Praying For Your Team The Way Jesus Prayed For His Team

Praying for those the Lord has entrusted to us is often neglected by Christian leaders.  Christian leaders often assume the protection and growth of their teams, followers and even their families.  So how does a Christian leader pray for his team members?  In John 17, Jesus prays for his team, the twelve disciples, in four different ways.  Jesus prayed for their:

1. Protection - John 17:11 & 15  "Protect them from the evil one."
2. Sanctification - John 17:17  "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."
3. Presence and Glory - John 17:24  "I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory."
4. Unity - John 17:21 "That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You.  May they also be in us."

It is interesting to note that as Jesus prayed for His follower's protection, He stated that none of them had been lost except for the son of perdition doomed to destruction.  Jesus prayed for His followers and did not assume their protection.  I have watched many followers of Christ fall away in churches.  In one church, the leaders of the church often profiled young believers during the worship services to hear their story and motivate the body to grow in an area of faith in their lives.  Sometime within the next three months I no longer saw many of them at church.  Having given their testimonies they became targets of the enemy's attack.  So when I pray for those whom the Lord has entrusted to me I pray the following four ways as Jesus prayed for His followers:

1. I pray for the protection of those the Lord has entrusted to me through the themes of Psalm 91.  As I pray through the themes of Psalm 91, I pray that:

• They will rest in the shadow of Shaddai as they dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
• God will cover them with His feathers and wings,
• God's faithfulness will be a shield and outer wall of protection for them,
• God will send His angels to protect them and their families,
• God will lift them up to a high place out of the reach of the enemy because they acknowledged His name, Yahweh. 

2. I pray for the sanctification of my team through the themes of Psalm 19:7-11 & Hebrews 12:7-11.  As I pray through the themes of Psalm 19, I pray that as my team reads God's word they will:

• Make them wise,
• Revive their souls,
• Give joy to their hearts,
• Give light to their eyes,

As those the Lord has entrusted to me endure the hardships of life, I pray through the themes of Hebrews 12 that they will share in God's holiness and that a harvest of righteousness and peace will be yielded in their lives. 

3. I pray that those the Lord has entrusted to me will experience God's presence and glory, by praying the prayers of Paul in Ephesians 1:15-19 & Ephesians 3:14-18.  As I pray Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1, I pray that they will be given the Spirit of wisdom (knowing who God is) and revelation (encounters with God) in order that they may know God in a deeper experiential way.  As I pray Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3, I pray that the Spirit will strengthen them with power in their inner person so that they will know the presence  and love of God in an experiential way. 

4. I pray for the unity of my team, by praying through the themes of unity Jesus prayed in John 17.  It is interesting to note that as Jesus prays for protection for His disciples His stated purpose is unity.  Then again as He prays that His followers experience His presence and glory He is again praying for unity.  In His prayer, Jesus states that He gave His followers the glory the Father gave Him that they might be one.  So when I have prayed that my team experience the presence and the glory of Jesus I am praying for their unity.  Finally, Jesus prays for oneness of His team as He prays that they will abide in Him and in the Father.  So as I pray for the protection of those the Lord has entrusted to me, I am praying for oneness.  As I pray for Jesus' presence and glory I am praying for oneness.  As I pray that the teams the Lord has given me abide in Christ and the Father I am praying for oneness.

What would happen, if Christian leaders prayed for their followers regularly?  Fewer followers may fall away from the faith.  More followers will see transformation in their lives. More followers will experience the presence of Jesus.  Fewer churches and teams will experience divisiveness.  

Prayer Walks

What is a Prayer Walk?

Prayer walking is a movement of the Spirit throughout the United States where believers are asking for God’s blessing on their neighborhoods.  A Prayer Walk is a spiritual discipline of prayer whereby men and women are so moved with compassion for the lost and filled with faith that they break away from the routine of life and prayerfully walk through their neighborhoods.  In so doing, the Spirit of God begins to usher the reality of the presence and power of Jesus in their neighborhoods.  The Kingdom of God will be near!  

