How to lead a prayer meeting

Luke18 Project : How to lead a prayer meeting

How to lead a prayer meeting
“…that men always ought to pray and not loose heart.”

1. Designate a prayer leader. He or she will give guidance to the prayer meeting and help all to engage in prayer for your campus.

2. Recruit a worship leader. Music makes prayer enjoyable, brings unity, and helps individuals engage in prayer. If you do not have a worship leader, designate an individual who will plan worship by using CDs or the live Prayer Webstream at www.theprayerroom.tv.

3. Develop prayer topics. Topics should be needs specific to your campus and community. List the needs and use them as a weekly guide and prayer focus.

4. Pray the Scriptures. Specifically, pray the prayers of Jesus and of the apostles. A prayer guide of scriptural prayers can be found at www.luke18project.com.

5. Considering using the Up |Out |In model of prayer. This simple model will help you lead prayer by following Jesus’ teaching on prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4.

Up | Out | In

A. Worship. Begin your prayer meetings by engaging in corporate worship. Worship will unify your hearts and turn your focus towards the Lord. (suggested length of time: 10 minutes.)

B. Up: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed by Your name…” Upward prayer is the prayer of adoration. Begin your prayer meetings by speaking forth the knowledge of who God is. The prayer leader may announce the transition into a time of “upward prayer” and lead the group in prayer. Take turns to read and pray sections of the psalms out loud and exalt the greatness of God. Sing and speak forth the truth of God’s nature by declaring the names of Jesus and of the Father. (suggested length of time: 25 minutes.)

C. Worship. Use worship to transition between Upward prayer and Inward prayer. This not only gives a smooth transition, but helps to re-focus and re-unify the individuals participating in the prayer meeting. (suggested length of time: 10 minutes.)

D. Out: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…”. Outward prayer is the prayer of intercession. Apply this verse to your prayer topics and ask for the breaking in of heaven in each situation. Your prayer leader may announce the transition into “outward prayer” and lead the group by praying for one of the prayer topics. The leader may also announce transitions in-between topics. You may pray as short or long as you desire through each topic. Take turns to pray out loud through your prayer focuses. Pray positive and scriptural prayers by using the prayers of Christ and of the apostles. (suggested length of time: 25 minutes.)

E. Worship. Use worship to transition between Outward prayer and Inward prayer. Have all persons engage together in worship, singing worship songs to God. (suggested length of time: 10 minutes.)

F. In: “Give us this daily bread…” Inward prayer is prayer for your Christian community. Use scriptural prayers to pray for each other’s individual needs and for strength in his or her Christian walk. The prayer leader may announce the transition to inward prayer and guide the group by either praying out loud for other campus ministries, your own ministry, or individuals in your ministry. The prayer leader may also have the group divide into small groups and pray for each other. (suggested length of time: 25 minutes.)

G. Worship. Close out your prayer meeting by coming together in corporate worship. Use this time to thank and praise God. (suggested length of time: 10 minutes.)

6. Take ownership. Use the model as a guide, developing it into your own. Come up with your own prayer topics and take as short or as long on each section as you desire. If there is energy behind a certain topic or behind worship, allow the Lord to guide you and press into that prayer focus. Scripture promises us that God will make us joyful in His house of prayer, so have fun together as you press in for breakthrough on your college campus!

November Newsbrief

November 10, 2008.

Life in Fort Portal. House maintenance and repairs seem to never end but then we have to look at the limited supplies and tools we have available to us. There is not a Home Depot in Fort Portal. The garage has become the space for drying timbers so we can build furniture out of them in the upcoming months. As it was our vehicle with the roof rack could not fit through the door of the garage. It continues to rain every day. The tropical wetness combined with the rich black soil seem to make a perfect environment to grow things.

