The Prayer Issue by Newfrontiers USA

ISSUE 01 >>

2013

a newfrontiers usa publication

the prayer issue John Privett >> Prayer: Our Past and Present Power Ian Ashby >> Prayer as Seen in the Book of Acts Church Focus >> The River Center in Lebanon & Corvallis, OR

SOUNDBITE â&#x20AC;˘ CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE STORYING

BO NOONAN

JOHN LANFERMAN >> Team Leader >> Newfrontiers USA

KINGDOM PRAYER

Prayer is a common human experience. Every theist, agnostic, and atheist alike has prayed in one form or another at times. Prayer is a common topic. It’s been the focus of clinical studies, heard in the halls of Congress and at Presidential inaugurations. It pops up on bumper stickers, sells books, and is mentioned in songs. However, there is often bad information on prayer. We have all heard “Prayer changes things” or “There is power in prayer.” However, it is God who changes things and who alone is all-powerful. Our understanding of prayer needs to come from scripture. Often people pray in order to get God to do what they believe He should do. This type of praying assumes we know what needs to happen. Its focus is on us. Being at the center of the universe, we determine what we want and then pray to have God go get it for us. This is a primary reason our prayers seem ineffective and we become disappointed with God. We are attempting to move God from inaction to action. This means that God’s sovereignty (His freedom and power to do whatever He wants) is limited by us, and by our choice of whether or not to pray.

Our View Here is how we tend to view prayer: We initiate God listens to us God makes happen what we asked With this perspective, God is seen as a “celestial Santa” or “cosmic bellboy”. If this is your concept of prayer, you will pray for your will to be done rather than God’s.

God’s View The Biblical view of prayer is quite different. First, God initiates prayer. He speaks to us by revealing Himself and His will to us. Much of our praying should begin with adoration and listening to God’s revelation to us. God longs to speak to us and convey His plans. In this way He is initiating what and how we pray.

RECOMMENDED READING

a. A Praying Life by Paul Miller b. George Müller of Bristol and His Witness to a Prayer-Hearing God by Arthur T. Pierson

c. Lord Teach Us to Pray by Audrew Murray

SOUNDBITE

In our prayer life God is central, not us. His plan and purpose is the focus. The Biblical understanding of prayer is about God’s revealed will.

Second, we respond to what God has revealed to us through the Bible and the voice of His Spirit. Jesus often said to those with whom he was speaking, “He who has ears let him hear what the Spirit is saying.” Jesus displayed this type of relationship with the Father as he did and said what he saw the Father doing and saying. Prayer is not moving God from inaction to action, it is partnering with God in what He has already begun to do. In our prayer life God is central, not us. His plan and purpose is the focus. The Biblical understanding of prayer is about God’s revealed will. People get angry because they don’t understand this principle, which becomes evident when God doesn’t do what they wanted Him to do. Praying is not something we do in order to get God to act. Prayer is something God does in and through us so that His purposes are fulfilled in and through us. Prayer is thinking God’s thoughts after Him. We are praying for His purposes to be accomplished and actively playing a role in that fulfillment. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus’ answer is a model of Kingdom prayer that is effective as we partner with God. It’s normally called “The Lord’s Prayer” (see Matt. 6:7-15) when in fact it is meant to be the disciple’s prayer.

A few points from Jesus’ model: Our Father: We address God from the platform of our family relationship with Him. Holy is Your name: Worship is a vital part of prayer and includes a sense of mission. This can be interpreted, “Make Your name holy so the entire earth may recognize You.”

Read more from John and other writers in the Link at: www.confluenceblog.org

Your Kingdom come: This phrase involves the active reign of God through which people are restored to relationship with Him. We are to pray that His Kingdom spreads; that His reign and rule continue to come. Your will be done on earth: We pray, “God accomplish Your will on earth… be glorified and save people.” God invites us to partner with Him in this and play a significant role by proclaiming the gospel and praying for its fulfillment. Our daily bread: We are told to make specific requests for our daily needs, recognizing that all we have is a result of God’s grace. We look to God for our provision. We ask Him to supply what we need so we can continue proclaiming the Good News. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors: We recognize our right standing comes from God as He gives grace and mercy. This, in turn, elicits a gracious response from us toward those who do or say things against us. As we spend time with God, we grasp that we have received mercy and can now extend mercy to others. Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. God gives grace and protection from things that would overcome us. This prayer is about the gospel; it is about God the King, His Kingdom and its expansion. This is the focus and aim of all true prayer. Let’s not just be a people who pray, but a praying people, focused on our King and His kingdom activity all around us.

