophet of Israel and he is also the last judge. (Acts 3:24, 13:20) Samuel anointed the first two kings of Israel (1 Samuel 10, 16) and totally changed

65 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N the way that God was worshipped in much of Israel. Samuel was credited with creating the “school of the prophets”. These schools trained priests in playing musical instruments, writing out their prayers, and setting them to music.

Later, Samuel also mentored David in this model of prayer and upon his death, Samuel then turned the ministering of the priests over to David. These schools continued on through the various kings that came and went.

When David was made king of all Israel, he expanded this sacred ministry of singing prayer. David moved the Ark of God to Mt. Zion. (2 Samuel 6) Zion became the center of worship for Israel during the time of David. David had 4000 priests who were skilled musicians and 288 skilled singers that served the house of prayer in shifts. (1 Chronicles 23:5, 25:7) David, the man after God’s own heart, would write out his prayers and give them to the choir directors who would then set David’s prayers to music. Lest you think David is an OT relic, think about this. We are still singing the Psalms that David and his priests wrote 3000 years ago. SAMUEL RADICALLY CHANGED THE WAY ISRAEL WORSHIPPED GOD.

Samuel grew up with a very strong connection to the Ark of God. The Ark represents God’s presence. The Ark is mentioned 39 times in the first seven chapters of 1 Samuel. Because the Ark of God was foolishly lost in a battle with the Philistines, it wound up for nearly 100 years, separated from the tabernacle of Moses, resting in Kearith Jearim. (Psalm

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132) It was during this time that Samuel developed his “school of the prophets”. Samuel began training the Levitical priests to develop their musical gifts and sing their prayers. Samuel travelled with these singing priests as he made his circuit around Israel as a Judge. 1 Sam. 7:15-17, 10, 16. The Book of Psalms was patterned in the model Samuel developed. Prayers were written down and then set to music and then sung to the Lord in their services.

The people of Israel knew that Samuel was getting old and that his two sons were corrupt. (1 Samuel 8) They asked Samuel to give them a king.

Samuel felt rejected by their request, but the Lord told Samuel that the people did not reject him, but they were rejecting God. In time, the Lord showed him that Saul, son of Kish, was to be Israel’s first king. (1 Samuel 7:15-17, 8)

It is in this interaction with Saul that we see the first appearance of Samuel’s singing priests and the power of Worship-Based Prayer.

Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his (Saul’s) head and kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.” 1 Samuel 10:1-2

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We want everything that we teach the people who are committed to prayer to be rooted in the Bible. To show the examples of God’s power released through Worship-Based Prayer, we will look at several examples in Scripture. A few of these examples have quite a bit of detail. It is important to read these passages in context so that we, as leaders, will be convinced of how God moves with power through worship. Eventually, we will want to use these examples as teaching material, while instructing our congregation. THE POWER OF WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER #1

… you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 1 Samuel 10:5-7

What is “prophesying”?

David and the chiefs of the service also set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals. The list of those who did the work and of their duties was: 2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king. 1 Chronicles 25:1-2

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naba' (naw-baw'); a primitive root; to prophesy, i.e. speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse): - Strongs

The definition lists singing by inspiration. Both Samuel’s musicians and David’s likely were singing songs they were familiar with, then maybe one or two of them would begin to add new lines to the song that no-one ever heard before. This could also be called a “new song”. (Psalm 33:3)

When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, "What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? 1 Samuel 10:10-11

In this encounter, the prophets were merely playing their instruments to the Lord and singing simple songs with engaged hearts. What caused Saul to “prophesy”? The Spirit of God rushed upon him! Power was released through the simplicity of worship. This God-encounter that Saul had would be considered very strong. We know that:

…the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:32-33

We could call this release of God’s power during worship

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“a miracle” if it happened only once in the Bible. If it happened only twice, we might call it an odd coincidence. Since it happened many times in scripture, we would have to say that it is a pattern that is meant to be normal Christianity. We will show a few more examples, but keep in mind that Samuel’s ministry, with his singing priests, continued for many years, before Saul was ever made king and it goes on many years after Saul is king. Samuel’s priests were well regarded. They were singing and worshipping daily. Their ministry was well-known and the fear of the Lord would come upon the towns that they went to.

Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, "Do you come peaceably? 1 Samuel 16:4

King Saul grew rebellious toward the Lord. Under pressure while impatiently waiting for Samuel to show up on the scene, Saul offered a burnt offering. (1 Samuel 13:8-12) This was strictly forbidden by the law, because only priests could offer sacrifices to God. This is what Samuel tells him:

But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you. 1 Samuel 13:14

Saul continued to reign as king of Israel for many years after this rebellion, and his heart grew more and more distant

70 THE PRAYING CHURCH from the Lord. Saul was the king of Israel for a total of 40 years. It is likely that 25-28 years into Saul’s reign, God would tell Samuel to anoint a new king.

Samuel was told to go to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as the new king. This, of course, was a very dangerous mission. Kings do not like to be overthrown, but Samuel obeyed the Lord.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him (David) in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward… 1 Samuel 16:13 THE POWER OF WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER #2

Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul's servants said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well." 17 So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me." 18 One of the young men answered, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him." 19 Therefore Saul sent

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messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me David your son, who is with the sheep." 20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight." 23 And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. 1 Samuel 16:14-23

Let’s look into 1 Samuel 16:20. What did David’s father give to him to take as gift to Saul? Notice the “skin” of wine? It looks like the same gift that Samuel’s mother brought, when Samuel as dedicated to the Lord. This Hebrew word is different. This Hebrew word is only used six times. Every time, it is clearly used as a container for wine or milk. no'd or no'wd also (feminine) no'dah — skin, bottle, skin- bottle (Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)

This story raises some interesting questions. There are several possible answers. Let's look at them below.

How did Saul’s servants know that playing music in Saul’s presence would drive the evil spirit away?

