Corporate Prayer Handbook

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Corporate Prayer Handbook Concerted Prayer Toward the Vision

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Edited by: Dave Ruark InterVarsity Staff at Michigan State University Version: June 22, 2006 Contributing InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Staff include: Jessica Fick-Grand Valley State University Amy Spachman-Michigan Technological University Sriram Sridharan-Ohio State University Ann Beyerlein-Suburban Detroit Area Paul Hassell-West Allegheny Area Brook Boggs-Great Lakes East Region Dave Ruark-Michigan State University Table of Contents
A Vision for Corporate Prayer…........3
We start off by vision casting with a few articles and testimonies that
help us see what corporate prayer could be. In the first article by Ben
Paterson, “East Indian evangelist K. P. Yohannan says he will never forget
one of his first prayer meetings in an American church…” There is also a
handful off vision building testimonies from chapters around the country
about what God is doing through corporate prayer. Whatever Happened to the Prayer Meeting?........................................................4 Testimonies from Other Campuses….....................8

Prayer Gatherings…..............11
This section deals with prayer gatherings of 30 people or less, that last
between 20-45 minutes, such as prayer meetings, small groups, leadership or
other meetings. You’ll find training on how to lead a prayer gathering,
common pitfalls to avoid, and a series of 15 pre-planned prayer gatherings
to act as training wheels to get you going.

How to Lead a Prayer Meeting….....................12 Sample/Pre-Planned Prayer Meetings….................17

Concerts of Prayer….............34
Concerts of Prayer are usually larger events an hour or two in length.
You’ll find an article about concerts of prayer and how to plan and execute
them, as well as three pre-planned concerts of prayer to help you get
started.

A Concert of Prayer: What is it?.........................35 Sample/Pre-Planned Concerts of Prayer…................41

Prayer Planning Helps…..........50
This section is great. I use it all the time when I need to plan prayer
for a group, and I think you will come back to this section again and
again. It has great ideas for passages to use and styles of prayer to try
out. There are also a few web pages that you will find helpful, and a
worksheet to help you plan your prayer gathering.

Indexes of Helpful Scripture Passages….................51 Prayer Glossary…..........................55 Web Resources…..........................57 Prayer Gathering Planning Worksheet….................58
A Vision for Corporate Prayer
Whatever Happened to Prayer Meeting?
We can’t climb higher if no one’s holding the ladder.
Ben Patterson
East Indian evangelist K. P. Yohannan says he will never forget one of his
first prayer meetings in an American church. He had come to the United
States eager to meet some of its spiritual giants and leaders. One man in
particular held his interest, a preacher known even in India for his
powerful sermons and uncompromising commitment to the truth.
More than 3,000 people attended services on the Sunday Yohannan visited his
church. The choirs were outstanding and the preaching was everything he’d
hoped it would be. But he was especially taken by an announcement the
pastor made about the midweek prayer meeting. He said there were some
things lying heavy on his heart-would the people come and pray about them?
Then he announced the name of a certain chapel on the church campus.
Excited, Yohannan determined he would attend.
When he arrived later that week, he brought with him some definite
assumptions. The most basic was that prayer meetings are essential, of
primary importance. In India, and in many other parts of the world where
Christians are persecuted, the prayer meeting is the centerpiece of the
church’s life. Everyone comes, the meetings often last long into the night,
and it is not unusual for believers to arise daily before sunup to pray
together for the work of the church.
Fearing a huge crowd, he came early to get a seat. But when he arrived he
was surprised to discover a chapel with a capacity for only 500-that was
empty! A few people eventually came in, but there was no leader, no songs
or worship, just chit chat about news, weather, and sports.
Forty-five minutes later an elderly man, the leader, but not the pastor,
walked into the chapel to offer a few devotional thoughts from the Bible
and give a brief prayer. The meeting was over, and as the seven attendees
filed out of the chapel, Yohannan sat in stunned silence, his mind filled
with questions: Was this it? Weren’t they going to stay and wait upon God?
Where was the worship? The tears? The cries for guidance and direction?
Where was the list of the sick, and the poor, and those in need? What about
that burden the pastor said was heavy on his heart? Weren’t we going to
intercede for a miracle? And where was the pastor?
That meeting became a paradigm for his experience of prayer meetings in
America. In all his travels here, Yohannon saw the same pattern repeated in
hundreds of midweek meetings. Almost anything happens but prayer. There are
announcements, singing, homilies, but few prayers-and that’s in the
churches that actually have prayer meetings in their schedules. Many more
make no pretense.
Church leaders who think nothing of spending days planning programs or of
spending thousands of dollars to hire consultants to help them do it,
blanch at the thought of spending even one whole night to wait on the Lord
to show them what to do.
If it is true that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this
dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”
(Eph. 6:12), then we must pray, mustn’t we? Can there be any other way to
reach a lost world? Do we really think our plans and programs can bring
down strongholds of spiritual evil in the heavenly realms?
Misplaced confidence

Yohannan attributes our prayerlessness to a false sense of self-
sufficiency. The Laodicean church is deja vu all over again in the so-
called Christian West. That was the church that said of itself, “I am rich;
I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But Jesus had a different
opinion: “You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind
and naked.”
And worst of all, he saw himself as standing outside the church, not
inside; knocking on the door, asking to be let in. “Here I am! I stand at
the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will
come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:14-22). To pray would be
to open the door. But our sense of self-sufficiency paralyzes the hand that
would turn the knob.
Secularization, the process by which things like prayer are losing their
practical social significance, is at the root of most of our difficulties
with prayer. For many of us, on an almost subconscious level, there is a
lack of confidence that something like prayer can actually get anything
done. Therefore, since our lives are full of things that need to be done,
prayer naturally gets pushed out to the edges of the day. Prayer may have
some therapeutic value; for instance, it can give one a sense of inner
peace, but we think it can do little to raise money for the operating
budget.
The logic of secularization makes us frenetically over-committed and so
full of blind activity that we become too busy and too tired to pray. As P.
T. Forsyth warned, the inability to pray is the punishment for the refusal
to pray.
God said it would be that way: “In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You
said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore, you will flee!” (Isa. 30:15-
16, italics mine). Flight is a good image of the kind of activity that
dominates prayerless people and churches.
Along with secularization, American individualism has taken its toll. If
churches fancy themselves self-sufficient, it’s because their members share
the same conceit. We like our lives to be self-contained. For many, the
prayer meeting is unnecessary as long as individuals are praying in their
own homes on their own time. What is missed is that most of what the Bible
says about prayer is addressed to groups, people meeting together, to pray.
The Bible’s great book of prayer, Psalms, was written largely for use in
the congregation of Israel.
Even the individual prayer of a man like Ezra had the effect of moving all
the people to pray together. For “while Ezra was praying and confessing,
weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of
Israelites-men, women and children-gathered around him. They too wept
bitterly” (Ezra 10:1).
Unforgettable is the prayer life of the young church in Jerusalem, as “they
all joined together constantly in prayer,” and who, when threatened with
persecution, raised “their voices together in prayer to God” for him to
show his power against her enemies (Acts 1:14; 4:23-31).
It was in a congregational prayer meeting that a missionary movement was
launched in Antioch: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the
Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which
I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their
hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:1-3).
When Paul urged the churches to pray for him, he was urging congregations
to pray as congregations, not only as mere individuals.
Corporate shalom

Corporate prayer has a special place in God’s heart because he desires that
his people be one. Jesus prays to the Father, “May they be brought to
complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them
even as you have loved me” (John 17:23). Note that Jesus claims for
Christian unity a power he gives only to the Holy Spirit, to nothing and no
one else-the power to persuade the world that he is indeed the One sent
from God “to let the world know that you sent me.” The greatest argument
for the authority and identity of Jesus comes not only from theologians and
apologists. It can come from the simplest believers who will live together
in the unity of the Holy Spirit! There is a blessedness, a shalom, among
those who are one in Christ that is so extraordinary and miraculous that it
is visible to nonbelievers.
What does this have to do with corporate prayer?
There can’t be one without the other-no genuine corporate prayer without
unity, no real unity without corporate prayer. If prayer is the deepest
communion we can have with our Father God this side of heaven, how can we
have this intimacy if we are at loggerheads with his family?
Taking his cue from the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:19, Jonathan Edwards
urged the churches of eighteenth-century New England to see prayer as a
kind of concert. “Again I tell you, that if two of you agree about anything
you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” The word for
“agree” is the Greek sumphoneo, from which we get our word symphony.
Edwards proposed that churches pray in concerted agreement for two things:
the revival of religion in the church and the spread of God’s kingdom in
the world. The Great Awakenings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
were birthed in this kind of prayer. With them came spiritual renewal and
profoundly beneficial social and political changes.
That kind of praying required a level of Christian community most churches
know nothing of.
Bob Bakke of National Prayer Advance tells of churches of Ipswich,
Massachusetts, and their experience of this kind of prayer. After the first
Great Awakening, three churches in this community covenanted to follow the
pattern suggested by Edwards.
In each congregation, cell groups would meet weekly to agree in prayer.
Monthly, the separate congregations would then gather the cells and conduct
all church prayer meetings of agreement. Then quarterly, all three would
come together for the same kind of praying.
This pattern was followed faithfully, without interruption, for a century.
Two remarkable things happened during this time. All three churches
reported periodic harvests or “ingatherings” of souls, in which a number of
new believers were brought into the congregations, about every eight to ten
years. Also, during this time, all of New England was being swept by
Unitarianism. But not these three churches. They remained firmly true to
the faith while apostasy swirled around them, but not over them.
Around the time of the Civil War, the prayer meetings ceased. Within five
years these churches all capitulated to Unitarianism!
In times of intense spiritual conflict, simple, unified corporate prayer
can be literally the difference between life and death.
Launch into the Deep

Since the best teacher of prayer is the Holy Spirit, the best way to learn
to pray is by praying. Whether, and how much we pray is, I think, finally a
matter of appetite, of hunger for God and all that he is and desires.
As C. S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory: “We are far too easily
pleased.” We have become satisfied with mere church, mere religious
exertion, mere numbers and buildings-the things we can do. There is nothing
wrong with these things, but they are no more than foam left by the surf on
the ocean of God’s glory and goodness.
There are things way out in the depths that only God can give us. They can
be ours only if we launch out in our little prayer boats and learn to sail,
even one day walk, on those waters.
Bon voyage, my friend.

