Thank You!
Thank you very much for being a part of our Prayer Team! Your desire to pray every day for the staff and the ministries of our church reflects the a stiring of the Holy Spirit in your life. Any desire to pray comes from God! And not only will your prayers be appreciated by the various ‘recipients’ of your prayers, but just as importantly, your prayers are foundational to the ongoing well-being, health, and fruitfullness of our ministries. So, THANK YOU!!
What Am I Agreeing To Do?
Members of this prayer team are being asked to set aside time every day to pray for:
- Our church staff
- Our church
How-to’s
If you’re like many, the desire may be there but you’re a bit a bit fuzzy regarding the ‘how-to’s.’ If that describe you, please know you’re in good company. There aren’t any rules you have to follow, and there certainly isn’t right or wrong way to do it. Even so, the following are suggestions to help aid you in your effort to pray for our staff and church.
Praying for Our Staff
- Pray for each staff person individually by name. Possible approaches to this:
- Each day, focus on one staff person.
- If you have the time, pray for two or three.
- If you’re familiar with what their church responsibilities entail, consider tailoring your prayer focus around those things.
- If you know of a one particular issue or need in their life, tailor your prayer around that.
- Hold both their church lives and personal lives before God
- If you’re unsure about what specifically to pray for, try this:
- Lay that staff member before God’s throne of grace in silence.
- In that time of silence before the Lord, use the “ears of your heart” to listen for anything the Holy Spirit might whisper to you in regard to that staff member. You could easily sit their in silence for a while. That’s OK!
- If you think you “hear” something, trust that you’re hearing the Spirit, and so in faith offer that up to God. Even if you have no way to verify what you’ve sensed in your spirit, pray it anyway.
- If after a while you didn’t “hear” anything, that’s OK. Offer a general prayer of intercession for them.
- Include prayers for God’s divine protection over them, for wisdom, for strength, for courage, and for the ongoing of the Holy Spirit’s anointing of their leadership (this is NOT an exhaustive list of things to pray for).
Praying for Our Church and Ministries
- Church leaders
- chairpersons and members elected to our church committees and ministry teams
- unelected persons who are respected and viewed as leaders in their own right; persons in the congregation who are influential whether or not they hold an official position of leadership.
- Upcoming events
- church events
- community events being held at the church
- Upcoming progams, classes, and serving opportunities
- The onging work of our committees and ministry teams
- Church Council
- Trustees
- Staff-Parish Relations
- Finance/Stewardship
- Endowment
- Music & Worship
- Outreach
- Evangelism
- The spiritual well-being of our congregation and individual members thereof
- For our future vitality
- Any known issues we may be addressing at a particular point in time
- Prayers for unity within our congregation
- Whatever else God may put on your heart!
How Much Every Day?
There is no set amount of time you’re asked to pray. If you have 5 minutes, then utilize those five minutes to focus on a single prayer or a general prayer that “covers” it all. If you have 20 minutes or 60 minutes, great! The amount of time you spend in prayer is less important than the heart behind the prayer.
With that said, you may discover that the more time you spend in prayer for our staff and church, the greater the desire grows to be in prayer. You may find it easier to find the time to pray, and easier to pray for longer periods of time. But the bottom line is just doing it, as the Nike ad used to say.
A Final Thought
If while prayering for our staff and church leaders you have the thought to write them a note of encouragement or a note to let them know what you’ve been praying for, please consider following through with that thought. It will always be greatly appreciated. Part of what we’re all called to do as members of the Body of Christ is to be encouragers of one another. Thanks!!