By Andrew Wheeler
One of God’s stated intents for His Church is that it would be a house of prayer (Isa. 56:7; Matt. 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46). As we read through the Book of Acts, we see that the early Church lived up to this expectation. Through prayer, the early believers sought God’s wisdom, pled for His intervention, and commissioned His missionaries. God responded to their prayers, guiding their decisions, freeing prisoners, and saving the lost.
Today, we often see a different story. Four “pillars” sustained the early Church: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). In the church today, prayer is often the most neglected pillar.
As a prayer leader, how do you influence the culture of your church to grow in prayer? Service times are closely scheduled. In our busy world, extra prayer meetings struggle to maintain good attendance. Prayer classes attract sparse participation and don’t produce lasting change.
How does prayer move beyond a chosen few dedicated individuals to taking root in the entire congregation?
Prayer, Small Groups, and the Church
If your church has a vibrant small group ministry, you have a potential grassroots prayer movement that can change your church’s prayer culture. Working together with your small group ministry leaders to promote meaningful, missional prayer throughout your small groups, you can help your church achieve its full potential in prayer.
Most small groups incorporate an element of prayer into their time together. Often, however, that prayer doesn’t look beyond the group itself and is relegated to crisis responses rather than focusing on advancing the Kingdom. While personal-crisis prayer is vital in a small group, a steady diet of that is not sufficient to create a balanced, exciting vision for prayer.
You can start creating this vision by working with your small group ministry leaders. Paint a picture of small groups energized with a vision for the church. They already know that lives change in small groups. Help them see how prayer for the church can extend this life change to the congregation as a whole.
Getting Practical
Here are a few ideas to help your small groups incorporate prayer for the church.
- Church events. Create a monthly prayer calendar for your church’s events. Your church’s bulletin probably provides good information to include. Highlight the main events (both weekly and special ones) and suggest a few aspects of each to pray for.
- Missionaries. If your church sends out missionaries, subscribe to their newsletters and compile a regular prayer guide from their prayer letters.
- Church ministries and leaders. Contact church staff and key volunteers, asking for prayer requests regarding their ministries. Compile these into a regular prayer guide. Be sure to follow up with them, passing along answers to prayer. Seeing God answer can encourage small groups to keep praying!
- Invite a Leader. Encourage small groups to invite a staff member or key volunteer to visit their group for a time of prayer. Provide a guide for attendees and potential guests, so everyone knows what to expect. In my experience, nothing develops ongoing prayer passion like a time of extended prayer surrounding a church leader.
Spread the Vision
Incorporating prayer for your church into your small groups will benefit your church in many ways. First, you’ll grow the prayer lives of your congregation by encouraging prayer that looks beyond the typical personal-crisis prayers to incorporate strategic intercession for your church.
Second, praying for the church will help keep your small groups connected to the church. This connection tends to promote unity in the church and encourage support of your church’s leaders and ministries. This can be a great antidote to a spirit of grumbling and discontent within the church.
Third, as God answers prayer, your church’s effectiveness will be multiplied. The Book of Exodus records the story of Joshua leading Israel’s army against the Amalekites. During this battle, as long as Moses held up his hands in prayer, the Israelite army prevailed. When Moses tired, Aaron and Hur held up his arms, and the army remained victorious (Ex. 17:8–13).
Our prayer team sees our role as that of Aaron and Hur. Church leaders today get weary from serving, just as Moses tired in his service to God. Your church’s small groups can lift up their leaders’ hands and strengthen them through prayer, inviting God to fight the battles.
Andrew Wheeler, who has served as both small group leader and coach in the prayer ministry of Willow Creek Community Church, is currently codirector of the prayer ministry at Willow Creek’s regional campus in McHenry County, IL. He is the author of Together in Prayer (togetherinprayer.net), which is available through prayershop.org