A Prayer Walk is:

1.  Calling on the goodness of God to show His favor on your neighborhood by blessing the households you pass and asking for God’s peace within those homes as you walk, (Luke 4:16-19; 10:5,6)

2. Claiming your neighborhood for Jesus Christ by affirming God’s sovereign call in your life and affirming that He is placing households in your hand, (John 3:27,28,34,35; 17:2-4,18)

3.  Spiritual warfare whereby we declare the truth and serve notice to the powers of darkness that Jesus is building His church and their gates cannot prevail against it, (Matt 11:12; 16:18,19: 2 Cor 10:4,5) and

4.  Asking God to make the presence of the Lord Jesus real to every household within your neighborhood by the Spirit. (Luke 10:21,22; John 15:26,27; 1 Cor 2:9,10)

How does a Prayer Walk work?

A Prayer Walk begins when a believer realizes that God wishes to show His favor to his neighborhood and senses God’s call to pray for the households of his neighborhood.  The believer sets aside at least one hour weekly to walk the streets of his neighborhood.  A Prayer Walk is a Spirit led time of prayer, where the believer is worshipping God and listening for His voice.  He listens for the needs God wishes to touch within his neighborhood.  He listens for promises from God’s word to claim on their behalf.  

As he walks, he first prays for God’s blessing and peace to fall on the households within his neighborhood.  Second, he affirms God’s call in his life and the lost souls God is giving to him.  Third he serves notice to the powers of darkness by the authority of the exalted Jesus and by faith declares what Jesus is doing in his neighborhood.  Finally, he asks the Father for the ministry of the Spirit to reveal the presence of Jesus in each household within his neighborhood.

It is important that the prayer walker secure the commitment from his Biblical community and gifted intercessors to pray daily for the Spirit’s leading and protection for him and his family from the spiritual attacks of the enemy.

Discovering The Importance of Geographical Prayer Through Prayer Walking

Years ago, as a Pastor of Small Groups, I began discovering the importance of geographical prayer through prayer walks.  My church was a large rapidly growing church.  I was watching our small groups branch out to neighboring cities.  One such group was a Young Couples Group meeting in the city of Fontana, California.  I was very impressed with the leaders and the young couples in the group.  There was an excitement about Jesus as they met together.  They were full of love for each other.  Then one day the leader said he wanted to meet with me.  He had an affair and his wife left him.  Within weeks his group completely fell a part and not one couple reentered a new group our church.  

A year later, a mature, strong Christian leader approached me wanting to mobilize members and regular attenders in our church who lived in Fontana into small groups.  He did his own research and determined that there were enough people to have seven functioning small groups.  I gave him permission to fulfill the vision the Spirit had placed in his heart.  Two weeks later I contacted him to see how he was doing.  I discovered that his work load had increased at his place of employment, causing him to work more hours through the work week.  His wife had become very ill.  Between these two occurrences he had no time to invest in the members and regular attenders of our church in his city to establish new small groups.  

That same year I felt led to launch a new small group in Ontario, a city south of us.  I contacted all of the members and regular attenders of our church that lived in Ontario.  Six couples responded.  I led the small group meeting every other week for three months.  In that time, I identified a strong Christian couple who had the willingness and giftedness to lead the group.  I empowered these new leaders to lead the group and this new community of believers was doing well.  Two months later I learned that the new leaders relocated out of state for an employment opportunity.  None of the men within the group stepped up to lead the group.  A dear woman who was a mature believer, but had no leadership gifts took over the leadership.  Within six month the group imploded. 

This was all very discouraging.  There was two neighboring cities with three small group failures.  What was going on?  I realized that all of our 40+ small groups were located in two cities.  Rancho Cucamonga, California the city where our church was located and Upland, the city immediately west.  As it turns out I discovered that Fontana had a history of spiritual failures for many churches.  Ontario did not have a history like Fontana, but none the less, we had a misfire as I tried to launch a church within it borders.