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Was David’s ministry to Saul a one-time event or did David play his instrument on a regular basis and did see the same result every time?

Where did Saul’s servant see David playing his lyre or harp?

It is clear that Samuel and his company had been to Bethlehem before, and that Samuel knew David’s family. (1 Samuel 16:3- 5) The whole town trembled when Samuel came to town.

Where did David learn to play?

Note, also, that Samuel is credited with writing the book of Ruth. Boaz and Ruth were the grand parents of Jesse and great grandparents of David. They were also, most likely, friends with the prophet. It is also possible that David played his lyre (harp) anytime when Samuel came to town and out in the field where he took care of his father’s sheep. It is clear that David’s music ministry was fairly well known and taken seriously by Saul’s servants. (1 Samuel 16:14-19)

Was David’s ministry to Saul a one-time event or did David play his instrument on a regular basis and did see the same result every time?

David probably played (led worship) regularly or even, daily for Saul. David got to see, firsthand, how the presence of God was cultivated through worship music and how the evil spirit would flee whenever he played. (1 Samuel 16:23)

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THE POWER OF WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER #3- ARMIES FALL

Despite the king’s jealousy, David grew to become Israel’s undisputed military leader and married the king’s own daughter. The more successful he became, the more obvious it was to Saul that David was the man that was to replace him. Finally Saul’s jealousy grew so severe that Saul was determined to kill David. Because of this, David left and sought out Samuel in Ramah.

Now David fled and escaped (from Saul), and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. 1 Samuel 19:18-24

It is interesting to note that David went and lived with Samuel at Naioth. This was more than a short weekend visit. David probably spent considerable time with Samuel, possibly a month or longer. The scripture does not say that he visited, but that he lived with Samuel in Naioth. Just as interesting, is that the town of Naioth is only mentioned in this passage. (Including 1 Samuel 20:1)

Naioth - "habitations" a dwelling place of prophets in the time of Samuel. (Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)

Naioth - dwellings, the name given to the prophetical college established by Samuel near Ramah. It consisted of a cluster of separate dwellings, and hence its name. David took refuge here when he fled from Saul (1 Samuel 19:18,19,22,23), and

74 THE PRAYING CHURCH here he passed a few weeks in peace. It was probably the common residence of the "sons of the prophets." (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

It is here, at Naoith, that David and Samuel’s relationship was strengthened. Samuel and his “school of prophets” were about to give David another semester’s worth of education. Doubtlessly, Samuel confirmed David’s anointing and kingly calling. David, surely, had long talks with Samuel about what God wanted His kingdom to look like. David also would have become familiar with the prophetic leaders that Samuel was grooming. These leaders would have included Samuel’s grandson Heman, Jeduthun, and Asaph as well as Obed-Edom, all who would become David’s key leaders. These same men would help David establish the worship center on Mount Zion when he became king. BACK TO THE STORY…

19 And it was told Saul, "Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah." 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21 When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" And one said,

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"Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah." 23 And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" 1 Samuel 19:19-24

We can see from this passage that prayer, especially worship-based prayer, releases the presence of God in the atmosphere. Armies fall down before Samuel and David as they lead the priests in worship. This is what the Lord is after, The Praying Church. This does not mean that the church could never lose a battle, but that spiritual victories would be frequent. POWER OF WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER #4

When David transferred his kingdom to his son Solomon, he also gave his son great wealth with which to build a magnificent temple. This took several years to complete. When the temple was dedicated, we see yet another example of the power of God released during worship-based prayer.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is

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Zion… 7 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 11 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, 12 and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; 13 and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever," the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. 2 Chronicles 5:2, 7, 11 -14

Heman, Asaph and Jeduthum are the priests that are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 25. These men had been ministering daily on Mount Zion, for decades.

Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of

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his throne. Psalm 97:2

Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. They called to the Lord, and he answered them. In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them. Psalm 99:6-7

Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. Isaiah 4:5-6

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Psalm 50:2

POWER OF WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER #5

Approximately 150 years after David’s reign, we see King Jehoshaphat as the king of Judah. Jehoshaphat was a reformer and worked hard to lead his people back to God. He strengthened the Levitical priesthood, and sent the priests throughout the land to teach the people God’s law and commands. King Jehoshaphat made an alliance, for which he was rebuked by one of God’s prophets. Yet, overall, Jehoshaphat honored God. Especially by honoring and building up the priesthood.

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Let’s let the Bible describe the power of Worship-Based Prayer in delivering the people of Judah.

After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar" (that is, Engedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, "O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 'If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you— for your name is in

79 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.' 10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."

13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, 'Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord

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on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you."

18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, "Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever." 2 Chronicles 20:1-20

Here is an interesting thought to consider. Where did they get the idea to put the singers in front of the army? Wasn’t this a pretty risky way to fight a battle? Didn’t Israel lose the Ark as well as 30,000 men in 1 Samuel 4 by doing this? What

81 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N was different this time? In 1 Samuel 4, the high priest Eli and his two sons were in disobedience with words of judgment hanging over their heads. They did not inquire of God and instead, they were using the Ark as a sort of lucky charm.

It is clear that King Jehoshaphat led repentance. Here, also, was a community of priests who heard from God regularly. Notice that the priests who spoke up were Asaph’s and Samuel’s direct descendants (Korah). These were probably the remnant of priests who were passing the ministry of Worship-Based Prayer from one generation to the next. If you doubt this, notice that 400 plus years later, after the captivity in Babylon, the singing priests were part of the efforts in the rebuilding of the temple.

And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,

"For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel."

And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. Ezra 3:10-11

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And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron. Nehemiah 12:45-47

BACK TO JEHOSHAPHAT

22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. 2 Chronicles 20:22-23

THE LORD DELIVERS JUDAH

24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the

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wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around. 2 Chronicles 20:24- 30

This passage of Scripture demonstrates God’s favor on the kingdom that employs Worship-Based Prayer. Imagine the blessings and favor that would be poured out on the local church that honored God with regular worship and praise!

