Most pastors recognize that they preach their hearts out on Sunday, only to have many people not remember much about it later that day! Pastor Rich Laskowski of Christ Community Church in Brazil, IN, has solved that in a powerful way. He gets his congregation to pray the sermon all week.

In a recent series relying heavily on Acts and Luke, Pastor Rich put together a simple prayer journal that supplemented his messages. His “Shake the Place Prayer Journal” included a two-page overview of what he would be covering in Acts, instructions to read a chapter of Luke each day, and then some directed prayer points that focused on the power of God in their lives and the life of Christ Community. Everyone received a 20-sheet, 8.5 x 11 spiral-bound journal that had 16 blank pages for people to write down what the Lord was saying to them. His prayer instructions:

• Pray every day (with a goal of 30 minutes a day).
• Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit every day.
• Pray to be set in place in this church body—that you will enter into community.
• Pray for the power to witness. Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to work through you.
• Pray that as you read through the Gospel of Luke you will see Jesus with new eyes.

The genius of this simple guide is that it opens people to the work of God in their lives as they pray. It also increases the excitement in their hearts about what the message will be each week.

If you are a pastor, consider putting together a simple prayer guide that goes along with your sermons. Even handing out prayer points on a half-sheet will increase the prayer in your church and help people engage with your message more.

If you are a prayer leader, consider how you might come alongside your pastor and put guides together for him or her. They will be a powerful addition that can increase the effect of the spoken word in people’s lives.