One year later a different couple joined our church who lived in Ontario, the city south of us.  I trained and empowered them to launch a new small group in their neighborhood.  Four months later I sensed the leader was discouraged.  I asked him if we could do a prayer walk in his neighborhood.  In the first morning we prayed, the leader and my friend began tearing up and couldn't pray because he was so discouraged.  I prayed for him through the hour of prayer.  He shared that his wife was not embracing their new ministry opportunity.  None of the group members were willing to assume any responsibility for the group life.  In the second week of prayer walking, my friend began to engage in the one hour prayer time as we walked the streets of his neighborhood together.  We met to prayer walk every other week on the week of his group meetings.  After six weeks of prayer, the leader was ecstatic, there was new life in his group.  His wife had a change of heart and was very enthusiastic about the group!  All the couples in the group were volunteering to share in the responsibilities of the group.  Something had changed in the spiritual atmosphere over that neighborhood.

What was the difference?  We persistently prayed, walking through the leader's neighborhood six times and there was a breakthrough.  I concluded that there often needs to be a spiritual work of prayer before there will be spiritual breakthrough in the geographical area where someone is birthing a new church, group or ministry.  

Fivefold Plan For Prayer Evangelism For Persons of Peace

What is the Fivefold Plan for Prayer Evangelism?

The Fivefold Plan for Prayer Evangelism comes out of the teaching of Jesus in Luke 10 as He sent 72 of His followers ahead of Him to preach the gospel of the kingdom.  This five-step plan is being used in the Neighborhood Houses of Prayer Movement in India and the Lighthouses of Prayer Movement in Argentina to mobilize believers to pray for the lost in their lives.  In this plan workers in the Lord's harvest field pray for at least five persons of peace (PoP) personally, with their own household and corporately with their Biblical communities.  PoPs are lost people who are responsive, open, and welcoming when a worker in the harvest tells his story or talks about Jesus.  The fivefold plan is:

1. Pray for laborers - Ask the Father to bring workers into the lives of your PoP and their network of family and friends (household).

And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Lk 10:2

1. Pray for God’s peace and blessing - Pray for your five PoP and their households, persistently asking the Father to bless them and bring peace to their households. 

"Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.' Lk 10:5

1. Associate with them - Ask the Father for the Spirit's wisdom and understanding to know what to do and how to do it as you asociate with your PoP and their households through coffee, a meal together or participating in an event together and begin investing your life in theirs.

"Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Lk 10:7

1. Pray for miracles - Ask your PoP how you can pray for them and then pray persistently for the Spirit's power to work miracles in their lives both personally, with your household and corporately with your Biblical community.

and heal those in it who are sick,’ Lk 10:9

1. Share the gospel - As your PoP experience God’s blessing, presence and power in their lives, continue to make noise for Jesus and ask if they would be willing to do a Discovery Bible Study with you.  Ask the Spirit to open their eyes to a knowledge of who God is and an understanding of the good news of the Kingdom of God.

‘say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' Lk 10:9

How does the Fivefold Plan for Prayer Evangelism work?

1.   Pray together with your household and ask the Father to show you five PoP He wants you to focus your prayer and life on.  This could be family, friends, neighbors, your kid’s friends or teachers at school, associates, clients, vendors at work, family members,families at the gym or athletic field, etc.   List the five persons of peace:

2.  Prepare the ground by praying forty days for your five PoP and their households, using the Fivefold Plan for Prayer Evangelism pray:

1. LABORERS 

Pray that Jesus would send others into the lives of your PoP and their households. Lk 10:2 

1. PEACE 

Pray that God’s blessing & peace would come into the lives of your PoP and their households. Lk 10:5 

1. ASSOCIATION 

Pray that Jesus will open a door for you to associate with your PoP and their households Lk 10:7 

1. MIRACLES 

Pray that the Father will work in a miraculous way to meet the felt needs in the lives of your PoP and their households. Lk 10:9 

1. GOSPEL 

Pray that Jesus will open a door for you to make noise for Him and lead a Discovery Bible Study with your PoP and the Spirit will testify of Jesus as you testify of Jesus. Lk 10:9

3.  After you have prayed for your PoPs for forty days, approach them and tell them that you are a part of a Biblical community that is praying for the neighborhood, or school or workplace, or community, etc.  Then ask them:

a. How can we pray for the neighborhood/school/workplace/community?

b. How can we pray for your family?

c. How can we pray for you?