This article is excerpted from Deepening Your Conversation with God: the Life-Changing Power of Prayer, the seventh volume in LEADERSHIP’s “Pastor’s Soul” book series. To enroll in this series, call toll-free, 800-806-7796, and mention offer E8A28. If you like the book, pay $14.95. You’ll then receive the next quarterly volume, and you may cancel at any time.
The Rev. Ben Patterson, Campus Pastor, has been the Senior Pastor of
Westmont College for the past five years (2006). A contributing editor to
Christianity Today and the Leadership Journal, he has written several
books: Serving God (The Grand Essentials), Waiting, Deepening Your
Conversation with God ,and a Prayer Devotional Bible. His most recent
current work, which was released in February, 2005, is entitled He Has Made
Me Glad.[pic]
Hand God the Gavel
If business before pleasure, then prayer before business.
Prayer can make a difference when the church gathers for business. I saw
this work to great effect in my last two congregations, where elder
meetings tended to go long and late.
I proposed that we devote the first hour to prayer. At first the elders
balked. That would add an hour to the meetings, they said. I argued that it
would produce the opposite, that praying would help us get our work done
faster, that instead of ending at our baseline time of 11 p.m., our
meetings would end sooner.
They did-not always-but more than ever before. It wasn’t long before we
also found ourselves stopping for prayer in the midst of a meeting,
whenever we came to a point where we couldn’t agree.
We began recognizing that the church is God’s, not ours. Like so many in
the Western church, we had been leading as practical deists, acting as if
God had given us a package of resources-brains, Bible, finances, and
facilities-and had walked away, leaving us to figure out what to do with it
all.
But the church is Christ’s body, not his legacy. And we pray not for the
sake of efficiency (to get the work done better), but for the sake of
Christ, our head. -Ben Patterson
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Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today
International/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on
Leadership Journal. Fall 1999, Vol. XX, No. 4, Page 120

Praying Through the Dorms¹

by James Seward

Beginning a movement of prayer at the University of

Chicago.

One night last summer, I lay in bed thinking about what needed to change at
my school, the University of Chicago. Two things stood out in my mind: a
heightened commitment to prayer and a bold proclamation of the gospel.
These ideas continued to take shape throughout the summer as I prayed,
talked with fellow Christians, searched the Scriptures and even fasted. I
soon found out that God’s vision was at work in more people than just me!
As a result, we’ve had a small group of Christians praying in nearly every
dorm on campus almost every weeknight this year. We pray for each other,
our families, our dorm neighbors and friends, and our campus. It’s not easy
praying every night, especially at a demanding school like the U of C, but
we see God at work as we are faithful to him.
This is how we got started: when the school year began, I shared my vision
with three Christian friends who were also committed to advancing God’s
kingdom at our school. We began praying every night at 11 p.m. for non-
Christians throughout the university.
I also began meeting with Christians from all over campus, and I found that
God had gone ahead of me. In an awesome way, God was stirring our campus to
pray.
Josh Mercer, a second-year student, was the first to follow suit in hosting
nightly prayer meetings in his dorm. “I was looking for something like
this, and God stirred me to present it to all the new first-years.” Soon,
six Christians were meeting regularly for prayer in Josh’s dorm.
The next prayer meetings sprang up in two of the largest dorms on campus,
Woodward and Burton-Judson (BJ). From four to six nights a week, students
from BJ would meet to pray because “we wanted to see God work, both for the
sake of his own glory and for the sake of our non-Christian friends.” While
small in number, they were blessed to have a new Christian join them in
prayer on many of the nights.
I longed to see a prayer meeting develop in the largest dorm on campus,
Shoreland. I was close to several Christians there, and I began to urge
them to start a similar prayer group. Instead, God raised up three other
women to serve him in this way. One of those women, Carrie Wong, explains
that “when I first heard that there were nightly prayers in some dorms, I
became very excited and wanted to initiate one in my dorm.” As a result,
five days a week they host a dorm prayer meeting.
It was a first-year student who took the initiative to begin nightly prayer
meetings in yet another dorm. Sure enough, God brought together four people
to join in prayer four nights a week. Now we have regular prayer meetings
in most of our dorms.
Beyond the nightly prayer meetings taking place in the dorms, several
campus-wide prayer meetings also began. Each weekday morning, several
students gather as early as 8 A.M. to pray. Every Monday night, Christians
gather for corporate prayer in one of the campus classrooms. God has raised
up so many committed to prayer as a remarkable testimony to his power.
We’ve had some difficulties and adjustments throughout the year, but we
will continue to pray for each other and the campus so God’s work will be
accomplished. -James Seward is a third-year student at the University of
Chicago and says he’s learning each day the importance of God’s Word. ©2001
Prayer vigil
Jason Gaboury
The first week of school a group of students stayed up all night (at a
closed commuter school) to pray for the campus. We prayed about concerns of
the fellowship, and we walked around the school praying for teachers,
faculty, staff and the learning that takes place.
There were 12 students who showed up at 10:00 p.m. We divided the evening
into periods of worship, prayer, intercession, breaks and the prayer walk.
At 3:30 in the morning, as we walked around campus, we drew the attention
of the janitorial staff and a few homeless people who were sleeping in the
school. We walked to the club hallway and prayed for conversions among
people from different organizations, fraternities, sororities and social
service clubs. (So far we’ve had a few GIGs start up with an activist
group, along with some open doors at the student newspaper.) We walked
around the classrooms praying for students in their studies, for offices
and administrators (we’ve been invited to meet with the president), and for
outside groups, including a church, that use the school.
At 7:30 a.m. we went to breakfast, exhausted and exhilarated. God is
answering the prayers of that night, both the ones for IVCF and the ones
for campus! ©2003

Praying feet at SUNY College-Brockport

by Jason Choi

InterVarsity students at SUNY College at

Brockport take part in a prayer walk called

”praying feet.”

InterVarsity students at SUNY College at Brockport take part in spiritual
warfare through an idea called “praying feet.” We do this every three weeks
after our weekly social events. Students split up into teams of two to
three and walk around the campus and town praying for students who are out
for the evening-walking to or from the bars or wherever they are headed. We
also lay hands on local bars, stores, houses, dorms and even classroom
buildings.
Through this event, we’ve discovered that not only are we serving the Lord,
but also assisting the university police! We were walking around the campus
one time and saw a student passed out on the sidewalk. We called the campus
police immediately, and soon they were on the scene offering assistance to
the student.
Through all this, God has opened our eyes to see what the world is like
when he is not in students’ lives. It’s a life “wasted” away for many
students. -Jason Choi, student leader at the State University of New York
College at Brockport. ©2004
Everyday Prayer
For the past two years, the Clarion U. leadership team has prayed together
every day during the school year. This commitment to prayer with one
another has produced strong leadership, a growing chapter, and men and
women who want to know Jesus more. “It has been a serious commitment which
they have had to work hard to keep,” says area director Paul Hassell.
“Since I usually only travel twice a month to see the chapter, strong
leadership has been crucial, and it appears God has honored the prayer
commitment of the leaders.” ©2003

All Night Prayer and Praise

by Rachel Winslow

An inspiring story about students

who spent 12 hours praying and

praising the Lord.

Last spring, several students in our chapter wanted to raise the bar for
worship and prayer. Our daily prayer meetings continued to grow, averaging
15 students. One student, Debra, organized an all-night prayer and praise
event in the school’s chapel. Debra convinced area businesses to donate
food so the evening could start with dinner at 7:30 p.m., and end with
breakfast at 7 a.m.
Her goal was to pray through the entire student phone directory. There are
9,400 students at our school! That goal was achieved: every undergrad and
grad student at the University of Rochester (NY) was prayed for by
InterVarsity. In the midst of this, our worship team led praise all night,
and we had the Messianic Jewish congregation dance team perform until 2
a.m.! I spoke on loving our enemies, and another local speaker came to
speak on prayer.
About 20 students made it all night, but throughout the evening we had non-
Christians and Christians from other groups on campus, as well as 45 I-V
students in attendance. What a blessing for each student individually, as
well as for our chapter and campus! ©2003

Prayer Gatherings (Daily Prayer Meetings, small group prayer, etc.)