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THE POWER OF WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER #6-

NEW TESTAMENT

In the New Testament, there is much evidence to conclude that the traditions passed down through Samuel and David were still in effect and flowing into the lives of the early Jewish believers. The New Testament church was led by Jewish leader for the first hundred years. David was a hero to them. Praise and worship were part of their daily gatherings and lifestyle. The church was exhorted to sing hymns at their meetings and even to each other. (1 Corinthians 14, Ephesians 5, Colossians 3) From the very beginning, we can witness the important part that singing and worship played in the life of the church.

Then he (Jesus) led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God. Luke 24:50-53

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their

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possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47

God’s power was poured out on this Praying Church. When we look a little further and we can see that these Jewish believers continued to go to the Temple, at the hour of prayer.

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Acts 3:1-2

Of course, this man was healed and 2000 men were added to the church in one day.

Later, as the church continued to expand, the Apostles were pressed by the people to help distribute food to some of the needy widows. What was their response?

But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." Acts 6:4

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When the leaders of the church got together, they worshipped the Lord.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:2-3

WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER #7

It was on one of these missionary journeys that we see God’s power released through worship-based prayer.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Acts 16:25-30

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We can see that from reading these passages from the New Testament, the church in Acts was “The Praying Church”. Their house of prayer was sizzling with the presence and power of God. How do we restore some of that prayer culture in our churches today? That is what I will address in the next few chapters.

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CHAPTER 4

THE GREAT COMMANDMENT AND THE GREAT COMMISSION

Understanding the Great Commandment and how it fuels the spreading of the Gospel is very dear to my heart. How the church fulfills the Great Commandment is vital. We know from Chapter 1 and the Reveal Now research, that those who grow closest to Christ become the best disciples; win more souls, volunteer for more ministry, and give more money. To see how my understanding was shaped, I will share a little bit of my story.

My wife and I were born again on March 21, 1983 at about 10:00PM, sitting at our dining room table after hearing the Gospel story from a young pastor. We immediately began to read the Bible, pray, and participate in our little Nazarene church. My conversion was so radical that I wanted everyone to hear the Gospel story. I was working as a carpet cleaner at the time. I would hold each of my customers captive while sharing the Gospel story with them. Being a bit of a salesman, I would finish each presentation with two questions. “Did that make sense to you? “ If they answered yes, I would then ask, “Would you like to receive eternal life?” I was astounded by the rejection that I received from people. I studied evangelism programs and went door to door with groups from church. The same thing happened! What was wrong? Determined to win souls, I attended CFNI in Dallas, TX. Here, I thought that I would learn the secrets to evangelism. Instead, when the

91 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N leaders saw my zeal, I was put on a leadership team that helped to train the entire student population in evangelism, which was a required class. We had about 50 trainers who taught teams of eight to ten students each semester. This included classroom training, practicing Bible verses, and practical evangelism training. This included going out with a trainer three times, sharing the gospel with strangers on the street, in parks, door to door etc. We did this for two full years. Thousands of people heard the Gospel and were offered eternal life. The results: about 200 people prayed with our students to receive Christ. While that sounded promising, the truth was that we could not confirm these “believers” were really serious or if they ever became part of a local church. In other words, was there true repentance and faith? “What is going on?” I cried to the Lord. “Where is the power when we share the gospel?” While I was proud of being part of a prestigious leadership role at our school (and a rather new believer), I was really disappointed.

Immediately after this experience, I began to study church growth strategies, and invested several years trying them out. I helped plant new churches. The Church Growth strategies seemed to be better than the confrontational approach I was used to. We could get people to church easier, but the power to bring people into deep repentance was still lacking.

When I share these next few paragraphs please understand where I come from and what I experienced.

Here is my question. What is more important to the church? Is it “The Great Commission” (the winning of souls) or is it “The Great Commandment” (people growing deeper in

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Christ)?

How we value these two important mandates by Jesus will determine the value that we put on prayer - our prayer effort, as well as our ability to sustain prayer, year after year.

If we believe that “The Great Commission” comes before “The Great Commandment”, our prayer effort will be about increasing church activity. It will be about those outside the church. If we put “The Great Commandment” first, our prayers will be fully biblical, and they will be about the inner transformation of the believers. Our hearts will cultivate a persistent thirst for God’s presence. What is the fruit of this pursuit? It is fullness of the Spirit, righteousness, peace, and joy. (See Ephesians1:16-19; 3:16-20 and Colossians 1)

Remember, the closer we grow to Christ, the more effective disciples we will be! The closer we are to Christ, the more fruit that others will see in us, and the more influence we will have in their lives. Outsiders are looking for fruit, and they are almost amazed when they see a believer who truly lives out their faith with authenticity.

Of course we will pray for the lost, for revival, and awakening of the nations, etc. I have spent as much time praying over souls as anyone I know, but those prayers come after we spend a considerable amount of time in Worship- Based Prayer, reflecting on the Bible.

Here is the answer again. If we will cultivate an atmosphere of worship in God’s presence, our hearts will be

93 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N softened and we will get free of the need to perform for others. We begin to experience a guilt-free walk with God. We begin to produce spiritual fruit. Our families get healed. In this process, we become better witnesses for Jesus because we are actually reflecting His beauty. By loving God first, we give Him what He wants, which is our hearts and total devotion to Him. He then makes our walk with Him attractive to others. We become salt and light. LET’S LOOK AT THESE TWO MANDATES OF JESUS.