IAN ASHBY >> New Frontiers Church >> Portsmouth, NH

PRAYER:

AS SEEN IN THE BOOK OF ACTS Throughout the Book of Acts, it seems that most of the major advances in the early church resulted from prayer. As people prayed, they experienced the Holy Spirit filling them, empowering them, and giving revelation to direct them in God’s mission. As John Lanferman has said, “Prayer was the key to the release of the Holy Spirit empowered Church, to make effective the gospel of Christ”. That is why, in Newfrontiers, we place such a high value on corporate prayer. Some of the most exciting and significant meetings I have ever attended have been prayer gatherings with my local church or with other pastors. However, I am sure we have also all experienced the exact opposite—corporate prayer that has been predictable, lifeless and depressing! What can we do to prevent that happening and make sure our prayer meetings are the one gathering that no one wants to miss? Here are four keys that will help achieve this:

Start with God We can see from Acts 4 that when the believers gathered to pray in response to persecution they did not focus on their

problems, but on the sovereignty and greatness of God. We must start with God. If we start with the challenges we are facing then, as Terry Virgo points out: “Instead of really praying with faith, we start ‘worrying out loud’…Prayer grows out of our appreciation of God. When we start worshiping and being thrilled with God, it becomes natural to ask God to be true to His character and power and take action in His world”. God-focused praise and thanksgiving is not just a warm up to the real business of intercessory prayer! It is vital if we are to pray with faith and in the Spirit.

Exercise Leadership Motivating people to pray requires good leadership. People need to be envisioned about the importance of prayer. Leaders should not just rely on the church calendar to announce upcoming meetings, but they should call the church to prayer with specific purpose and goals. During corporate prayer, leaders should bring clear direction and focus. At the same time, they should also be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit, willing to lay aside their own plans,

RECOMMENDED READING

a. The Spirit-Filled Church by Terry Virgo b. Fresh Wind Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala c. Prayer: Does it Make any Difference? by Phillip Yancey

God-focused praise and thanksgiving is not just a warm up to the real business of intercessory prayer! It is vital if we are to pray with faith and in the Spirit.

if necessary, to respond to what God is saying through prophetic words.

Provide Variety If we just stick to one format in prayer then it can become boring and people will disengage. For example, sitting in a circle and praying in turn usually leads to the same few participating each time, but variety engages people. So, in any one meeting we may all raise our voices together as they did in Acts 4, and then have a few individuals pray out so we can all say “Amen”. At other times we might break up into groups of two or three to pray for a particular issue. We also often gather around the individuals who are responsible for particular areas of service in the church or community. We will lay hands

CHURCH FOCUS //

on them to receive a fresh anointing of power, with people bringing scriptures and words of prophecy to impart faith and encouragement. In most of our meetings we will also have a time to pray for one another for a fresh infilling of the Spirit, acknowledging that God has purposed to use us in response to many of our prayers. Not only do we need variety in how we pray, but also in when we pray. Regular prayer meetings at the same time and same place for months on end can breed complacency. To avoid this, we have had seasons of weekly prayer and then switched to monthly gatherings. We have designated certain weeks in the year as a “week of prayer” with prayer gatherings every day. We have also had all night prayer meetings and 48 hours of non-stop prayer with people signing up for selected hours to gather day and night. This kind of variety really helps to keep people motivated and excited about prayer.

Come prepared www.therivercenter.net

When we gather to pray, let us come prayerfully, stirring up the gift of God that is within us and expecting God to use us. Prepared people create powerful meetings.

Location: Lebanon & Corvallis, OR In what year did you join with Newfrontiers? 2009 How did your church get started? We have two locations that began as independent churches (Lebanon in 1974 and Corvallis in 1975). God put it on our hearts that we can do more together than we can apart and we joined together in 2012.