How to Lead a Prayer Gathering
or Popular Mechanics for Prayer
or Tuning up a Boring Prayer Meeting
By Dave Ruark on staff in Michigan
An article based on the ideas of W.C. Lantz in his essay “the
Conversational Prayer Meeting” from Essays on Prayer, IVP 1972.

Everyone agrees that we need to pray more as a chapter, but getting
people to pray together is like (fill in something witty here, like jump-
starting an aircraft carrier). Why is that? In an essay on conversational
prayer W.C. Lantz describes most corporate prayer today as standing in line
at the mall to see Santa Claus. You wait for your turn; maybe you listen
to what the other kids ask for so you might get an idea or maybe you are
too busy trying to figure out what you are going to say to Santa. Each
person goes through their entire list and then it’s the next person’s turn. Contrast this with a conversation with your family as you decided how
to spend the weekend. One person wants to go to the mall, and that idea is
discussed. Then the conversation may progress on toward what things need
to be worked on around the house or who’s friends might come over later to
watch a movie with the family. But everyone is in on the discussion. Each
person shows love for the others by listening and contributing to the
conversation. This is how our times of corporate prayer should be,
whether it’s in a small group Bible study, a prayer meeting, at large
group, or with a group of friends at midnight in your dorm. Can you imagine how weird life would be if all your conversations
were like most prayer meetings. You’d be at a party, maybe standing in a
circle with friends, and one person would talk constantly for five or ten
minutes without hardly taking a breath, covering six or seven topics.
Finally they would finish and the next person would start saying basically
the same thing for five or ten minutes, maybe the next person would squeeze
the person’s hand next to them to let them know they weren’t going to say
anything, but then the fourth person jumps in for their five minutes on
those same topics, and so on around the circle. How boring would that be?
Would you chose to stay in that conversation or would you excuse yourself
to go get another Coke and find someone else to talk to? This is why it’s
so hard to get people to come to pray corporately. Another killer of corporate prayer can be popcorn prayer, and for
similar reasons. Go back to that party where you are all standing around
in a circle. How would it be if each person were only allowed to say one
sentence and then had to wait for someone else to say a sentence before
continuing. How difficult would it be to discuss a topic that way? God, our loving father, wants to have a family conversation, not a
Santa Claus line or a popcorn popper, when we pray together. He desires
intimacy with us as a family. We are not strangers in the mall just
standing next to each other. Here are the ground rules for having conversational prayer (they
would also work as good ground rules for having a conversation at a party): 1. One thought at a time-allowing someone else to add to that topic before proceeding. I call this paragraph prayer. 2. Proceed topically-not leaving a topic until everyone who wishes has had a chance to pray something about it.
If you follow these rules you will be amazed at the difference you will
have in your times of corporate prayer (and it may really help your social
life too). Now there is a place for other types of prayer. Oratorical group
prayer is when one person, possibly a pastor or priest, prays a really good
prayer usually from the front, which may cover a multitude of topics, and
the rest of the group agrees, silently or not so silently, with him or her. This is corporate prayer too, but not conversational prayer. It’s great
to use at a large group, or when you don’t have much time to pray so you
say, “Lindsay, will you close us in prayer?” Most people have only heard oratorical group prayer and so model their
prayers on that. It doesn’t mix well with conversational prayer. In other
words, if you are expecting everyone or most people present to pray, you
don’t want oratorical prayer, it’s too redundant, and therefore gets boring
quick. You probably want conversational prayer.
Some other benefits of conversational prayer: 1. It shows love and respect for the others present. When you are listened to and/or agreed with, don’t you feel respected and maybe even loved? 2. Attention span-which is easier to listen to: a lecture or a conversation? 3. Organization-no need to have all your thoughts organized; you can go back and pray again if you missed something the first time or you can go back and add something you think of later. 4. Self-consciousness-no need to worry about taking your “turn” or making your “speech”. It can therefore be a “God-conscious thing” not “self- conscious”. 5. Wording-what’s left to pray about? The first guy took all the good prayer requests, in fact he took all the prayer requests. So if you just repeat his list the prayers stay general and get monotonous. Conversational prayer, just like a conversation, can get deeper, if you let it get more specific. Also, no need to worry about all your “Thee’s” and “Thou’s” with the correct verb tenses if it’s a conversation and not a speech. 6. It cuts down on the amount of unplanned silence in a prayer. Silence is great, and should be used, as long as you tell people “we’re going to be silent for 5 minutes now”, but unplanned silence freaks people out. Have you ever noticed that the amount of silence after a person finishes praying is directly proportional to the length of time that person prays? (“Oh, he’s finally done. I guess I should think about praying (yawn).”). If the person prays long enough you may reach the point of no return from which you will never return from the silence and you must step in and save the prayer time. If people are encouraged to only pray a paragraph at a time this rarely happens. Because most people are more familiar with oratorical prayer, when you
lead a group in prayer you may need to give some instruction before you
start. Explain the ground rules of only covering one thought at a time and
proceeding topically. Also make sure you are practicing them yourself
while praying. If your times of group prayer aren’t going well or if they could go
better then be sure to give conversational prayer a try; it might really
make a difference.

Missional (Visional) Prayer- What is it?
Praying our Vision into reality

Vision Statement: Students & faculty transformed, college & university renewed, and world changers developed Purpose Statement: In response to God’s love, grace and truth: The Purpose of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is to establish and advance at colleges and universities witnessing communities of students and faculty who follow Jesus as Savior and Lord: growing in love for God, God’s Word, God’s people of every ethnicity and culture and God’s purposes in the world

Praises? Prayer Requests? This is the easiest, most often used format for
the DPM (probably because it takes no planning and is easy to remember
since they both start with the letter ‘P’). Unfortunately, it is only as
missional² as the people in the group, and is a format that will rarely
stretch and grow the people in the group. It often leads to only praying
for each others personal prayer requests and those “Aunt’s friend’s big
toe” prayers (which are good to pray for, if they are real, but not to only
pray for)

Look at pre-planned prayer gatherings and notice how they are missional and
tie into our vision statement.

Planning the prayer gathering
Essentials—Each prayer gathering should have these three components:

1. Scripture-you can use scripture a number of ways a. Devotional i. Study ii. Meditate b. Pray through a passage 2. Mission/Vision component-pray both inward toward the vision and outward toward the vision (see sample prayer gatherings for examples)- a. Outward i. Individuals (2+, etc.) ii. Campus iii. World b. Inward i. Each other ii. Chapter 3. Prayer – spend at least, if not more than, half your time in prayer. Small Group Dynamics The importance of breaking up into pairs Don’t assume you have to always pray altogether all the time as a whole group. People will almost always be slow to start praying out loud. One way to overcome this is to start with praying in pairs. Praying in pairs is easier, and more people get to pray. It warms people up. Then you can move to groups of four or six, and then back into the whole group. By then people will really be praying. You could also start by limiting prayers to one sentence for awhile- then everyone has a chance to offer a one sentence prayer of praise, for example. Watch out for ruts though. You can change things. Using pairs can just be a way to make sure everyone gets a chance to pray. Resources for Planning-Check out the Prayer Planning Helps section Indexes of passages to use in prayer meetings Styles of prayer- Cambridge, Listening, (see Prayer Glossary) Web Resources Books Common Mistakes in Leading Corporate Prayer 1. Praises? Prayer Requests & Navel Praying (always inward focused already mentioned)-Solution: spend at least 20 minutes preparing your prayer gathering 2. Unplanned Silences-Silence is great, and should be used (as long as you tell people “we’re going to be silent for 5 minutes now”, but unplanned silence freaks people out. What causes it? a. Prayer monologues-the longer one person prays, the longer the silence will last after they finish (the sandman factor?). There is a point of no return at which you will never return from the silence and you as the leader must step in and give direction. b. Unclear expectations-If people aren’t clear on what they are supposed to be praying about, they won’t pray. They will assume they weren’t paying attention and wait to see what others pray about and try and figure out what they are supposed to be praying about. If no one is clear then you have silence as they all wait for each other to pray so they can listen. You as the leader must give clear directions as to what they are praying about. You may want to break the prayer meeting up into multiple sections so that you can be clear about what people are to pray about when. “Let’s pray for this part of campus for five minutes”, pray for five minutes, “now let’s pray for this other part of campus for five minutes”, pray for five more minutes, etc. c. Lack of Encouragement to pray-before or after the prayer gathering encourage people to pray more during the prayer gathering if you feel they could add more. You may want to do a “No Silence Prayer Gathering” where you go around and around with no pauses between prayers. d. Lack of Training on Prayer-People may need to read the article in the Corporate Prayer Handbook on How to Lead a Prayer Gathering (pg 12). 3. No Attendance a. Prayer meetings are lame- i. Solution: plan them, don’t just show up. Spend 20 minutes with your Bible, the computer, and the internet and plan a great prayer meeting. b. Lack of commitment by chapter leadership i. Leaders need to lead in prayer, so your chapter’s leadership team and small group leaders should be attending prayer meetings, and that should get you started, but that may not be enough. c. Lack of Personal Invitations i. Invite, Invite, Invite-prayer meetings need to have a critical mass to really get going. 8-12 is great. 20+ is really cooking. ii. Offer brownies d. Timing i. Think hard about what the best time is for your people. In the past people have found lunch times (noon or 1 pm), 3 pm or 4 pm, and late at night 11 pm or midnight, to work well. Some have made mornings work too, but much less often. ii. The length of the prayer meeting can be intimidating. People seem to assume prayer meetings must last 3-4 hours (or at least it will feel that way). 30 minutes works best, and can be more attractive then an hour prayer meeting. Communicate clearly what time the prayer meeting starts and what time it will end. Then start and end on time. e. Location i. A location where people will feel comfortable praying out loud and where they will be able to hear each other will be important, though balance that with being able to find it and having it be convenient to get to. (Some of the best prayer meetings I attended where at the end of an unfrequented carpeted hall way.) 4. Getting into a Rut a. Try not to do the same thing every time. This can lead to boring prayer meetings. We have provided a variety of formats and themes for prayer meetings; take advantage of these. Remember to take 20 minutes to plan your prayer meeting ahead of time. Sample /Pre-Planned Prayer Gatherings