The Great Commandment The Great Commission

Matthew 22:35-41 And one of Matthew 28:16-20 16 Now them, a lawyer, asked him a the eleven disciples went to question to test him. 36 "Teacher, Galilee, to the mountain to which is the great commandment which Jesus had directed them. in the Law?" 37 And he said to 17 And when they saw him him, "You shall love the Lord your they worshiped him, but some God with all your heart and with doubted. 18 And Jesus came all your soul and with all your and said to them, "All mind. 38 This is the great and authority in heaven and on first commandment. 39 And a earth has been given to me. 19 second is like it: You shall love Go therefore and make your neighbor as yourself. 40 On disciples of all nations, these two commandments depend baptizing them in the name of all the Law and the Prophets" the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

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Look at the first box. Jesus, just a few days before his crucifixion, is asked “which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus answers by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5. Jesus had the perfect opportunity to make a change here. He could have said “you have heard it said…Deuteronomy 6:5…, but I say…go into all the world and make disciples…”…or He could say “I would like you to hold that question until after I am resurrected from the dead and give you all the Great Commission”.

Instead He confirms Deuteronomy 6:5 by saying;

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment”. Matthew 22:37-38

Jesus says that it is not only GREAT, but it is FIRST. He goes on to say,

“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:39-40

The Great Command is still the Great Commandment! The Great Commandment is about seeking God as our true reward in this life (Genesis 15). The Great Commandment is about pursuing God, growing in relationship with Him, and loving Him as the most fantastic, incredible Person in the Universe.

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Fulfilling this Commandment will require time in real prayer, time reflecting on the Word, and time in worship. Jesus says that all of the other scripture hangs on The Great Commandment. As a matter of fact, nowhere is the Great Commission called the Great Commandment in the Bible. We could easily say that the Great Commission grows out of the Great Commandment.

Read the passage in Matt 28. Jesus says to “make disciples”. We saw in the Reveal Now research that the best disciples are those who grow closest to Christ. Why imagine another route for making disciples? Jesus further says, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”. Well what is the most important Command? It is the Great Commandment! We have been reconciled to God the Father by the precious blood of Christ. The door into His presence has been opened wide. We can come boldly to our Father. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. We were made and created to know the Living God, and the more we grow in experiential knowledge of God, the more effective we will be in winning people to Christ. It will just happen as God’s favor is poured out on our lives. THE POWER BEHIND THE EARLY CHURCH GROWTH

Consider this; the first growth spurt in the church happened when the Holy Spirit was poured out in a prayer meeting at Pentecost. All of the Jews visiting Jerusalem from around the world for the feast of Pentecost heard the commotion coming from the prayer meeting. They thought the apostles were drunk. This opened the door for Peter to preach and three

96 THE PRAYING CHURCH thousand were added to the church. All this - in the midst of a prayer meeting!

The second growth spurt happened when Peter and John were going to the afternoon prayer meeting and encountered a crippled man. They prayed for healing and the lame man began to leap for joy. A crowd gathered, Peter preached and two thousand were added to the church. In both of these outpourings, the church was NOT out evangelizing, they were worshipping.

The great commission is vital, but it is only sustainable as we spend time learning to love God. Immature evangelists will bear little fruit. Jesus said:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34- 35

ONE GREAT STRATEGY

You could say then that God has given us “One Great Strategy” to fulfill the great commission. This is to love Him and allow His love to change us so that we can love each other. Just as I have loved you, you are to love one another.

Growing in love takes time. It takes a community that is practicing “The Great Commandment”. This group is what we

97 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N would call the Praying Church or the house of prayer. Remember those who grow closest to Christ make the best disciples.

In God’s wisdom He chose to give us an overarching strategy to fulfill all of His commands, lead the church into victory, and fulfill the Great Commission all at the same time. In Chapter 1, we read some of the results from Reveal Now and learned about a “Spiritual Growth Continuum” that every believer is on. We also learned that “those who grow closest to Christ become the best evangelists, givers and volunteers”. We further learned that our focus needs to be on leading people closer to Christ through the personal spiritual practices: Worship and Prayer and Reflecting on the Bible. God made an easy and enjoyable way for us to pray called Worship- Based Prayer. This is a model of prayer pioneered by Samuel, passed on to David, and is very similar to the worship and singing we do on Sunday. We could also call it “singing prayer”. Singing our prayers leads us into the presence of God in a very easy and natural way. While singing our prayers in worship, power is released.

Now we know that the house of prayer is a greenhouse to grow love. We love God, we experience His love, and we then can love one another. So our strategy is to obey “the Great Commandment”. Everything flows from Him. We abide in Him and we bear much fruit.

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CHAPTER 5

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE HOUSE OF PRAYER

1) Intimacy with God

2) Under- 6) Pray Until standing the Christ's Return Bible

God Centered

5) Inter-cession 3) Hearing God’s for Region and Voice Nations

4) Release of Spiritual Gifts

It is really true that your expectations will determine whether or not you persist in becoming The Praying Church. Persistence means that you set the heart of the church towards loving the Lord as a lifestyle. We are the Praying Church; this means our hearts are set to seek Jesus, looking forward to His

101 LAYING THE FOUNDATIO N return. This means much more than we will pray until…we see miracles or revival or breakthrough. When we set our hearts to pray and worship until Christ returns we now have a more biblical goal. (Matthew 24:38-39, 2 Peter 3:7, Matthew 25:1-10)

I mentioned that I was saved in a fiery Nazarene church and then went to a Charismatic Bible college. At this college, they would have a new special speaker each week. The speaker would teach seven times that week, and the next week another speaker would come, and so on throughout the year. These speakers might have felt a little pressure to outdo the last speaker. One common subject was revival and how it was always preceded by fervent prayer. Believe me, my mind was filled with wild expectations of what would happen if we could gather to pray; miracles, healings, revival, and unprecedented church growth. This kind of expectation in one degree or another still fills the minds of pastors: “If we could just get people to pray, then ______” (fill in the blank).

Those unrealistic expectations can be like telling the 98 pound freshman that 6 weeks in the gym will transform him into a Mr. America. When after 6 weeks though he has gained 5 pounds of muscle, he will get discouraged and likely quit – even though he had some really good results.

