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#050
Pastors’ Strategies for Mobilizing
Men to Pray
By Phil Miglioratti
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The following article is if from the recently published book Fight On Your
Knees, Calling Men to Action Through Transforming Prayer, by Dr. Mell
Winger
Purchase online for a 20% discount at http://www.navpress.com or call
1-800-366-7788. (let them know you are with the NPPN)
Pastors’ Strategies for Mobilizing Men to Pray
By Phil Miglioratti
“Without a vision, the warriors perish”
(Proverbs 29:18, my paraphrase).
In every war, warriors need generals who sound the battle call clearly and
loudly. Spiritual warfare is no different. Men must be summoned to the
fight by a visionary leader, and that leader should be their pastor.
If men are going to effectively fight on their knees, they will need pastors who
take spiritual warfare and strategic prayer personally and seriously. Victory
requires a new breed of shepherd--one who leads the way into the arena of
prayer. And every victory is the result of a comprehensive strategy.
Strategy 1 -The Man
PASTORING HAS CHANGED dramatically in the last 50 years.
One of the clearest indications is how the sign on the pastor's door has
changed from “Study” to “Office.” The pastor is now more a manager or
corporate executive officer than a student or a disciple.
A call to war is a call to change. Pastors must reclaim their role as one
who leads the troops into battle (see Joshua 5:13-6:27). They cannot do
this solely from the boardroom; they must lead both from and into
the prayer room. Our spiritual leaders must rediscover and reclaim the
apostles' passion of devotion to prayer and the Word (see Acts 6:4).
Crucial Questions
Pastor, what do you need to change in your schedule in order to be
devoted to prayer (see Colossians 4:2)?
Will you commit to strengthening your personal prayer life by reading a book on
prayer? attending a prayer training conference? participating in a pastors'
prayer group? (see end of article) Who can you trust to hold you
accountable when you share this commitment with them?
Creative Activities
Take your calendar (or Palm Pilot) and add a one-hour appointment, one day a
week, for the next five weeks.
Divide the appointment between reading on prayer, journaling on prayer (your
personal observations), writing on prayer (articles for the church bulletin or
newsletter), and of course praying.
Strategy 2 -The Message
WARRIORS NEED a battle plan and they must receive those clear instructions from
the teaching ministry of their pastor (see 1 Corinthians 14:8). Prayer
must become the topic of sermons and messages, the focus of class and group
study, the example and illustration in teaching and preaching. For too
long, prayer has been the one thing we have not taught new believers (nor
veterans, for that matter). We assume they must know how to pray since
they "prayed to receive Christ." Prayer has been unused and
misused because the leaders have not trained soldiers in this weapon of war (see
2 Corinthians 10:4; Ephesians 6:18).
Crucial Questions
Pastor, when can you next preach on prayer? Will it be a single sermon?
a series?
How can you best survey your congregation about prayer? Ask them to tell
you their most significant questions, problems, and hopes about prayer in regard
to their personal life and the life of the church.
Creative Activities
Go surfing online to find prayer resources: books, teaching videos,
networks. A good place to start is www.nalcpl.net <http://www.nalcpl.net>
.
Schedule a planning session with those who make curriculum choices for your
church ministries. Devote 50 percent of the meeting to prayer and 50
percent to discerning how the Lord wants the church to be taught about prayer.
Apply what you discover to sermons, Sunday school classes, small groups,
Bible studies, and the various ministries of the church (youth, children,
singles, couples, and seniors).
Strategy 3 - The Motivation
PRAYER IS ESSENTIAL because it is essential, not because it is the latest topic
or trend and not because the pastor read a book or attended a conference and now
feels guilty. For men to fight on their knees, they will require
more than a battle call; they must have a battle cry. They must
grasp the reason, pulsate with the passion, and embrace the vision. A battle cry
is loud, not simply to catch everyone's attention, but to express deep desire
and desperation. A pastor who wants to lead his men into battle must have
a cry, a burden; he cannot simply make an announcement.
Our motivation is the call and the cry of our Lord and Leader in John 17:3-4 (NIV):
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by
completing the work you gave me to do."