Prayer Gathering for Individuals:

Chapter Members and non-Christian friends

If you aren’t familiar with all of the residence halls or places of
residence on your campus, get a map to help you plan this DPM. Use a map
even if you are familiar with them.

On individual pieces of paper or post-it-note, write down all of the dorms
or other places of residence on your campus. If you want to extend this to
off campus, write down the house, street or apartment complex. Have each
member of your group draw one of these slips of paper from a hat. When
they have the name of the building, have them write down the names of any
chapter members or non-Christians that live there. Group members can help
each other figure out if there are any additional people they know that are
living in these places.

Read John 10:1-10 together. Pray through this scripture for chapter
members and for lost people. Here are examples of specific things you can
pray for out of this scripture:

. Thank Jesus for the relationships he has with each of you & each person in your chapter. Thank him for placing you in relationships with the non-Christians you have listed. . For Chapter Members to listen & follow the shepherds voice (v.3). . Pray that members of your chapter would be “coming in and going out”, coming in to find pasture & going out to share Jesus with others (v.9). . Pray for Chapter Members to pursue the life that Christ offers us. Pray for Non-Christians to desire this true life (v.10). . For non-Christian friends to continue to build relationships and trust with Christians in your chapter. For responsiveness to Jesus calling them by name into relationship with him (v. 4-5). . For non-Christians to enter the gate and be saved (v.9).

End by thanking God that he knows each of us by name & has brought us from
death into life.

Chapter Building Pyramid Prayer

Needed:

Chapter Building Pyramid Prayer handout (see next page) Colored pencils, pastels, or crayons

Studies have shown that chapters that excel in the areas listed below in
the pyramid usually grow. You can pray through each of the areas or just
pick a few. I suggest printing out the pyramid (see next page) and hand
out a copy to each prayer participant. Have them color in each triangle
with a color or pattern that means something. Then people can share why
they picked each color or pattern.

Read & discuss Psalm 127:1&2

Briefly talk about how an area is going, then spend time praying for that
area. Continue area by area until you are out of time, or finish the
pyramid.

Vision statement Prayer Gathering In response to God’s love, grace and truth: The Purpose of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is to establish and advance at colleges and universities witnessing communities of students and faculty who follow Jesus as Savior and Lord: growing in love for God, God’s Word, God’s people of every ethnicity and culture and God’s purposes in the world.
There are lots of ways that you could pray through the IVCF vision
statement. You could pick one part to focus on for different weeks or even
just the people involved. The way this DPM will be set up is focusing the
prayer on “the four loves.” The four loves listed above are 1) Love God,
2) Love God’s Word, 3) Love God’s People, and 4) Love God’s Purposes in the
world (this includes lost people). If you reread through the statement you
will see where the four loves come from.

Begin by reading aloud together the purpose statement above. (Ask people
if they have any questions about the statement. You want to make sure
everyone understands what ethnicity and culture mean etc.)

Take some time as a group to adore God together. Have people open their
Bibles for assistance if they wish. Say aloud together to God why you
adore Him. (“God, You are faithful!) Praise God that it is in response to
His love, grace, and truth that we come together.

Have everyone turn to Psalm 1. Have one person read the psalm. Pray
together in response to what is found in that psalm. Draw attention to the
role that God’s Word plays in the psalm and thank God for His Word.

Get in groups of two or three and pray for the Christians you know,
including yourselves. Share the requests with each other and let others
pray for you. To end the time, the leader should close thanking God for
each brother and sister at the prayer meeting.

In the same group, take some time to pray for God’s purposes in the world.
Begin, in the small group, by sharing what some of those purposes are.
Some examples are justice, peace, and holiness. Pray for more specific
things as well including for the salvation of lost friends. (Don’t forget
that God’s purpose could be you sharing the Gospel with that lost friend!)

End by coming together and reading together Psalm 33. Let that psalm be
your ending prayer together.

To pray through your chapter’s vision statement get creative! Read parts of
scripture aloud together that your chapter used to come up with the vision
statement. Take the main parts (like the four loves) and pray through
them. Or figure out what the theme of the statement is and pray through
it. Include all the parts of the statement even if they are tough!
Evangelism Prayer Gathering

Read & discuss John 16:5-11 (or other “evangelistic verse”): 5-10 minutes

. How does this verse relate to evangelism?

Close Encounters of an Evangelistic Kind: 10-15 minutes

. Have people share moments from the week when they had some type of evangelistic encounter

Specific prayer for the lost: 15-30 minutes

. No personal prayer requests! . 2+/ pray for at least two non-believers with whom you have regular contact. . Pray “Cambridge style”/ after you offer a prayer say, “in Jesus name” and then the rest of the group will say, “amen” with you. This is a way of affirming our agreement and unity with each other.

Conclude by singing the first verse of “Amazing Grace”

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.

Compass Point Prayer Gathering³

This prayer meeting format is unique and takes some creativity. It would
be good to have a copy or two of your campus map. It is called compass
point because you will take time to pray for the north, south, east, and
west of your campus. This should cover your entire campus (anything ENE
should probably be included in the time for prayer for the east). If it is
possible this prayer meeting is good done on your feet. After each
direction is prayed for each person should turn in the direction to be
prayed for next.

The leader should begin by explaining the compass point idea.
If you have them, get out the maps. Students, staff, faculty, departments,
ideas, student organizations, all these can be prayed for during this time.

You can begin with any direction you choose. North will be used here.

North
Leader have people one by one say aloud the first names of the people they
wish to pray for. When the names are done being said have the people all
pray silently for those people. When this is completed have people pray
aloud one at a time for other things in the north of your campus like
residence halls, departments, or staff. When everyone is done move to your
next direction.

East
You can do the same as above or you can switch things around. For example,
if a lot of your academic buildings are in the East you can have the people
say aloud the departments that come to mind aloud one by one. When they
are done they can pray silently for those departments. They can then pray
aloud for people that live there or ideas that are prominent on the eastern
side of your campus, etc.

South
Do the same or switch up!

West
Do the same or switch up!

To end your time together have everyone say aloud a place where you have
now invited God to be at work. An example would be one person saying
“Smith Hall!” while someone else says “Jenny” or “Tom.”
Then read aloud together Psalm 139.

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” v.7

Campus Paper Prayer Gathering

Get a hold of one copy of your campus paper for each person that will be
attending your prayer meeting. If this is not possible each person can
share, or take a section or page.

Have a person or two read aloud 1 Timothy 2:1-8 while everyone follows
along. Have people share what they see is said to be prayed for and why.
(Examples: verse one says prayers should be made for everyone, verse two
specifically states to pray for kings and all those in authority. Verse
three says that these things are good because God wants all men to be saved
and come to knowledge of the truth.)
Pray together and ask God to help you to pray. Also ask Him to reveal
Himself in your time of prayer together.

Take some time to let everyone look through the paper. I like to hand out
high-liters too and have people high-light what they want to pray about.
Remember not to spend too much time reading the paper. You do need to
actually pray.

What greatly distresses you? What can you give thanks for? Where do you realize you need to engage the campus? Where to do you see bridges to the gospel?

The leader or someone asked by the leader should open the time of prayer by
beginning praying about a story or point of view seen in the paper.

After a general time of prayer the leader should close.
After closing have people look back at their papers. Have them see what
they missed. Have them see if they prayed for the things given us in 1
Timothy.
In response to this, pray for the writers and all those in charge of the
paper. Also, if there was a leader (the president, congress, student
government leader, etc.) mentioned in the paper, make sure to pray for
them. Do this all with the scripture in mind.