The Lord has wonderful surprises to give us as we worship and pray together. If we start with a realistic expectation, we will be more likely to persevere and be found with faith when Christ returns.

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After leading ten to twelve prayer meetings per week for over twelve years and after spending hundreds of hours praying for revival, I can tell you that prayer works a little differently than I had expected. Change takes time; transformation takes a little longer.

For the past several years, I have been leading “Schools of Prayer”. This is where we gather groups of adult believers with varied experience and backgrounds in order to teach them to pray. Let me give you a realistic expectation of what will happen when you begin to pray.

GOD-CENTERED, WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER PRODUCES FRUIT

1. Intimacy with God is quickly activated.

2. The Bible Begins to Open Up.

3. Inner Healing

4. Hearing God’s Voice

5. Fruit of the Spirit Begins to Show

6. Honesty in Relationships

7. Sense of Eternity

8. Reconciliation in Relationships

9. Spiritual Gifts Operating

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10. Hearts Transformed

11. Group Unity and Renewal

12. Evangelism/Multiplication

13. Heavenly Perspective - Jesus' Return

Where are the big revival, church growth explosion, miracles, signs, and wonders? These things may happen or they may not. Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain. God’s primary purpose for prayer is to connect our hearts with His. He wants us transformed into the likeness of His son, Jesus. The Lord wants us to grow in spiritual maturity. He always looks at the heart; while we look at the outward appearance. If He gave us a huge revival in our immature state, we would have many more people with many more troubles than we have, even now.

And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, Romans 8:27-29

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit

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of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

If at first you raise up a group of people who have matured and grown closer to Christ; then these lovers of God would be there to help you counsel and disciple the new people that show up when the revival hits. If we actually take the “BIG STEP” and trust God to build a Praying Church; then we will have a group of people growing in the Great Commandment, experiencing intimacy with God, growing in the Word, growing in gifts, and being transformed by the Lord. True disciples would be in our midst and this would be a great ministry and blessing.

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PART II: IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

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It is our belief that Worship-Based prayer is more caught than taught. Before you start any new meetings at your church, we recommend that you first attend a few meetings where people are experiencing God’s presence while using Worship-Based Prayer. Once you’ve experienced the presence of the Lord in this way, you will be able to help others in this process. It is like drinking water from a well that has already been dug, instead of having to dig the well yourself.

It is vital that you have a sense of God’s presence in your meetings. ONE LARGE, FOCUSED MEETING PER WEEK OR MULTIPLE MEETINGS?

Keep in mind that your house of prayer will be an expression of your local congregation.

We are connected with a few churches that have one well- promoted, Worship-Based Prayer meeting per week. This meeting could meet in the Sanctuary or in another large room. It could replace your regular weekly prayer meeting.

In our church, it is our pastor’s goal to see several smaller meetings spread out during the week. Right now at Grace, we have 60 Worship-Based Prayer meetings per month, several small group prayer meetings, and many individuals, as well, who come to our house of prayer faithfully every week at the same day and time. Our prayer room can host 60 people, snugly. Our meetings range in size anywhere from six to 60

109 IMPLEMENTATION STRAT EGIES people, depending on the emphasis of the meeting. Because we host so many meetings, our entire church needs to know that there is a leadership team in place.

When I speak with senior leaders about what is needed to begin the house of prayer, I let them know that what they need is three things:

1) A Leadership Team

2) A Room to Pray in with Inexpensive Sound Equipment

3) An Event to Describe the Ministry to the Congregation (some like to start with a core group and work out any bugs before launching out to the entire congregation).

BUILDING A WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER LEADERSHIP TEAM

There are several people who are vital to developing Worship-Based Prayer in the local church. These are the senior pastor, the worship pastor, a prayer director or pastor, and of course, the core group of the church leadership. Let's take a look at each of these roles as they relate to Worship-Based Prayer and the house of prayer.

 The Senior Pastor – It is vital that the senior pastor has experienced a leading and stirring from the Lord prior to launching out and building a house of prayer ministry. He is the chief gatekeeper for the congregation; and without his enthusiastic invitation, an effort of this importance will not gain any serious

110 THE PRAYING CHURCH traction. The same goes for any ministry in the community – it needs the backing of the leader, to be successful and even more with the prayer ministry. Consider this example from the book of Ezra:

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

2 "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel— he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem."

5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is

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in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. Ezra 1:1-7

We see in this passage that the key spiritual leaders joined the effort to rebuild God’s house.

At Grace Community Church, our pastor, Gary Hutchison, is totally supportive of growing prayer. He believes that the ministry of the church is only limited by the level of genuine prayer before the Lord. Pastor Gary talks about it from the pulpit on a regular basis, leads weekly staff prayer meetings, provides resources, allows us to put inserts into the bulletins and approves Sunday videos and announcements etc... He also opens the pulpit for me to teach on prayer and to recruit people to the house of prayer. Because of our pastor’s support, all of the people involved in the house of prayer feel secure and are encouraged to be bold in our efforts to build prayer.

Some leaders prefer to start with a “School of Prayer” which we will explain later. Here is a diagram to show you what the initial leadership team might look like:

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Prayer

Director Senior Worship Pastor Pastor Leadership Team

 The Worship Pastor: Why is the worship pastor on the leadership team? We are building Worship-Based Prayer, and therefore the participation of the lead worshipper (the worship pastor) is essential. Whether participating in person during the meeting(s), or simply providing resources (people and equipment), the full support of the worship pastor is crucial. Sometimes, in a smaller churches, the worship pastor might even lead some of the meetings. In a larger church the worship leader may simply be a sounding board and advisor to encourage every musician and singer in the church to participate. In some congregations, it may actually be the worship pastor who also becomes the prayer director. We will look at specifics for worship leaders below.