Our motivation? A desire for the church to complete the work God has given
us to do -so that those who do not know the only true God would receive
eternal life through faith in Christ, and so that God would receive glory
on earth. The battle and the victory are all for God! We fight with
and for the Creator of the universe. Our cry: "Jesus rules!” “To
hell with evil!” “God loves the world!”
Crucial Questions
Pastor, how can you make the teaching and preaching about prayer a
motivating experience to your congregation?
Does your congregation know the ultimate purpose of prayer (not to change
circumstances but to bring glory to God)? How would that paradigm shift
change their praying?
Creative Activities
During the next three weeks, attend every prayer meeting you can.
Identify what makes the meeting motivational or what makes it boring and
irrelevant. Review your observations for the purpose of revising prayer in
your congregation and using it effectively at different points. During weeknight
prayer meetings? Committee and board meetings? Church services? Sunday and
weekday classes?
Take a group of men on a prayer journey through Scripture. Skim the book
of Acts, stopping at each "prayer meeting" to determine what motivated
the church to come to the place of prayer and what kept them there. Ask
your men what would help them to begin to pray with the same vibrancy and
conviction seen in the Book of Acts.
Next time you have an appointment with the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit to give you
God-inspired ideas for motivating men to pray.
Strategy 4 -The Model
MEN WILL NOT follow a man who simply teaches them about prayer
but they will die with a man they see and hear in prayer. Christian men
are looking for a leader who is unafraid to plunge into the deeper waters of
communication and cooperation with God.
The most eloquent sermon is powerless if the preacher cannot supply the evidence
of personal experience, both success and failure. The most gifted teacher cannot
persuade men to change their lifestyle if he has not done the same in the
crucible of prayer.
Crucial Questions
Pastor, what do you need to change and what must you begin to do in
order to become your own sermon illustration?
Can you think of seven to nine men (young and old) who might be learning the
value of prayer because they are watching your life? How will you
restructure your personal prayer times to include intercession for them to
become valiant men of prayer following your example?
Creative Activities
Preach on "Epaphras: Prayer Warrior" (from Colossians
4:12-13).
Take a group of men on a retreat that combines recreation (men crave action),
study (unpack your sermon on Epaphras), and prayer ("Lord, what will it
take to turn us into prayer warriors?”).
Strategy 5 -The Mentor
GENERALS NEED CAPTAINS. Every pastor must select, train,
and disciple a man who not only can serve (and pray) alongside him but can also
cast vision and lead other men with passion (see 2 Timothy 2:2). This, dear
Barnabas, is your Saul who needs to be transformed into a Paul (see Acts
12:25;13:6-9). This, General Paul, is your Timothy who must become your Captain
in Ephesus (see 1 Timothy 1:3). You will need to call all men to prayer, young
and old, mature or new to the faith. But ask the Holy Spirit to point out
those who have the calling, gifting, and anointing to become vision casters and
passionate leaders.
Crucial Questions
Pastor, has the Lord revealed the Sauls in your ministry who have the
potential of becoming Pauls? How many Timothys are you praying for as you mentor
them?
Could you be more effective in the next twelve months at mobilizing the men of
your congregation if you were to read a book on the dynamics of mentoring? What
can you do in this next year to improve your mentoring and discipling skills?
Creative Activities
Invite your Sauls and Timothys to meet with you regularly (at least once
a month) to mentor them into deeper personal prayer and in prayer leadership
skills.
Take several men to a prayer conference. Build in some "guy" time as
well as debriefing: "How can we bless our church/men's ministry with what
we have learned?”
Strategy 6 -The Ministry
TO CALL YOUR men to war on their knees, should you create a new
ministry that has a value and focus on prayer, or should you bring a new value
and focus on prayer to already existing ministries? Answer: Yes!
Pray for direction on what additional activity might enable more men to
experience the adventure of prayer. But also pray for discernment on how
to bring prayer to the places where men are already gathering, whether for
ministry, study, work, or recreation.
Crucial Questions
Pastor, if you were a member (and not the pastor) of your church, what would
have to happen for you to take the plunge and attend a men's prayer meeting?