Close by having the leader or a designated person thank God for the
opportunity to share time with Him and each other and for the resource we
have for prayer in our campus newspaper.

As people mingle and leave encourage them to pray through the paper or in
response to the nightly news on their own throughout the coming week.

Pray Through the News (TV)

Gather people together to watch the news on TV (either national or local).
Before the news starts read a passage of scripture the deals with God being
sovereign over the nations, such as Psalm 2 or 47. Then watch the news
together. When ever a commercial comes on mute the television and
immediately pray for what was just heard/seen.

Campus Engagement Prayer Gathering

Read & Discuss Colossians 1:15-20

Respond with sentence prayers beginning with “Lord, you are..”

Pray conversationally for five minutes on each of the following points⁴:

1) Evangelism: Pray that the campus would be so saturated with the gospel that everyone will be confronted with the claims of Jesus Christ in word and deed and in a manner which encourages response. This usually requires a 1:10 ratio; that is, 10% of the campus being witnessing Christians. 2) Engaging particular group: pray that the gospel would be known in each of the geographical sectors of the campus, in each residence hall, each special interest group, each ethnic group, each club, each fraternity, each sorority, each academic major and department; including faculty, staff and administration. 3) Engaging the college/university structure: pray that God’s truth and justice would come to bar on the campus newspaper, student government, campus radio station, residence hall staff, special activities and events, administration policy, dispersement of funds, and the sports program. 4) Challenging personal and public morality: Pray that the Christians on campus would proclaim and demonstrate a Christian perspective on issues addressing the university community related to personal morality (gay & lesbian sexuality, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, cheating) and public morality (war, economic policy, world hunger, racism, materialism, abortion). 5) Engaging the marketplace of ideas: Pray that Christians would seek to integrate Christian thought with the intellectual issues discussed in the university setting (scientific research, the arts, politically correct thinking, ecology, economic theory, etc.)

Prayer Gathering: Corporate Confession for Campus

In Nehemiah 1:1-11, Nehemiah and the Israelites have been in exile and
their city, Jerusalem is in ruin. Nehemiah prays in the hope and
expectation that God will restore his people the Israelites and their city.

He is keenly aware of his personal and the national sin and rebellion
against God. Knowing that this needs to be confessed to God, Nehemiah
pours out his heart and asks him to be attentive to his prayer.

As a group, list idols or lifestyles that people on campus have been
worshipping and choosing in sin and rebellion against God. Remember that
Nehemiah is including himself as he confesses, it is a prayer of “we” not
“they.” There are lots of ways that people are living in rebellion against
God and this may seem overwhelming as you list them. You might want to
pick a few (3-5) and specifically pray for just for these. Keep the list
and continue to confess for campus during other prayer meetings.

As you pray through Nehemiah’s prayer, follow his model of prayer:

. Ask for God’s attentiveness to your prayers (v. 6,11). . Remember who God is and what his promises to us are (v. 5, 8-10). . Confess the specific examples of rebellion your group has listed (v. 6,7).

End by asking God in his love and mercy to remember the people he loves
(you & everyone on campus!) and to restore the campus for the Glory of his
name.

J.F.

Praying for your Dorm (err.Residence Hall)

Read, Discuss & Respond in prayer to Psalm 110.

1. According to the New Testament this psalm is referring to Jesus. What do we know about Jesus from this psalm? 2. Praise Jesus for these things.

Sometimes our dorms can seem hopelessly spiritually lost places. What does
the above Psalm say about the hope for your dorm?

Awake:

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the
harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matt
9:37)

Pray that God would raise up a strong witnessing community in your
dorm/complex.

Pray that Christians would be called to your dorm, and would stay for more
then two years. Pray for the future witness in your dorm.

Advance:

Pray for R.A.’s/Mentors by name. Pray for the Residence Hall Director by
name. Pray for other hall staff by name. Pray, again by name, for
specific people on your floors. If you don’t know what to pray for them,
then you might want to go ask them what they would like prayer for. Also,
you could pray the B.L.E.S.S. prayer for them.

B for Body-health, protection, strength
L for Labor-work, income, studies
E for Emotional life-joy, peace, hope
S for Social life-love, family, friends
S for Spiritual life-relationship with God

Racial Reconciliation Prayer Gathering

Read Colossians 1:15-23

What does this passage say about Jesus? Pray in pairs praising Jesus.

Discuss the race relations on your campus. Is there any need for
reconciliation? Where? Why?

Pray in groups of 4-6 for racial reconciliation on campus. Pray that your chapter (and chapter members) would be an agent(s) of racial reconciliation on your campus.

Read Revelation 7:9-12

Pray in Cambridge style as a whole group. Ask God to make this scene
a reality on your campus; that people from every ethnic group would be
praising Jesus together in unity.

IFES Praise and Prayer Gathering

In praying for our world, we as InterVarsity students, have a great and
unique resource. We are part of the International Fellowship of
Evangelical Students (IFES). IFES has made it really easy to pray for
ministries around the world through “Praise and Prayer.” You can find this
at http://www.ifesworld.org/prayer What follows is a prayer meeting you
could lead using information from the website above. What is directly
below is taken from the January 2006 Praise and Prayer bulletin.

India	DIVINE WISDOM WITH COURAGE
Issued January 2006
[pic]
Participants at the Discipleship Training Camp of Haryana State
India is the second largest country in the world with its 1.3 billion
people. It is rich in diversity: 4,635 people groups, 325 languages,
1,625 dialects. Hinduism is the major religion, but India has also the
second-largest number of Muslims in the world.
Today there are 150 million students in the Indian universities. The
Union of Evangelical Students of India (UESI) has about 10,000 student
members and 1,200 witnessing groups. We have a mammoth task ahead of us
but we look back at UESI’s humble beginning and God’s faithfulness over
the past 50 years and we press ahead undaunted. We praise God for the
commitment of our 193 staff and 5,000 graduate volunteers.
We do face stumbling blocks from outside but, time and again, the Lord
has shown us not to limit the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray that we
would show the same kind of courage as the early Christians, not
bull-headed courage but divine wisdom mixed with courage. For if we
miss out on these young lives, we have no hope for our great country:
India.
Mathew Varghese, General Secretary, UESI India
Give thanks for…
the number of student cells that has increased by 60% in the last
five years;
the number of graduate volunteer groups which has trebled in the
last five years.
Pray for…
UESI as we present the gospel to 500,000 students every year;
David Jeyakumar, who will take over as General Secretary from July;
UESI to reach students from every language group.

Briefly let people share what they now if anything about the country. (Do
this anytime with any country)
Read together the information you now have about the country including the
prayer requests and the praises.

Affirm together that God’s love is for all people everywhere by reading
aloud Revelation 7:9-10.

Get into groups of two or three and take time to pray for what was
requested.

Gather together again and thank God for His sovereignty and faithfulness in
all the world.

End by repeating together the verses again. This time join with the angels
as they say in verse 12, “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and
honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!

Operation World Prayer Meeting (from the web)

Read, discuss, & respond in prayer to Psalm 67

Read the following (you may want to hand out copies of this):

Uzbekistan

”world’s third largest producer of cotton!”

[	Uzbekistan used to be part of the vast Mongol empire and then
p	became part of the Russian Empire.
i
c
]
[	Uzbekistan declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and
p	since then Islam Karimov has been in sole charge – because he’s
i	made it against the law for anyone to oppose him in government.
c
]
[	Uzbekistan is right at the heartland of Central Asia and is often
p	an important indicator of what is happening across the whole
i	region. The government has been keen to stamp out Islamic extremism
c	- but Uzbek Christians are also treated harshly.
]

[pic]
Challenges for Prayer
[	Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent is the Islamic capital of Central
p	Asia – and for a lot of people Islam is part of their cultural
i	identity. Pray that people would be released from any cultural
c	pressure to be Islamic in any way and have the freedom to explore
]	Christianity.
[	Most Christians in Uzbekistan are Koreans and Russians. Pray that
p	Christians would be able to cross the cultural divide between
i	Uzbeks, Koreans and Russians and break down any mistrust or
c	suspicion.
]
[	Uzbekistan has one of the worst records in the world for religious
p	freedom. The government particularly targets dynamic and
i	evangelistic churches, making it impossible for them to officially
c	register. Telling people about God could earn you three years in
]	prison and for opening an unregistered Christian group you would
get five years. Pray that God would give Christians strength and
perseverance in the face of persecution.[5]

Pray conversationally⁶ about the above.

Close by praying that Uzbekistan would praise God and be glad.

Operation World Prayer Gathering (the book)

Read, discuss, & respond in prayer to Psalm 67.

Tell a little about the country.

Hand out prayer requests. People are to pray about the request on their
piece of paper. Following each prayer request allow time for others to
respond before moving on to the next prayer request.

How to plan a prayer gathering from Operation World the book

Pick a country or region from Operation World to pray for.

Each country’s entry is broken up into two sections: first a rundown of
some statistics about the country, and then a list of prayer requests. You
may want to just highlight a few interesting or relevant facts about the
country.

Make a copy of the page or pages you want to pray about. Cut the copy up
by prayer request, and then hand out these prayer requests to people.