 The Prayer Director - The Prayer Director leads the ministry and will also lead one or more prayer meetings each week. It is crucial to find the key person within the congregation that will be able to take

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charge and direct this ministry under the guidance of the senior pastor. Currently, you may not have a “prayer coordinator or prayer director” at your church. How do you find one? It starts by listening to your people. Is there someone, either a staff person or a volunteer, who has been saying “we need more prayer, more worship, more of God’s presence?” If this person has credibility with you and with other leaders in the church, you may have found your prayer director. If not, ask the other leaders in the church and see if any of them have a genuine passion to see prayer grow. When this person is found, they will need training. They can start by reading this book. In addition, special training is available through our Praying Church Institute.

Your prayer director will serve the house of prayer and oversee the various meetings that take place there. This leader needs to have a generous spirit toward others, and the ability to recognize the gifts that are in the people surrounding and serving in the HOP. Your prayer director will communicate closely with the worship leaders by giving much encouragement, as well as gentle correction, when needed. CHURCH LEADERSHIP / TEAM SUPPORT

Our senior pastor also works behind the scenes to build up support for the prayer ministry. The elders, pastors, and church staff also participate and give us positive support. I hear reports regularly from people who have been encouraged

114 THE PRAYING CHURCH to participate by either the senior pastor or another staff member of the church and thus supporting our efforts. These are people that I am meeting for the first time (our church has over 1500 members). This kind of support is life-giving for a ministry that is built on people going to a prayer room. PRAYER LEADER DIRECTIONS

The role of the prayer leader is to serve the worship team and the people who have come in to pray at the meeting that he or she is leading. There may be one prayer leader, or there may be several. Since we have over 60 prayer meetings with Worship-Based Prayer each month, we have several prayer leaders.

Because the music in a Worship-Based Prayer meeting is so powerful, the prayer leader needs to know how to blend in and become part of the worship team. In a one-hour meeting the prayer leader may only speak three to four times. Remember, those who participate in your meetings are gathering to meet with God, not to hear a sermon, get put on a guilt trip, or to be pressured. Prayer leaders are not to preach or teach during the meetings, unless it is very brief. They are to pray and direct all hearts to the Lord.

Prayer leading requires childlike faith. It requires accuracy with the Word, sensitivity and boldness. Leading prayer in a Worship-Based Prayer meeting is an adventure which includes following the leading of the Holy Spirit, and serving those in the meeting. The goal of the meeting is to lead the people into an “encounter with God”. Let’s try to describe what we mean by “encounter with God”. God is omnipresent. This means

115 IMPLEMENTATION STRAT EGIES that God is everywhere. There is nowhere man could travel in the universe, where God was not already there (see Psalm 139 to see David’s understanding of God’s omnipresence.)

Now, just because God is everywhere at once does not mean that we experience His presence in an even measure. Most people on the planet would say that they have never sensed God’s presence or they would go to the other extreme and say, “oh yes, God is in every rock, tree and sunset, etc.”. God created all things and He is separate from all things. God is a Person who can be known, but He reveals Himself to those whom He has chosen to draw near to Himself. (Psalm 65, John 6, 10).

Without going too far on this trail, let’s get back to the Worship-Based Prayer meeting. The Lord says “I oppose the proud, but give grace to the humble”. He also says “If you seek Me, you will find me, if you seek me with your whole heart”. He also says that “the pure in heart will see God”. These verses along with hundreds of others should give us the faith to believe that we CAN encounter God in our prayer meetings. PRAYER LEADER ROLE

The Lord said “the greatest among you must be the servant of all”. Being the prayer leader for a worship based prayer meeting is no different. At GHOP we have, as of this writing, 60 worship teams per month. This means lots of interaction with the various worship leaders, musicians and singers. Give them space during their set up time, pray for them, get them a bottle of water. Make sure that you look each person

116 THE PRAYING CHURCH on the team in the eye and smile, telling them that it’s good to see them. In our meetings we not only want to connect with the Lord, but with one another as well. Be a support to the team without becoming the focus or smothering them.

We understand that there are 4 key parts to a worship- based-prayer meeting.

1. Pray to start the meeting.

2. Encourage the people to receive from the Lord.

3. Encourage the people to minister to each other

4. Invite people to pray on the microphone - to intercede over the nation, nations etc.

LET'S EXPAND ON THESE A LITTLE.

1) OPENING PRAYER AND MINISTRY TO JESUS

The opening prayer is asking the Lord to reveal Himself to us. (Ephesians 1:17-18). We lay down all of our agendas, plans, worries, etc. We ask Him to help our weak hearts experience His presence and power. We stand before Him as priests and present ourselves for service (1 Peter 2:9, Romans 6). We also remind ourselves and everyone else that the blood of Jesus cleanses us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9); that we have access into the “Most Holy Place” (Hebrews 10:19); and that we are chosen, holy, adopted and loved (Ephesians 1:4-5).

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Worship Driven

Intercession Minister to and Outreach Jesus

Minister to Receive His Each other Ministry

Do not forget the Blood of Jesus! The blood of Jesus is powerful against condemnation. Remember, when we come to pray, the enemy will do all that is in his power to dissuade us from believing in the great love that God has for us. The blood of Jesus is our sure defense against these schemes, along with our assurance of forgiveness and acceptance.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:5-6

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But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh…. Hebrews 10:19-20

Normally, even with a great opening prayer, it will take the worship team some time to get their sound issues worked out. People will stroll in late and sometimes the people just lack the faith needed to enter in to His presence. Usually, it takes 15 to 30 minutes for corporate breakthrough to occur. When breakthrough happens, you will sense that the people are really worshipping, whether they are quiet or exuberant. You can sense the freedom in the room. People have forgotten their issues and have connected with the Lord. You can let this go on for a while because the Lord is worthy of our true worship. 2) WE OPEN OUR HEARTS AND LET THE LORD MINISTER TO US.

