What does the Prayer Ministry do?

 When I first heard the question, what is the purpose of the Prayer Ministry, the response seemed a no brainer – the Prayer Ministry prays!  Duh.  But, on second thought, I suspect there is a variety of ideas concerning how we should be praying, who should be doing the praying, where we should pray and who we should be praying for.

So, I’d like to hear some ideas from you – what do you think the Prayer Ministry should be doing?  Whether you belong to TTUMC or you just happened upon this blog, your opinion is important.  Let me know what you think and in my next blog I will give you my thoughts.

The challenge

Listen to this quote by George Barna

It is not enough for the pastor to pray fervently, nor is it sufficient for a leadership team to pray ardently on behalf of the congregation.  Until the church owns prayer as a world-class weapon in the battle against evil and cherishes prayer as a means of initimate and constant communication with God, the turn-around efforts of a body are severaly limited, if not altogether doomed, to failure.

Are you ready to fight for the future of your church?  Start praying today – for increased faith, changed hearts and unity of the entire Body of Christ.  Remember, Christ is counting on you! 

Pray without ceasing

Have you ever tried to pray without ceasing?  Or thought about what that means?  It certainly sounds like an activity all Christians should be doing – there are more than enough things to pray about!

But, I believe that we do not consider the importance of prayer throughout our everyday lives.  If there is a crisis, then we may pray continuously, otherwise we are lucky if we remember to pray once a day!  Yes, I have been as quilty as everyone else of this. 

Here are some suggestions to help us pray throughout the day:

Watching the morning news programs on TV – current events, local issues, our political leaders.

Driving – protection for vehicles, patience (yeah, that’s my daily prayer!), weather related problems, ambulance/police vehicles.

School – pray for all students & teachers; protection against violence.

Workplace – unity, willingness to work for the greater good, patience & co-operation.

Neighborhoods – peace & love in each household; healing for hurts & anger; God’s love to be known.

I read recently that if we begin to view those around us with God’s love, we will truly obey Jesus’ command to love others as ourselves.  Why not start right now, by showing your love by looking around you to see who needs prayer today? 

The need for solitude

Prayer, by its very nature, takes place in solitude.   When we talk to God, much of our conversation takes place in our head.  Do you realize how few activities in our lives are done in silence?   Even our worship services contain sound – music, singing, even film or other video.    When was the last time you sat quietly without any sound around you and talked to God?

Lately, I have been seeking solitude as a way of dealing with stress in my life.  I have been reading a book about Thomas Merton who was a Catholic monk who wrote books about his passion for prayer and solitude in his life.  The author of this book, Esther de Waal ,has this to say about our need for solitude.

Merton would say that we need solitude not for perfection but for the simple survival in the life that God has given us.  It is a return to the center.  It is not something remote, something to be thought of later on, in the future, when I am not so busy, under so much pressure. It is now.

I believe in this chaotic world that we all need quiet time in our lives – time for prayer and for reflection.  I hope that starting today, you will make time for solitude- to spend quietly with God and listen to what he is telling you.  I know you will be blessed by this experience.

The Prayer of Jabez

A few years ago, The Prayer of Jabez became very popular.  The prayer was printed on coffee mugs, plaques, even refrigerator magnets (I still have mine on my frig.)  This simple prayer which is recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10 states

“Lord, bless me indeed.  Do something so big in my life that it is obviously from you.  Increase my influence and opportunities for you.  Give me the sense of your continual presence and direction.  Protect me and keep me from falling into Satan’s traps.  Amen.”

Here at TTUMC, Pastor Jerry did a sermon on it and led a Bible study as well.  He encouraged all of us to pray this prayer every day for a month and to also pray it for our church by replacing ‘me’ with ‘my church.’  I can testify that God answered my prayers through blessings in my life and he certainly has expanded my territory! 

One of our Community Life Groups, led by Marge & Joe Ellison, have decided to once again pray the Prayer of Jabez for 30 days and find out for themselves how God answers their prayers.  I think this is a great idea and I hope all of you reading this blog will join us and do the same thing.  Be sure to let me know how God answers your prayers.  I look forward to hearing from you.