Praying for the Persecuted Church

Below is a list of websites where you can find resources on how to pray for
the persecuted church and Christians around the world. These are just a
few to get you started.

. The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church: www.persecutedchurch.org/ Has lots of good links to other sites for the persecuted church. . Voice of the Martyrs: www.persecution.com. The public area has information about the persecuted church under the “news” link if you don’t want to sign up to become a member.

You could begin and end by reading through Psalm 121, thanking the Lord
that he is our protector and is sovereign over all. From the information
you find, focus your prayer time for the persecuted church on one area in
the world. For this prayer meeting outline, I focused on India from an
article from the “news” link in the public area of the Voice of the Martyrs
website. Reading through the article I picked the main points to pray for
and noted the specific things or people to pray for. I also listed things
to praise God for despite the persecution that is happening.
To Pray:

. Pray against the growing intolerance of Indian Christians and Christian missionaries in India. . Pray for the Indian government to cease restrictions on Christian schools and for the safety of the teachers and children who attend these schools. . Pray for the All India Christian Counsel (AICC) and Pastor Benson K Sam, priest of the Friends Bible Church to persevere with courage and continue to reach out to the lost, worshipping the Lord in spirit and truth.
To Praise and Thank God for: . Thanks for His protection of the lives of Joseph Cooper an American missionary, and Pastor Benson in the attack they suffered from radical Hindus. . For the boldness of the AICC in speaking out against intolerance and violence towards Christians. . That salvation through Jesus Christ is being preached despite attempts to silence and harm Indian Christians.
Greeting Card Prayer

Read Exodus 35:30-35

Have people make greeting cards for God. Bring some cardstock, art
supplies, magazines, scissors, etc.

Use these cards as the basis for prayers of praise to God

Make greeting cards from God to your campus.

Use these as the basis for prayers of intercession for the campus.

Depending on your time frame, you may want to split the group and have half
work on cards to God, and the other half work on the cards from God to
campus.

Concerts of Prayer

Concerts of Prayer:
What Are They?
The Makeup
The Focus
The Dynamics
From the Prayer Pacesetters Sourcebook, chapter 6

God grants “fullness” and “fulfillment.” Concerts of Prayer, like musical
concerts, involve the dynamics of a harmonious celebration-like a grand
symphony-as pray-ers blend their hearts, minds and voices by faith in
God’s Word. Rejoicing, repenting, and making requests, they intercede in
harmony with all God has promised for his Church and for his world.
They submit to the Holy Spirit who “orchestrates” each prayer meeting so
that one prayer-theme builds on another according to the will of God.
There becomes a composition of intercession in Jesus’ name which the
Father delights both to hear and to abundantly answer.
THIS PRACTICAL format has been developed experimentally in a
variety of situations and with many groups around the world over the past
eight years. It is, of course, just one model for concerts of prayer, but
hundreds and thousands have proved that it really does work! It creates a
satisfying prayer experience, even when groups from diverse backgrounds
gather together. It keeps people on target, giving them a sense of
strategic
impact for the Kingdom. And is transferable by those who have done it, so
that concerts of prayer can multiply. The format works effectively whether
with a band of five or a company of 500!
“Concerts of Prayer” is a term used widely to define a distinctive prayer
gathering, differing at a number of points from most other times Christians
pray together. The distinctives suggest a different approach to how the
prayer meeting is shaped and led. Here are ten distinctives, each of which
comes into play in the practical format that follows.
A CONCERT of prayer is marked by a spirit of celebration. Throughout
we rejoice in hope (Romans 5:3), anticipating all God has promised to us
in answer to our prayers for spiritual awakening and world evangelization.
A CONCERT of prayer incorporates a broad scope in what we pray for.
Our focus is on two major Kingdom themes, like the treble and bass clefs
of a music score: Fullness (revival or awakening in the Church) and
Fulfillment (the advancement of God’s Kingdom in the world). The
“Lord’s Prayer” models both key concerns.
A CONCERT of prayer provides visible expression of unity in the Body
of Christ. Like the variety of instruments in an orchestra, brought
together
under one Conductor to play from one Score (the Scriptures), so believers
united in prayer can release the music of God’s Kingdom purposes for the
whole world to hear. In a concert of prayer, Christians can experience at
deep levels the unity Jesus intended (John 17). Through corporate
intercession we are newly forged to Christ, to each other, and to Christ’s
mission in the world. While we may not yet be able to achieve visible
unity in other areas, certainly we can and must do so in the arena of
biblically-grounded prayer, especially prayer for awakening and
evangelization.
A CONCERT of prayer provides a way to network the Body of Christ
within a city or on a campus. It helps us find one another across barriers,
differences, spheres of influence, and ministries that otherwise often
divide us. It provides a neutral meeting ground. Here, despite our
differences, the overarching Kingdom concerns that touch all of us can
become our shared focus through united praying and as a result, through
joint ministries.
NOT ONLY DOES a concert of prayer draw Christians together from
different spheres, but it also benefits Christians from all spheres. The
explanation is simple. When God answers Kingdom-sized prayers offered
to him unitedly, everyone in the prayer movement, plus the fellowships
they represent, share together in being blessed (awakening) and in
becoming a blessing to the families of the earth (world evangelization).
God’s whole vision for the whole city or campus (and, ultimately, beyond)
must be realized through the whole Body. Thus, his answers are for the
whole Body. A local concert of prayer may be the one ongoing effort
among believers that forgoes any reasons for competition. (See I Timothy
2:1-8)
MORE SPECIFICALLY, a concert of prayer provides a point of contact
for praying people and prayer groups within a city or on a campus. Here
they can periodically interface, help each other expand their Kingdom
concerns in prayer, sharpen one another’s prayer ministry within the
fellowships from which they come, and take new faith and vision back
into their ongoing prayer efforts day by day. Prayer leaders and prayer
groups will come from at least three major parts of the Body:
the church sphere, the mission sphere, and the youth sphere. All three
should be represented in a Concert. Those from the church sphere bring
strong nurturing concerns (which relate to revival); those from the mission
sphere bring concerns for outreach and advancement; those from the youth
sphere often carry fresh dreams and aspirations, as well as new leadership
potential, for nurture and outreach ministries. We all need one another.

Networks the Body of Christ Benefits Christians From All Spheres A Point of Contact For Praying People and Prayer Groups
A CONCERT OF prayer also offers a training ground for mobilizing
prayer throughout the body of Christ. Through its regular impact on those
who gather to pray, it naturally accelerates prayer and sharpens our prayer
agenda in all efforts in prayer everywhere within God’s family. To help
insure its contribution as a training ground, concerts should be
sufficiently
organized so that participants can adapt what they gain from the
experience back into the situations where they pray with others the rest of
the month. Thus, a concert of prayer is both a workshop on prayer, as well
as a ministry of prayer (see Luke 11:1). Along with the answers it secures
from God’s hand for the Church and the world, this training is another
way prayer movements act as God’s servants in the work of his Kingdom.
IN ADDITION to training in prayer, concerts of prayer provide a
sustaining foundation for ministry both to the city (or campus) and among
the nations. It is a base of operations for advancing Christ’s global cause
as it: (a) equips the pray-ers to become more spiritually attuned servants; (b) helps the pray-ers to rededicate themselves to be Christ’s ambassadors in any way he chooses; (c) plants in the hearts of the pray-ers new dreams and visions for ministry to earth’s unloved and and unreached; (d) attempts at times, to consciously link up the prayer movement with specific outreach efforts (evangelistic, justice, churchplanting, etc.); (e) prepares the way for all other ministries inside and outside the Church as God goes ahead of us by actually answering our cries for spiritual awakening and world evangelization. (See Psalm 65:1-8; Acts 13:1-4)
HISTORICALLY, concerts of prayer have retained a sense of
manageability, both in format and in frequency. Often in the past they
have met once a month, allowing busy Christians to rearrange their
schedules so that united prayer gets the priority it deserves. That way,
those who participate, coming from different fellowships with differing
responsibilities to those bodies, can still find a common time to gather
without jeopardizing their other commitments. The same sensitivity is
evident in prayer movements today. A Training Ground For Mobilizing Prayer A Sustaining Foundation For Ministry A Sense Of Manageability
A CONCERT OF prayer is more than an event. It is a movement – a
process in which we are moving on from where things are to where God
desires and deserves things to be. We are involved in a long-term ministry,
seeking long-term impact for the Kingdom through united prayer. This
requires that those who join in being persevering servants, consistently
involved on a regular basis and actively inviting others to join with them
month by month. (See Acts 1:14, 2:1, 42; 4:23-24)
To put it simply, we might summarize a concert of prayer movement with
seven “M’s.” They are: . Message-the focus of the prayer movement proclaims the hope of Spiritual awakening and world-wide evangelization. . Movement-we work to mobilize a seeking people at all levels-in congregations, in cities, within organizations and ministries. . Meetings-specific gatherings in united prayer, such as monthly concerts and rallies. . Methods-it provides times in specific training to make united prayer practical and satisfying. . Ministry-our goal is to inspire people with vision and equip them to take others with them into a movement of prayer, so that effective, sustained, united prayer undergirds both awakening and a new missions
thrust. . Miracle-it is a work of God from beginning to end-prayer concerts and prayer movements are gifts of God. . Must-raising up a movement of concerted prayer in this nation and worldwide is the single most strategic effort any of us can make, if we want to see the release of the full spiritual dynamics needed to fulfill God’s intentions to revive his Church for the sake of the 3 billion unreached people in our world!
The following are two formats developed over the course of eight years
out of prayer rallies around the world. They can be used in a city-wide
event with thousands or by a group of five or ten in a local congregation.
Both are two hours long.
The formats are “camera-ready” and can be duplicated directly from this
book as the program for your concert of prayer.

