The Weapons of our Warfare 2 Prayer – Session 4 Practicalities β Corporate Prayer
Some of the material in this session is based on Lance Lambert’s book on prayer “My House shall be a House of Prayer”. See also “Praying in the Spirit” from Session 1 of this section of Weapons of our warfare.
We started by considering the prayer meetings of the early church recorded in:
- Acts 1:12-2:4
- Acts 4:23-31
- Acts 12:5-17
- Acts 13:1-3
The discussion can be viewed here It continued with consideration of the following points.
Corporate prayer
- Christ as the Head of the Body β you canβt have the Head without the Body β unity, living organism, not on organisational structure
- Flows out of the Gifts of the Spirit being in operation
- Praying with purpose β to see the will of God done on the earth β discerning the Will of God and then using the keys of the Kingdom to unlock the situation
- Pursue the Anointing β Psa. 133
- Look to the Spirit to lead right from the beginning
- Learn when to pray and when to stop praying – learn to assess when a topic is settled β they only walked round Jericho once a day and then picked it up the next day
- Not slavishly following a list of things to pray for β know when to move on
- Involves listening to others and hearing what is being said
- Not governed by sentiment
- Getting directions from the Head β corporate = Head + Body
Bad habits in corporate prayer
- Horizontal prayers β giving information to others as part of the prayer
- Long prayers β round the World in 20 minutes
- Sermonettes β good to quote Godβs Word back to Him in prayer but not to preach at the other pray-ers
- Shopping list prayers
- Use of βmeβ, βmyβ, and βIβ β you are praying on behalf of others
- Artificiality β use normal voice and language
- Mechanical noises
- Praying too quietly so that others canβt hear
- Insensitivity β slavishly following a list, fear of silence
- Lack of awareness of the presence of God
Remedies
- Personal preparation before the time of corporate prayer β examine yourselves
- Donβt rush into the presence of God
- Start with Scripture reading (not exposition!) relevant to the focus of the Prayer Meeting
- Have specific topics and pray for them in turn β donβt go off on a tangent, or on unrelated topics because they come into your mind β could be distractions.
- But if they are felt to be if the Holy Spirit, suggest to the meeting/leader that prayer could move in that direction (if the previous topic has been well-covered)
Praying Strategically
- Praying with
- Discernment Eph. 1:17-18; Col. 1:9
- Direction Eph. 1:9-10; 1 Thess. 5:15-16
- Knowing the Will of God generally (from the Scriptures) β what are our objectives?
- Knowing the Will of God in a specific situation β if we donβt know that, then make that the main objective of prayer!
- Getting quiet with the Lord to seek His will and hear from Him 1 Pet. 5:5-7
- May involve fasting, Definitely involves controlling the flesh and the mind β especially renewing the mind Rom. 12:2; Col. 1:9-10
- Being filled with the Spirit continuously (Eph. 5:18)
- Practical holiness is essential (ask and receive not James 4:3)
- Then asking according to His will (1 John 5:14-15)
Praying tactically
Questions to ask about specific things to pray for:
- How does this issue impact the Kingdom of God?
- How or where is the enemy attacking?
- How does it affect my walk, of the other personβs walk, with God?
- What impact does this have on the Ekklesia?
- What do we know from Scripture to be the will of God in situations like this?
- Is there a specific word from the Lord in or for this situation?
- How is the enemy resisting God in this situation?
Not formulaic, but relational!