There are many related Scripture verses for this, but several that are good to pray are John 7:37-39, Psalm 42, Psalm 36, and 1 John 3:1.

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Do not hesitate to linger in this place of encountering the Lord. It is here that the answer is found to those disturbing statistics we read about at the beginning of this book. We are changed into His likeness as we spend time with Him. This is our destiny, to be with Him, and forever we will enjoy Him as He enjoys us. Therefore, linger! Let the worship team enjoy this time of perhaps, “off-the-page” worship (singing perhaps a spontaneous song to the Lord, or singing portions of a Psalm that might have been chosen for the meeting). Frequently, during this portion of the meeting, the worship team will sing something that will minister to the people in the room; and the level of the encounter of the Lord will increase. Be in no hurry to leave this place of giving the Lord the worship of which He is worthy. 3) ENCOURAGE THE PEOPLE TO MINISTER TO EACH OTHER.

After a time of lingering, the prayer leader will then direct the people in the meeting to pray for each other. The prayer leader's direction at this time is important, as it is necessary to remind people that this is not a time for telling all the problems that need prayer, nor is it a time for personal counseling. This is a time to simply bless the persons on either side, by praying for increase and more of the Lord in their lives. Short prayers are the best during this time.

Note that the worship team is still ministering while the prayers are going on. Worship is the oil that keeps the prayers flowing smoothly. There are times that the sound level will actually be lowered, but this is simply a logistical issue. It is

120 THE PRAYING CHURCH vital that the worship intensity does not wane. Music and worship, as we saw earlier, is a key to Worship-Based Prayer. 4) INVITE THE PEOPLE TO PRAY.

After a time of praying for each other, the prayer leader might open the meeting to a time of intercession. This is the time when the microphone will be opened for corporate prayers. It is important for the prayer leader to assist those who are praying because sometimes prayers are too wordy (meaning that sometimes we pray too long and not scripturally). Prayers are to be based on Scripture, not on someone's teaching or own agenda. Pray for an issue, based on Scripture.

For example, when praying for our President, it is not appropriate to pray for him to taste the wrath of God over his poor choices in governing (!!!). Rather, pray for him from Ephesians 1:16-17, that the eyes of his understanding might be opened, that he might know the love of God. Or pray as Paul directed to pray, that it might go well with us.

The prayer leader, in essence, is guarding the integrity of the meeting. Having said that, it is right to pray over the issues and problems that we see around us. Remember, however, that long prayers over a microphone tend to cause the room to disconnect and shorter prayers mean that more people can actively join in and pray.

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WORSHIP LEADER DIRECTIONS BY ALEX GROSSMAN

Because worship is an integral part to Worship-Based Prayer, worship leaders play a vital role in developing Worship-Based Prayer. It is wise to consider what that role looks like; and to be setting the right patterns and expectations for worship leaders. The section below was written by Alex Grossman, as a direction and warning for worship leaders, and is really crucial for understanding how worship is approached in a house of prayer.

INTRODUCTION

Worship leaders take the same role that John the Baptist did, as a friend of the Bridegroom.

Remember that the people who come into the prayer room are doing so to encounter their God. They have not come for a show or to be entertained. Think of them as the bride coming to adore her bridegroom. We are coming to adore the beautiful Son of Man. If no one shows up, we pour our hearts out, none the less. When people do come, we are simply creating an atmosphere for these lovers of God to drink deep (Song of Songs 5:1).

When John’s disciples complained about Jesus baptizing more people than they were, he said “He must become greater, I must become less” (John 3:30). John wouldn’t dare to let the bride’s attention be stolen away by his talents or anointing. He knew that his calling was to glorify Christ by directing the

122 THE PRAYING CHURCH attention of the bride to her Bridegroom.

We should check our hearts for selfish ambition. Is there a place in our heart that desires praise? It’s usually pretty subtle. Do you play and sing differently when your pastor walks in the room? What about your friends or family? Do you feel the need to perform when another worship leader is in the prayer room? Remember that Lucifer held a similar position in heaven before the fall and believe me; he knows how to get a worship leader off course. Remember our goal is to create an atmosphere for the lovers of God to “drink deep” and to direct the bride’s attention to Jesus. If we try to impress people with our cutting-edge song selection, skillful playing, or our soulful voice, we are taking the focus off of Jesus and directing the people to look at us! If you are skilled, then people will tend to admire you. Let’s make sure that we are not performing in any way and let’s glorify God by moving their attention to Christ.

Let’s imagine that I am giving my best friend’s fiancé a ride to their wedding. There she is in her wedding gown and looking forward to being joined together, forever, to her husband, who just happens to be my best friend. Here I am looking great in my tuxedo. Can you imagine the best man and best friend of the bridegroom trying to impress the bride on her way to the wedding? Maybe even flirting a little…. Any attempt to capture the bride’s gaze would be extremely inappropriate! What happens when the bridegroom finds out? His jealous love for his bride trumps your friendship no matter how close or how long you’ve known each other.

When I started leading worship, I was only 20 years old. I

123 IMPLEMENTATION STRAT EGIES have to admit that I enjoyed getting the smiles and applauses when I would hit a high note or play a tasteful riff on the guitar. After leading a set, I enjoyed the elders of the church telling me what a great job I did. I was flirting with my best friend’s fiancé and didn’t even know it.

Check out James 3:16 “where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice”

Selfish ambition could be your desire for people to be impressed by your skill and talent. The best way to check your heart for this is simple. Do you jump at the opportunity to lead worship in front of a crowd, but find yourself less exited to lead worship in the prayer room when you know that there won’t be many people there? Do you like to be seen “on stage”?

I’ve struggled with this envy that James talks about. It’s when you hear a new worship song that moves your heart and you think to yourself, “I wish I had written that song”. Maybe you picture yourself on a Sunday morning leading the congregation and introducing YOUR new song. Why should we ever want to take credit for writing a song, other than, to receive praise from men?