It Is A Movement

Overview of Two Typical Formats
Concert of Prayer
Overview of the Format
I) CELEBRATION (10 minutes)
. Praise in hymns and choruses, focused on awakening and mission
. Reports on answers to prayers offered up during previous Concerts
. Prayers of praise for God’s faithfulness, for His Kingdom, His Son
II) PREPARATION (20 minutes)
. Welcome
. Overview: Why are we here?
. Biblical perspectives on praying toward awakening and mission
. Preview of the Format] Teaming up in partners and huddles
III) DEDICATION (5 minutes)
. Commitment to be servants through prayer and to be used in answer to our
prayers
. Thanksgiving for the privilege of united prayer and for those with whom
we
unite
. Invitation for Christ to lead the Concert and pray through us
. Hymn of Praise
IV) SEEKING FOR FULLNESS IN THE CHURCH (30 minutes)
. In partners – for personal revival
. In huddles – for awakening in our local churches and ministries
. As a whole – for awakening in the church world-wide
. Pause to listen to the Father, followed by chorus
V) SEEKING FOR FULFILLMENT/MISSION AMONG THE NATIONS (30
minutes)
. In partners – for personal ministries
. In huddles – for outreach and mission in our city
. As a whole – for world evangelization
. Pause to listen to the Father, followed by chorus
VT) TESTIMONIES: WHAT HAS GOD SAID TO US? (10 minutes)
. On Fullness (awakening)
. On Fulfillment (mission)
VII) GRAND FINALE (15 minutes)
. Offering ourselves to be answers to our prayers and live accordingly
. Prayer for God’s empowerment in our lives for ministry
. Prayer for prayer movements locally and worldwide
. Offering praise to the Father who will answer our Concert of Prayer

Concert of
Prayer
OVERVIEW OF THE FORMAT
I) REJOICING (20 minutes)
. Praise in hymns and choruses, focusing on awakening and
mission
. Sharing the Vision for Concerts of Prayer
. Reports on answers to prayer, or movements elsewhere in the
world
. Welcome to the Concert
. Preview of the Format/Formation of partners and huddles
II) REPENTANCE (5 minutes)
. As a whole – for prayerlessness in our churches and for the sin
of the nation
. In partners – for prayerlessness in our lives
III) RESISTANCE (5 minutes)
. As a whole – intercession against the influence of Satan in the
nation
and the world, opposing the unfolding of God’s reign
. In huddles – intercession against Satan’s attempts to thwart the
spiritual life and impact of the church upon the world
lV) RESTORATION (30 minutes)
. In partners or triplets – for restoration of God’s power and
fullness in our personal lives
. In huddles – for restoration of God’s power and fullness to the
church
. As a whole – for restoration of God’s power and fullness to the
church world-wide
. Pause to listen to the Father, followed by a chorus
V) RELEASING (30 minutes)
. In partners or triplets – for the release of God’s fullness in our
personal ministry
. In huddles – for the release of God’s fullness in the ministries
of our churches, local and world-wide
. As a whole – for the advance of world evangelization
. Pause to listen to the Father, followed by a chorus
VI) RECEIVING (10 minutes)
. Listen to one another in huddles to hear and confirm what God
is saying to us in this meeting
VII) RECOMMITMENT (20 minutes)
. Offering ourselves back to the Lord in view of the great hope
toward which we’ve prayed
. Praising the Father who will answer our Concert of Prayer

ALTHOUGH we have highlighted one very workable and widely used
format for a Concert of Prayer, it certainly is not the only format. Here
is
are two other approaches which have been used in some major city-wide
rallies. Most of the major components are incorporated, but they are
presented in a very unique flow.

ADORE
. Congregational Praise (led by worship leader)
. Scripture Reading (eg. Psalm 96)
. Opening Remarks
. Welcome and Opening Prayer
. The Lord’s Prayer (prayed by the congregation)
. Vision Statement (given by a spiritual leader)
. Worship in groups of 4-6 (worship in prayer)
. Song of Worship
. Closing prayer of worship (led by a spiritual leader)
AWAKE-Bringing Healing and Renewal to the Church
. Scripture Reading (eg. Daniel 9:4-19) ‘Prayer of Confession
. Prayer in Groups
. Congregational Praise (led by worship leader)
. Prayer of Forgiveness and Thanksgiving (led by a spiritual leader)
. Offertory Prayer (led by a spiritual leader)
. Offertory Song
ADVANCE-Call to Reach Our City, Our Nation, Our
World
. Congregational Praise (led by worship leader)
. Scripture Reading (eg. Acts 1:6-11; I John 3:10-19)
. General Prayer for the city, the nation and the world
. Prayer in small groups for the city, facilitated by a spiritual leader
. Prayer in small groups for the nation, facilitated by a spiritual
leader Prayer in small groups for the world, facilitated by a
spiritual leader Moment of Meditation
. Prayer of Response-Answers to Prayer (led by a spiritual leader)
. Congregational Praise (led by worship leader) ‘Closing remarks
and benediction
CONCERT OF PRAYER PLAN #1
(ADORATION, AWAKENING, ADVANCE)

1. Introduction and instructions (5 min.)

2. TURN OUR HEARTS TO THE LORD/ ADORATION (10 min.)

Read Psalm 116, II Corinthians 4: 13-18 Sing: (two songs, including “I love you, Lord”) Short, sentence long praises to the Lord Who Hears

3. PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL AWAKENING FOR CHRISTIANS

A. Individual (silent) prayers of confession of sin and repentance Assurance of forgiveness: Read I John 1: 5 – 2:2 B. In pairs or trios prayer for renewal in prayer in our campus
fellowships (Pray for attendance in prayer gatherings, for Daily Prayer
Meetings in all our chapters, for a hunger to know and meet with the Lord,
for faithfulness in Daily Quiet Time, for our own personal involvement) C. In small groups (chairs in circles) prayer for the Lord’s
guidance for our campus fellowships (for selection of leaders for chapters
and small groups in the coming year, for planning for this semester and the
coming year, for a renewal of Bible teaching and preaching, for involvement
in Chapter Focus Week, SLT, mission and urban projects, and other summer
training) and for his work among us in this Genesis weekend (especially
that the Lord would meet each person personally and transformationally,
that each would see the specific new ways the Lord wants us to trust and
obey) D. In the large group, for the Lord’s renewing of our churches, for
specific requests for IFES (insert country here) on IFES Praise &
Prayer⁷, and for (insert Country here from Operation World⁸).

4. PRAYER FOR THE ADVANCE OF GOD’S KINGDOM (35-40 min.)

A. Individual work on the 2 Plus Prayer Card (prayer for one or two
unbelieving friends) B. In pairs and trios, prayer for particular unsaved friends or
family by name, for a renewal of “love for lost people” and concern for
“the glory of God.” C. In small groups, prayer for evangelistic events and outreach and
follow-up on our campuses (for GIG’s, for evangelistic outreach, for racial
reconciliation and relationships in our campus fellowships) and for
decisions about how we will use our summers (when many of us will not be
attending school) to advance the Kingdom. D. In the large group, prayer for IVCF national needs (see
Intercessor⁹) and for [insert country here from IFES Praise &
Prayer¹⁰], and especially [insert country here from operation world][11]

5. SHARING WHAT WE HEARD THE LORD SAYING TO US (10 min.)

6. CONCLUDING THANKSGIVING FOR ANSWERS WE WILL SEE, BECAUSE OUR GOD HEARS
PRAYER!, including one song (5 min.)

7. INVITATION TO STAY AFTER IF FOLK WANT TO RECEIVE SPECIAL PERSONAL
PRAYER (on the model of James 5: 13-18)

CONCERT OF PRAYER Plan #2

Overview and Introduction

Luke 11:1-11
Hymns II #138

Part One: Praying for Revival, Renewal, and Awakening (among Christians)

1. Personal reflection/examination (sit quietly by yourself)
Suggestions for reflection (Ps. 139:23-24, Jn. 15:5-8, 1 Thes. 4:1-8)

2. Prayers for personal renewal
Pairs: Read together 2 Cor. 12:7-10, Eph. 1:15-23
Pray together- “God show us our needs and weaknesses so thoroughly that we
become
desperate in our seeking and utterly dependent on you. Open us to deeper
ministries of
the Holy Spirit, convict us of every area of sin. Give us a new sense of
your love for the
world, and rekindle our love for you. Help us to see every human limitation
as a gift
from you, which once liberated, builds up the Church and advances the
Kingdom.”
Pray together prayers of confession.
Together: sing Hymns II #126

