By Phil Miglioratti

I ’ve lost count of how many times an intercessor has spoken to me about the lack of interest or cooperation from his or her pastor in building a prayer culture throughout their congregation. And I have had too many conversations with pastors regarding the unpredictability of a prayer leader in a church.

These situations, no doubt, explain why “Let the Healing Begin” is the opening chapter of Eddie and Alice Smith’s groundbreaking book, Intercessors and Pastors: The Emerging Partnership of Watchmen and Gatekeepers. They recognize that “the relationship of respect, effective communication, and meaningful partnership of the watchmen and the gatekeepers must be restored if the church is to regain her spiritual integrity, glorify Christ, and demolish the gates of hell” (p. 8).

More than a decade later, sadly, the work of restoring this crucial ministry relationship is far from complete. The following four realities continue to compromise upward-reaching, life-giving, forward-moving prayer in the Church.

Reality #1. Satan hates unity.

God’s enemy knows that the unity of the Church powerfully demonstrates to lost people that God loves them and sent Jesus to show His love (John 17:23). So Satan is eager to steal our attention from prayer, kill the voice of the Spirit heard only in intercession, and destroy hope-filled praying (John 10:10). We play into the enemy’s hands when we wrestle with our flesh-and-blood brothers and sisters in Christ (Eph. 6:12).

Reality #2. Some pastors are insecure.

Not every pastor is eager to break tradition or try new approaches to ministry. Some assume the ritual or routine they learned is the only theologically correct way to speak with God. Others have a need to be in control. So delegating a ministry or relinquishing responsibility is disconcerting, especially when it allows the Holy Spirit greater freedom in shaping the direction and style of praying across the congregation. And, sadly, some pastors have ineffective prayer lives and are therefore weak when it comes to leading church members into “upward-outward-forward” prayer.

Reality #3. Some intercessors are peculiar.

Peculiar is not a derogatory term; I use it to assert that many individuals—gifted or called into a ministry of intercession—have a personality very different from that of an organizational leader. They are attuned to times of quiet and introspection, with high sensitivity to hearing from the Lord. This can intimidate a pastoral leader. Sadly, intercessors can confuse hearing from the Lord with having authority from the Lord to issue “prophecies” without submitting them to pastoral protocol.

Reality #4. Trust is a delicate thing.

Relationships require TLC (truthful, loving communication, Eph. 4:15). Making the pastor-intercessor relationship even more challenging is the reality that many intercessors are female and most pastors are male. Protecting the partnership with appropriate and safe boundaries can also create distance and hinder personal or intimate communication.

Working Toward Partnership

The Apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:2, provides a good start for working together effectively: “I entreat and advise Euodia and I entreat and advise Syntyche to agree and to work in harmony in the Lord” (amp). Both names appear to be feminine but the first half of each name is instructive: euo means “good”; syn means “together.” Applying this principle also to pastors and intercessors, they are exhorted to agree, urged to work together because, as one translation says, “you belong to the Lord” (nlt).

Pastors need to remember their responsibility: “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph. 4:12). Teaching people to pray and training those who are most gifted to lead meetings or ministries of prayer are direct applications of that instruction.

Intercessors need to remember that in many situations, their role is to be nearly invisible because humility is the primary component of a life God blesses. God opposes the prayers of the proud but responds graciously to humble pray-ers who seek only to lift up Christ and not themselves (1 Peter 5:5).

We all need to remember a key role of the designated prayer leader. He or she has the opportunity to interpret the style and substance of the intercessor’s messages to the pastor and to help intercessors see that their pastor not only believes in prayer but values it in all phases of the congregation’s ministry.

The Apostle Paul speaks to a pastor, Timothy, with an urgency to make prayer a priority (1 Tim. 2:1). It is incumbent upon every pastor, all intercessors, and each prayer leader to make sure nothing stands in the way—so that every person, every program, and every plan is birthed and bathed in prayer.

PHIL MIGLIORATTI is COO of the Mission America Coalition and national coordinator of Loving Our Communities to Christ (missionamerica.org).

(C) 2013 Prayer Connect magazine.