The National Day of Prayer

Yesterday, May 3rd, was The National Day of Prayer.  I confess that I have wondered why it is necessary to encourage prayer on one day, shouldn’t we encourage prayer every day?  But then I read the mission statement from The National Day of Prayer Task Force:

To communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, mobilizing the Christian community to intercede for
America and its leadership in the five centers of power: Church, Education, Family, Government and Media.

Their mission statement states much more eloquently the purpose of our Prayer Ministry at TTUMC.  Our stated mission is to encourage prayer in all situations of life. I truly believe that if we took prayer seriously at TTUMC, we would feel the power of the Holy Spirit in our church and our community.  

So, perhaps the point of The National Day of Prayer, is to remind all of us of the power of prayer.  Remember what God said in  2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 

 We are his children and God is waiting to hear from each one of us.  I hope you will spend some time with God today and every day.  Let me know what God is saying to you.

What is a Prayer Gathering?

There are many different types of Prayer Gatherings from formal Prayer Services that include music and scripture to small groups that gather together in a circle to offer their prayers to God at the end of a meeting.

Here at Temple Terrace United Methodist Church, the Prayer Ministry leads a monthly Prayer Gathering on the second Saturday of each month.  These gatherings have changed over the years due to style of the Leader of the Prayer Ministry.  When I took on this role, I followed God’s direction to me to focus on prayer for our church.  So, each month we lift up the various ministries in our church, upcoming special events and of course our Pastor, staff and church leaders.  So, there is nothing scary about coming to our Prayer Gatherings!  We also try different types of prayer, such as the Soaking Prayer that I mentioned in a previous blog.  We close by forming a circle and offering our own prayers & praises to God.  I am always blessed by the passion of those who attend and the  prayers that are raised.

 I hope you will join us at our next Prayer Gathering on May 12 at 9am.

Soaking Prayer

Periodically in this blog, I will provide different types of prayers for you to try.  At today’s Prayer Gathering, we did Soaking Prayer which is where you sit quietly, allowing God to speak to you. Here are some tips provided by Debbie Przybylski in an article titled “The Joy of Soaking Prayer.”

Find a scripture that is meaninful to you and spend some time meditating on it.  For example: Psalm 23:1-2, Psalm 46:10, Matthew 11:28-30

Find a quiet place – this will help quiet you on the inside.

Listen to worship music – such as a quiet instrumental or worship music.

Quiet your busy thoughts – this is the hardest part for me and will take some practice to do!  Turn your attention to God.  Wait for your thoughts to settle.

Invite the Holy Spirit to come and soak you in His presence. 

Open your heart to God.  Humble yourself before Him.

Rest in faith and believe that God is working within you.

Give time to soaking in His presence.  Start with 10 minutes; as you become more comfortable doing this, the time you spend with God will lengthen.

Remember, it isn’t about what you can accomplish through you efforts; it’s about what God is doing through you.

I hope you will try soaking prayer in your quiet time with God and let me know what you learn from God, okay?

I don’t know how to pray!

Prayer is simply talking to God.  As in any close relationship, the more you communicate the stronger the bond is between you.  I think we make prayer more complicated than God ever intended.  Listen to what David says in Psalm 139

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

Since God already knows your every thought, why not tell him honestly how you are feeling?  Take time right now and just tell him what is on your heart.  Remember God loves you and is waiting to hear from you.

What is a prayer warrior

When you think of a warrior, you imagine someone who is going into battle.  That is also true of prayer warriors, except our weapons are prayers not weapons.  We are also called intercessory prayers because we pray to God for others. 

I discovered the power of praying for someone other than myself several years ago.  I was in a Bible study at my church when one of the members suffered an aneurysm.  My immediate response was to start praying (much to my surprise.)  After he was taken to the hospital, my entire class joined hands in a circle and prayed for Bill.  I could feel the power of our prayers as well as the presence of God in our circle.  Our prayers were answered and Bill soon joined us back in our Bible study.  But that day I learned I had a passion for prayer. 

I hope that in this blog we can exchange experiences as prayer warriors and maybe even ignite that passion in others.  We will also lift up prayer requests, discuss areas that need our prayers and mention books and websites that can help us grow as prayer warriors.  I look forward to hearing from you.