So, do you struggle with envy and selfish ambition? Being “on stage” is one of the most dangerous positions you can put yourself in because the enemy would love to make a mockery out of worship by filling you with pride. Ask the Lord to search your heart and be open to what the Spirit shows you. Humility is a MUST for any worshiper joining a worship team, whether you are playing, singing, or leading.

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PICKING SONGS

This is a lot easier than most of us believe. The criteria for a song are this:

▪ Be able to play the song easily within your skill level

▪ Be simple enough for the room to catch on (preferably well known)

▪ Have lyrics that are directed to God (I love you, you’re beautiful, etc.)

When you use these simple criteria, there is no need for rehearsal time. There is no pressure to find the latest and greatest, “cutting edge” worship songs. Our goal is not to bring new fun music for the people to sample; but to bring simple easy songs that anyone could close their eyes and connect to the Lord, without trying to remember the words.

Also, try to stay away from songs that tell a story. We want to jump right into worship without going through a storyline or a personal experience that the songwriter had. There are many songs like this that are very “wordy” - but have AMAZING choruses. I will use the chorus many times but not the verses. I tend to stick with older songs that anyone would know. It’s ok to use newer songs, just make sure the people can follow without staring at the projection to sing the words. THE WORSHIP-BASED PRAYER MODEL

The Grace House of Prayer (GHOP) uses Worship-Based

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Prayer in the prayer meetings held there. At GHOP our first priority is to place God in the center of our meeting and to keep Him there. Our meetings generally look like this:

1. Worship and Ministry to Jesus. ( 1 Peter 2:9-11, Revelation 1:5-6)

2. The Lord responds by pouring out His Spirit on us. He renews us, gives us peace, courage and revelation. (John 7:37-39, Ephesians 1:17-19, 3:16-19)

3. We then are able to minister to one another by personal prayer. Words of knowledge, wisdom and insight are given by the Holy Spirit. The body is built up. (1 Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 6:10-18)

4. Out of the overflow we grow in intercession for each other, the church, region and the nations. (Psalm 106:23, Ezekiel 13:5, 22:30)

Through these times of ministry we are releasing light and driving back darkness. Our effectiveness will not be understood until we are in eternity. THE PRAYING CHURCH INSTITUTE

Remember those disturbing statistics we discussed earlier? According to recent in depth research 32% of believers are stalled in their spiritual growth or dissatisfied with their local church. This number grows to 49% for new believers. Only 3.8% of believers find prayer to be an enjoyable experience (Zondervan). Fifty (50%) of believers never feel the presence of God in a church service and the number grows much higher

126 THE PRAYING CHURCH during the week (Barna).

If you are hungry to see a deep and sustainable, growing move of God in your congregation, we invite you to join us and learn about The Praying Church Institute.

The Praying Church Institute was born out a twelve-year journey to help local churches find answers to building successful prayer. A model of prayer was discovered that is based on corporately seeking God together in worship, fulfilling the Great Commandment. David modeled this in the Psalms and it is practiced in churches every Sunday, all over the world. It has been part of the church since its inception. We call it Worship-Based Prayer. REAL CHURCH EXPERIENCE

The Praying Church Institute is an overflow of the blessings that the Lord is pouring out at the Grace House of Prayer (GHOP) which serves as the prayer hub for Grace Community Church in Arlington, TX. GHOP is directed by Tom Grossman, Sr. GHOP has up to fifteen corporate prayer meetings per week, morning and night, fueled by live worship music. At these presence-filled meetings and the School of Prayer training we incorporate and create a life-changing environment for Grace Members.

Over the past year, a handful of key leaders from other churches began to communicate, and an important discovery was made. These leaders who began to join our meetings regularly for a month or two are transformed and have caught the vision to build the same type of prayer ministry at their

127 IMPLEMENTATION STRAT EGIES home church. Churches that have a key leader in place to lead prayer will naturally be more successful at building this important ministry. LEADER TRAINING

Our house of prayer environment is perfect for equipping the key leaders that your church must have in place, in order to launch and sustain a house of prayer ministry. These potential leaders do not need to have had any experience, in the past, leading prayer. They only need these three things: faithfulness, a hunger for a deeper relationship with God, and a teachable spirit. HOW TO GET STARTED

So here is how to get started. A senior leader from your church can attend a 90-minute training seminar where we model Worship-Based Prayer and share the Grace Story in order to describe the biblical foundation, the obstacles, and opportunities you will likely face in this ministry. From there, your key leader or leaders will connect with our leadership team for an overview of how our training works. Since we start new training every six weeks or so, it is very easy for them to plug in. WHAT DOES THE TRAINING LOOK LIKE?

At GHOP, we have regular, ongoing training for our own members that we call the School of Prayer. Your key leaders can simply participate in what is already taking place. They

128 THE PRAYING CHURCH get as much or as little training as they actually need to help you launch a successful house of prayer ministry. Someone who has a close, intimate walk with the Lord and ministry experience may need minimal training, while a novice would require more.

Specifically, this training includes participating in two to three of our regular meetings per week. These meetings include times in worship, personal ministry, biblical teaching and hands on equipping for leading your prayer ministry. Our teaching modules center on critical aspects of building and growing Worship-Based Prayer. These teachings include Knowing God, Intimacy, The Beauty of Jesus, Meditating on God’s Word, and The Biblical Basis for a Prayer Community).

We also train your key leaders on how to relate to the leadership structure in your church how to go about promoting and spearheading the training for your community. They will not only learn the key scriptural concepts; but also, at the same time, experience the Lord in a deep, life-changing way.

Next, we will work with your leader and helping his/her team to launch their first training event and house of prayer meetings. We will give your church ongoing consulting for as long as your church needs it.

In all that is done, our goal is to help you become “The Praying Church” that is ready for the return of the Lord, Jesus.

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