Who needs to issue the call? Who should be invited? Who should lead?
What makes this meeting unique? challenging? fulfilling?
Where is a location that feels like a place men would open up and really
pray? The gym before a game of volleyball or basketball? A corporate
conference room? A jogging or hiking trail? Your van parked by the
commuter train before they leave for the city?
When is a time that adds to the challenge? 5:30 A.M. on a weekday?
7:00 A.M. in your study (or office) on Sunday? Surprisingly, men
respond to unusual times.
Why is this a good use of their time?
How will you use peer influence to get men to the place of prayer?
Creative Activities
List every event, activity, ministry, and meeting that men participate
in throughout a normal church year. After each one, list how prayer can
become more of a value in that setting and what you will do to make it happen.
Below are some examples of what you could do for men's prayer in different
categories.
In their homes:
Challenge husbands to pray with their wives every day for at least two
minutes during the next thirty days. Meet to debrief: A good discussion
starter is, "What did God have us pray that we have not prayed before?”
Ask fathers to pray for their children for a week, then pray over each child in
the Sunday morning service (invite them to the front of the congregation).
For you, the pastor:
Challenge men to commit to pray for you while at work, perhaps one specified day
a week.
Invite them to meet with you Monday mornings to pray for next Sunday's sermon.
Create a group that communicates prayer requests through e-mail.
Encourage them to fast and pray for you as they skip a meal once a week.
Have seven to twelve men gather around you on Sunday mornings before the
service. This "Sunday Prayer Huddle Group" could meet for one month,
then rotate with another group.
During church services:
Equip the ushers to pray before services (for gifts of hospitality), during
services (to bless each person they serve), and after services (for visitors and
those who are hurting or absent).
In the community:
On the day when kids are praying at school through the See You At The Pole
program (usually the second or third Wednesday of September), have fathers stop
at their local school before they go to work to stand in support of their
children at the largest prayer meeting in the world (see end of article.)
Ask men to meet at the church, pray for God's presence and protection, then
travel to locations in the community that are enveloped by evil or by spiritual
darkness. Spend an hour walking, praying, blessing, and inviting the Lord
to reign and rule in the schools, the stores, and the homes. See the
problems, but pray the promises!
Men's ministry functions:
Challenge the men to devote ten to fifteen minutes to pray for one another
either before or after each study.
Hold a yearly men's retreat at which you make prayer the theme. Invite a prayer
facilitator to colead the retreat with you. You can teach and let the
guest guide the group into new prayer experiences.
Ask men to choose a prayer partner ("tele-friend") whom they will
"meet" on the phone once a week so that they can pray for each other,
their families, the pastor, the church, and the community.
A true, biblical call to war is so much more than a longer message or a louder
sermon next Sunday. It is a call that must first be heard and deeply felt
by the pastor. It is a call that must come through his life, his teaching, and
his leading. For boys to become men in prayer, they must watch and listen
to the prayers of their pastor and the men he prays into leadership. When your
men hear you pray like Jesus, they will want to spend time with Jesus and talk
with the One who prayed "with loud cries and tears to the one who could
bring victory in the battle. And he was heard" (Hebrews 5:7, my
paraphrase).
Notes:
1. To find a book about prayer, check out www.navpress.com/praymag.asp
<http://www.navpress.com/praymag.asp> . To locate a prayer training
conference, go to www.nalcpl.net <http://www.nalcpl.net> . To find a
pastors' prayer group, search www.nppn.org/ppg <http://www.nppn.org/ppg> .
2. To learn more about the See You at the Pole program, go to www.syatp.com
<http://www.syatp.com> .
Printed by permission of NavPress
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National Pastors' Prayer Network
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Phil Miglioratti ~ Coordinator
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--->Unless clearly identified as "Personal To _____" or
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be considered for use in a future NPPN Update.
--->Copyright 2002. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute to
those who will partner in praying for and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
with everyone in our nation and beyond.
--->Opinions reflect the views of each author or respondent, not the NPPN or
any other person or organization
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