4.  If they are responsive and give prayer requests, persistently ask the Father to act in miraculous ways in answer their prayer requests, and continue to pray for them using the Fivefold Plan for Prayer Evangelism.  If they are not responsive, it may be that they are not a PoP, ask the Lord if He wants you to shake the dust off your feet, move on and begin praying for others. 

As the Lord leads associate with your PoP, tell them you are praying with them and ask if they have seen God answer their prayer requests.  Continue to make noise of Jesus and ask them to join you in a Discovery Bible Study.  Invite your Biblical community to join you in reaching out to your PoP and their households.  As you pray, ask the Father to work in a miraculous way in their lives and to bring the reality of the Kingdom of God to them.   When they are ready tell them God's story and invite them to trust in Jesus.  Begin praying that as your Pop does a Discovery Bible Study God will open a door for them to lead a Discovery Bible Study with their households.

How Much Do I Need To Pray?

Often when I lead a prayer seminar at a church or organization I will have a lay person approach me and ask, "Who are you, where did you come from and why isn't my pastor teaching me these things?"  Then a pastor or a leader within the organization will approach me and ask, "Really, Clyde, how much do I need to pray?"  In asking this question, some Christian leaders are asking me to give a them a specific amount of time so they can do it and check off their daily to do list.  Other Christian leaders, may discount my suggestion as being too much time in light of their busy schedules.  

I always respond by telling Christian leaders, "I don't know.  I can't tell you how much time you should spend in prayer."  I remind him of the words of Jesus as He prayed to the Father the night before He was crucified, "I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work you gave Me to do."  I suggest, "At the end of the day, when you look back on your day, ask God, 'Father, did I bring You glory today by completing the work You gave me to do?'  'If you cannot answer yes, you may want to pray more."  I continue, "At the end of the week, when you are resting on the Sabbath and reflect on your past week and ask God, 'Lord, did I bring You glory this past week by completing the work You gave me to do?"  I continue, "At the end of the quarter, the end of the year, and you ask the question, 'Father, did I bring You glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do this past quarter, this past year?' "  Again, I suggest, "If you cannot answer, 'Yes.'  Then you may want to pray more."  

The next question I suggest they ask the Father is, "Father, what is the work of prayer I need to do so I can complete the work you gave me to do."  Then pray, "Father, fill me with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding that I may know what to do and how to do it as I pray for the kingdom and seek to complete the work You have given me to do."  I want to suggest that Christian leaders might be led to  engage in and lead a variety of prayer efforts, praying both personally and with their  teams.  When he has done the work of prayer and persists in it, both personally and with his teams, he will complete the work the Father has given him to do. 

Twenty-four Hour Fast

What does it mean to fast?

To fast is to abstain from food for a spiritual purpose to either draw near to God for greater intimacy and worship or to seek more of His intervention for guidance, power and/or protection to do His will.  Fasting is an act of humility.  It is saying to God, “I need you more than I need food!”  And God gives grace to the humble.  It is saying, “God, I need more...more of you.  I want to give you more of my praise and worship.  I need more of your guidance…more of your power...more of your protection…more of Your grace and compassion.”  The very nature of a fast is a grieving or mourning over a situation that only God can change.

Why did Biblical leaders fast?

• Moses received more of God and His instruction. Exodus 34:28
• Israel needed more of God's deliverance. I Samuel 7:6
• Jehoshaphat needed more of God's wisdom & intervention. II Chronicles 20:3 
• The King of Nineveh needed more of God's compassion & grace. Jonah 3:5,6
• Daniel needed more of God's understanding. Daniel 10:1-3
• Ezra needed more of God's protection. Ezra 8:21-23
• Nehemiah needed more of God's wisdom & intervention. Nehemiah 1:4
• Esther needed more of God's intervention. Esther 4:15-17
• Anna wanted to give more worship to God. Luke 2:37
• Jesus needed more of God's strength. Matt. 4:1-11
• Prophets and teachers wanted to give God greater worship. Acts 13:1-3
• Paul and Barnabas needed more of God’s anointing for themselves and others. Acts 13:1-3; 14:23

How do we fast for twenty-four hours? 