Tell us about a recent ‘win’ in your church. This year we decided to have regular baptisms on Sunday morning—very difficult when you don't have a baptismal. We purchased a water trough and a portable heater and began baptizing people regularly. From 2009 to 2011, we baptized 42 people. In 2012 alone we baptized over 50 people.

JOHN PRIVETT >> Lifehouse Church >> Nashville, TN

PRAYER: OUR PAST AND

Prayer does not f work; prayer is -Oswald

PRESENT POWER

Prayer matters. Prayer has played an indispensable role throughout the history of the church. St. Augustine (A.D. 354–430) said, “Lord, You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” This idea rings true in prayer as we express our faith and dependence on God. The prayers of God’s people initiate things in the heavenly realm. For example, in 1727, the presence of God came to a Protestant group called the Moravians. They were a refugee colony from Bohemia that was allowed to settle on the estates of Count Nicholas Zinzendorf in Hernhutt, Germany. They birthed a 24/7 prayer meeting that lasted an entire century. Twenty-four men and twenty-four women committed and scheduled to pray one hour every day. Soon that number grew. Eventually every hour was filled with multiple people in intercession. From that ongoing prayer meeting, more than 300 missionaries were sent throughout the world. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), who saw thousands come to Christ through his preaching, refused to take credit for the success of his ministry. Instead, he would point to the nearly 700 people who bowed in prayer to seek God’s

presence and blessing on upcoming services—services continually marked with God’s power and glory as a result. These stories from church history should inspire us to pray. However, the reality is that we can quickly find ourselves disappointed in our inability to persevere in prayer. Oswald Chambers said, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” The following are a few ideas to help us find our stride in the “greater work” of prayer:

Be convinced of your need to pray. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Oswald Smith notes, “You can be marvelously gifted for the service of God, but if you have not learned to prevail in prayer, you can never expect God’s blessings on your labors”.

RECOMMENDED READING

a. Hearing God by Dallas Willard b. Prayer Coach by James L. Nicodem

c. Face to Face with God by Bill Johnson

QUICK LOOK

fit us for the greater the greater work. d Chambers

CBS Chronological

Bible Storying BO NOONAN

New Community Church >> Tacoma, WA Simply put, Chronological Bible Storying (CBS) is a tool to make disciples who make disciples. At New Community Church we have a three-year plan for CBS:

Schedule to pray. We must make our calendars submit to our vision. We are busy people who inevitably allow seemingly urgent things crowd out what is genuinely important. I have too often allowed the pressures, demands, and disappointments of this life keep me from Him. I find that I consistently pray when I write it into my schedule. Paul Miller writes, “Learning to pray doesn’t offer us a less busy life; it offers us a less busy heart”.

Pray together. Every Wednesday at 6:00am a handful of men pray with me in my office. The camaraderie and strength we receive from praying together cannot be overstated. Charles Finney said, “Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together. Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other’s hearts in prayer”.

Take action. We too easily have a thought, read an article, or even hear the Holy Spirit without responding. Take action. Start with a reasonable goal, place it into your calendar, ask some believers to join you, and know that God Himself will help you. In his book The Spirit-Filled Church, Terry Virgo quotes Philip Hughes, “Prayer is stressed over and over again in the New Testament as a vital pre-requisite for the release and experience of God’s power.” May our churches, and we as individuals, continue to discover God’s loving presence and power through a life marked by prayer.

Year One: Redemptive History Stories are told weekly which demonstrate how the Bible is one grand story, from creation to new creation. The dialogue digs into who God is, what God did, who we are, and what we do in light of all of this.

Year Two: Life and Ministry of Jesus Stories are told from the gospels about the life and ministry of Jesus. Their purpose is to stimulate dialogue around who Jesus is, how he made disciples, and in light of that, how we become and make disciples.

Year Three: The Book of Acts Stories are told from the book of Acts showing us what the church should look like and how the disciples of Jesus went on to make other disciples of Jesus. Within these relational environments we hear people’s response to who Jesus is. A massively important part of disciple-making is listening! By listening, we can make an evaluation of where these people are in the spiritual growth process and walk with them as they become spiritually mature. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45 ESV)

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