Family. Praise the Lord he keeps us safe - even when thousands of cult members surround our home. The kids love to play in our new yard, and they get super muddy doing it. Our dog KC (a large collie we inherited from Doug and Destiny) loves our kids and is very protective of them. When he comes up to me and intently barks I can't help it and usually reply "what is it boy? Is everyone ok? Did Timmy fall down a well?..." those of you who remember Lassie will get it. Having a few other missionary kids around has been good for the kids, and has given us new opportunities to teach them how to interact.

We were invited by a prominent Indian buisness owner to a function to celebrate the Indian new year after Isaac befriended him in his shop. When we arrived at the function we realized we were the only non-Asias of the 150 or so guests. It was a gathering of everyone of Indian decent from the whole of Western Uganda. The food was awesome, and we thoroughly enjoyed their hospitality. They have invited us back again and we look forward to further sharing with them about our faith and why we are in Uganda.

Ministry. We are coming along side Pastor Doug and his wife Destiny in the work of the Lord at Calvary Chapel Fort Portal. In addition to serving the local church body, and serving at the church, Isaac has begun the planning for planting a School of Ministry. We already have our first full time student - Fred from Kenya (recall our newsletter from May 2008).

Isaac is heading up maintenance and practical needs at the church. He, and a bunch of guys from the church, are mid-way into installing a new septic tank at the church. It sits directly over a plastic outhouse. The rain has made it a very muddy job, and prolonged the work schedule. We hope to have it ready for use this coming week.

Preparations are in full swing for the childrens outreach December 13. Please pray for good weather. Children are usually neglected and so this will be a chance to love on them and reach out to them. It will be set up like an African version of Hallelujah Harvest (games, puppets, prizes, etc.). Isaac and Doug have purchased all the wood for the game booths, and are busy constructing them. It the outreach is sucessful Doug hopes to begin a childrens church on Saturdays.

Greg and Beverly Wootton (Isaac’s parents) are doing awesome in Kenya. We continue to see the Lords hand at work opening many doors and using them mighly. It you haven't already, you can check out what they are up to at www.WalkOfFaithMinistries.info

Sept-Oct Newsbrief

Life in Fort Portal.
We have rented an older house in Fort Portal, Uganda. Many of you who have an older home know how they can require a lot of maintenance and repairs. That is especially true here. Work on the house has engaged quite a bit of Isaac's time lately - getting toilets to flush, fixing a leaky roof, etc. Even when our landlord hires someone to help it requires constant supervision: electricians, plumbers, carpenters, masons. The house sits on a gorgeous lot whose former tentant was a botanist - however the landlord ripped out most of the plants claiming it looked too bushy. Oh, well, the land here is black fertile soil and soon we will have it looking like a garden of eden again.

Family.
Praise the Lord he keeps us safe. We are back the to daily routine of meals, chores, studying, homeschooling. The kids love to play in our new yard, which is quite a bit bigger than the one in Kenya. The compound we live on is surrounded by a wall with barbed wire (like all other western style houses in the area). Sometimes it feels like a prison with trees.

Ministry.
We are coming along side Pastor Doug and his wife Destiny in the work of the Lord at Calvary Chapel Fort Portal. In addition to serving the local church body, and serving at the church, Isaac has begun the planning for planting a School of Ministry. We already have our first full time student - Fred from Kenya (recall our newsletter from May 2008).

Next week Calvary Chapel Kampala will be hosting an East African Pastors Conference. Isaac is planning to attend, along with Pastor Doug and the leaders from the church. It should be a good time to connect with all the other laborers in the field and a time of spiritual refreshment.

We have come along side the church here in preparations for a large scale childrens outreach in December. Children are usually neglected and so this will be a chance to love on them and reach out to them. It will be set up like an African version of Hallelujah Harvest (games, puppets, prizes, etc.). It the outreach is sucessful Doug hopes to begin a childrens church on Saturdays.

Greg and Beverly Wootton (Isaac’s parents) are doing awesome in Kenya. We continue to see the Lords hand at work opening many doors and using them mightily. It was sad to say goodbye to them - especially since we only spent two weeks together. It you haven't already, you can check out what they are up to at www.WalkOfFaithMinistries.info