We enter a fast as led by the Spirit of God.  It is a heart response of wanting more of God.  It is not to be entered into for show or personal ambition.  It is built upon a life that is already yielded to God.  And if our life is not yet yielded, that would be the very purpose of the fast.

During a twenty-four hour fast:

1. Allow yourself to be led and stirred with a sense of need by the Spirit of God.
2. Determine to not eat food after eating one meal (i.e. dinner, lunch or breakfast) until you sit down to eat that same meal the next day.  You could do a media fast if you are unable to do a food fast. (no TV, Radio, Internet, newspaper, magazines, iPods, etc.)
3. Devote the normal time allotted to the two meals missed, as well as your normal quiet time to meditate, to pray and study concerning the focus of your fast.
4. As you feel discomfort in the last few hours of your fast, use the discomfort to remind you of your need for God and utter breath prayers concerning your focus. (A breath prayer is a simple address to one of the members of the Godhead followed by a simple request, i.e. Father, set him free!)
5. Practice this discipline weekly until you are released from the Spirit of God to stop.

You might want to consider fasting if:

• You need direction for your life.
• You need freedom from bondage.
• You need an intervention of God in a very difficult situation.
• You want to see lost friends come to know Jesus.
• You want to see the Spirit of God transform the life of a friend. 
• There are people going hungry or without shelter in your community.
• You are struggling in a conflict with a brother or sister in Christ.

Looking At The Lord's Prayer Through New Eyes

Four the past three months I have been discipling a young Nepali man.  We have been doing a Discovery Bible Study together.  He chose to follow Jesus in December.  We did a Discovery Bible Study on Matthew 6:9-13 to learn about prayer.  I was introduced to praying through the Lord's Prayer by Larry Lea, in his book, Could You Not Tarry For One Hour twenty-four years ago.  I prayed through the Lord's Prayer almost daily for twenty of those years.  The outline has expanded through the years as I have used it to pray on-site for three hours at many ministry events.  Seeing the Lord's Prayer through the eyes on my new believer friend was very insightful.    One of his first observations was that God forgives us.  Another observation was that God is a guide who keeps us from temptation.  I then asked him, "In one word, who is the Father in each of these petitions?"  He then made the observation that the Father is the King.  As the King He is bringing His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.  I was blown away.  I realized for the first time that every request in the Lord's Prayer addresses who the Father is.  So with that explanation I want to suggest a new approach to praying through the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your Name

You are Yahweh

We allow the Spirit to reveal within our hearts, our sense of need for God in order to accomplish the work He has given us to do.  Confessing sin, inadequacies and weakness, we ask Jesus to set Himself a part as Yahweh and appropriate His present ministry in our lives that we may be one with Jesus.

Your Kingdom come

You are the King

We listen to the Spirit for what the Father is doing and by the power of the Spirit we call on the resources of heaven to war against the powers of darkness that the Kingdom of God may be established on earth.  In this way we intercede for those the Father is entrusting to us.

Give us this day our daily bread

You are a Provider

We are turning our attention to today, declaring the character of God as a provider and asking for His provision to meet our needs.

Forgive us our debts

You are Forgiver

We allow the Spirit to search our hearts and convict us of our sin.  We confess our sin to our heavenly Father and receive His forgiveness.  We allow the Spirit to search our hearts and bring to mind those we resent that we may forgive and release them.  

Lead us not into temptation

You are a Guide

We allow the Spirit to search our hearts and reveal the nature of our struggle with sin (world, flesh and devil).  We seek the leadership of the Father, appropriating His provision to overcome the temptations we will face today in the realms of the world, flesh and the devil.

But deliver us from evil

You are Deliverer

We seek the power of the Spirit to deliver us from those areas in our lives where the devil holds us in bondage that keeps us from fulfilling God's will in our lives today.

In the Lord's Prayer, we are given a model of prayer that leads us to the mountain top of oneness with God in order that we may intercede for His Kingdom resources on earth.  We are seeking His Kingdom!  As we descend the mountain and face the day, we are given the freedom to ask for God's goodness to provide for our needs today.  We then address our obedience to God.  We seek His guidance from temptation and His deliverance from our adversary.  We are seeking His Righteousness!