3. Prayers for spiritual renewal in our campus fellowship and local
churches.
Small groups: Read Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-37, 5:12-16
Pray for renewal
Suggestions for prayer:
Raise up new prayer groups
New awareness of God’s holiness
New awareness of our need for holiness
Greater desire to bring God glory
Convict us of pride, divisiveness
Greater desire to minister to one another
Clear vision of God’s purposes for us
Greater zeal for his work on campus and worldwide
That our churches would not compromise with worldly standards

4. Prayers for renewal in the church worldwide
Together: sing Hymns II #177
Together: Pray Cambridge style
Suggestions for prayer:
IFES groups in other countries
The church in trouble spots in the world
Churches in countries where you know missionaries
That Christians in other countries would embrace God’s global mission
That God’s global church would discover and use the gifts and resources
available.85

Break

Part Two: Advance, Praying for the Mission of the Church (to unbelievers)

1. Prayers for our personal evangelism
Together: sing Hymns II #169
Pairs: Read together I Thes. 2:8-13
Pray for conversion of family members, relatives, friends, student friends,
faculty

2. Prayers for the mission on campus, cities, country
Small groups: read Jer. 29:1-7
Pray for campus outreach, needs of the city, government leaders

3. Prayers for the world mission of the Church
Together: read words to Hymns II #176
Pray Cambridge style
Suggestions:
Pray for InterVarsity summer mission projects
Pray for IFES movement’s evangelistic effectiveness
Pray for specific countries, missionaries you are familiar with, for zeal
and fruitfulness
Pray for thousands of cross-cultural missionaries to respond to the call to
go to unreached
places

Personal Reflection
1. What did you learn about prayer from this experience?
2. How did the Lord lead you to pray for particular things?
3. What are some things you may want to continue to pray about?
4. Did the lord bring to your mind any unfinished business you need to deal
with?

Plan #3: Seven R’s Concert of Prayer

Opening

1. explain order of evening, “7 R’s” listed on a slide 2. tell people to get into “triplets”, they will be praying together throughout the evening 3. tell people to choose another triplet to which they will join as a “huddle”

Open: Down to the River to Pray

(You may want to add more songs of rejoicing depending on your time frame) Rejoice: Questions to give members praying in front of group: 1. Where do we see God’s victories already taking place in spiritual awakening and/or world evangelization? 2. How is God already revealing the glory of Christ in various situations all around us? 3. What sense of hope do we have that God is ready and willing to bring about a change in the status quo, either within our churches or among the nations? 4. What promises and purposes has He set before us that we cannot live without, and that we are convinced He is ready to accomplish among us? 5. If God were to give spiritual awakening and new advances of His Kingdom worldwide, what more of Jesus would be revealed? What greater glory would be brought to the name of the Father? What greater works of the Spirit would be shown to us all? 6. How shall we praise Him for all of this? How shall we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God? (Romans 5:2) Order:
1. 3 members pray in front of the group for 45 seconds each, prayers based on answers to above questions
2. explain order quickly, have slides signifying what is being prayed for during huddles session, explain that tone signifies “next topic”
3. With audience in prayer huddles have one person in each group pray for 30 secs. praising God for “every evidence of Christ already at work in renewing the lives of individuals”
4. Next have someone else in the huddle praise God for “every evidence of Christ’s renewing power in your chapter” for 30 secs.
5. Have a third person pray for 30 secs. praising “God for His renewing work in your campus, city, nation, and world”
6. Have a fourth person pray for 30 secs. rejoicing in “all God is going to do through the prayer movement in your chapter”

Transition: Great is Thy Faithfulness

Repent:

Questions to give members praying in front of group: 1. What are the barriers and problems found inside the Church? 2. How is the Church-at-large responsible for its current condition and for the spiritual condition of our nation and of the world. 3. How are we in our own local churches responsible. 4. What do we need to confess, either for ourselves or “in solidarity” with the whole people of God? 5. Where do we need forgiveness? 6. How do we need to change? 7. Where should we confess our weaknesses, our disobedience, our struggles, and most of all our rebellion and sin? Order: 1. Begin by explaining that we are, primarily, admitting our corporate culpability for the collective sins of the Church and of our nation. 2. With audience in their triplets, tell each person to take 20 secs. to share what they consider to be “major sins facing the church/chapter that are keeping us from experiencing revival” 3. Have each person pray silently, confessing any sins they are personally involved in 4. 2 members pray in front of the group for 45 seconds each, the first concerning the chapter, the second concerning the campus 5. With people in huddles, take one minute to have them speak words or phrases out loud that represent prevalent sins on our campus-e.g. materialism, racism, disunity, pride, competition, etc. 6. have audience cover their faces as a way of physically acting out shame for their sins, have them repeat the following: a. Lamb of God b. who takes away the sin of the world c. have mercy on me. d. Have mercy on us all. e. By your blood: f. Forgive us, g. Cleanse us, h. Purify us, i. Restore us, j. Raise us up, k. Fill us, l. And send us forth. m. Lamb of God. n. Lamb of Mercy. o. Lamb of God. p. Precious Lord. 7. Allow audience a moment of silence to confess any area of personal sin that God has shown them in the midst of corporate confession

Transition: time of quiet while soft music plays

Resist: Order: 1. In triplets, have each person take 20 secs. to share their thoughts on what the enemy is doing to try to hinder the work of revival and mission outside the chapter 2. Have everyone pray out loud at the same time. ?[12] Transition: Days of Elijah

Restore:

Questions to give members praying in front of group: 1. Based on the hope God gives for change, either in the Church or in the world, what do we need to seek from Him? 2. What promises, purposes, and principles revealed in Scripture can become the basis for the “new things” we are asking God to do in spiritual awakening and world evangelization? 3. Again, if God were to answer our prayers (for fullness or fulfillment) to the fullest extent we could possible imagine, in view of what He has said in His Word and who we know Him to be, what might those answers look like? (This answer will determine much of the content of your praying in this section.) 4. Has God given us the gift of faith on a specific issue related to these two major themes-especially an issue related to the body of Christ or the mission of Christ within our own community? Order: 1. With audience in triplets encourage them to pray for each other and for themselves, each taking 30 secs., seeking God to help them know Christ in new ways, receiving His total reign in their lives. 2. 3 members each pray for 30 secs., two praying that we have renewal in our chapter (possibly mentioning certain areas), and one praying for spiritual awakening in the body of Christ nationwide and worldwide. 3. In huddles, ask people to pray for the staff-workers, exec members, and bible study leaders, and also for other Christian groups on campus.

Transition: 45 seconds of total silence to listen to God

Release:

Order: 1. In triplets, begin with short prayer for our own personal involvement in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. 2. Next, ask each person to pray for one non-Christian in their life. 3. Have 3 leaders each pray for 45 secs. for the outreach of our small groups. Possibly have leaders pray for specific groups of the unreached (geographically located, or demographics). 4. In huddles pray for IFES (see www.ifesworld.org/prayer ) Transition: Siyabonga

Receive:

Questions to have on slide in front of group: 1. How has God confirmed to you the hope of revival and advance of Christ’s Kingdom around which we rejoiced? 2. What areas of repentance have brought you new resolve to live righteously and godly before Him? 3. What points of the battle became apparent during the Resistance prayer, that you must prepare to face in a new way? 4. As we made requests for revival in the Church, and Christ’s ministry to your campus, city, nation, and the world, did God give any new dreams or visions for how you personally might fit in? 5. During this Concert of Prayer, did the Lord speak words of promise or encouragement about how specific answers might come? 6. Did He give you any new direction or any new steps of obedience you should take in response to the vision we prayed through during this concert of prayer? Order: 1. First get into huddles, then have huddles split into three pairs each. 2. Each pair shares what God has said to them through the time of listening and throughout the evening. They can also rejoice together about some of the times of prayer when they were convinced God had heard and would answer in powerful ways in the days ahead. Transition: We Fall Down Recommit: Order: 1. Begin this session with a brief vision statement by a leader focusing on daily prayer meetings and calling people to commit to praying weekly along the lines that we prayed tonight. 2. ask people to join hands 3. have a member offer a prayer of commitment for the whole gathering 4. ask people who committed to attend daily prayer meetings on a weekly basis to indicate that they have done so and have people pray for them. 5. have two members pray, one for the growth of the prayer movement and one a prayer of praise in anticipation of all the ways God is going to answer this particular concert of Prayer by reviving the chapter and advancing the Gospel.

(You could add some more songs here as well if you have time)

Benediction

Ephesians 3:20-21. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen.” Prayer Planning Helps Psalms Listed by Mood¹³

The following Chart lists categories that reflect the variety of emotions
and circumstances of both the Psalms and our own lives.

Category	Psalm
Contemplative Meditations	8, 19, 36, 68, 77, 87, 89, 90,
114, 132
Adoration for who God is	8, 11, 23, 24, 67, 75, 84, 93,
95, 96, 97, 100, 117, 134, 139,
145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150
Worship for what God has done in	33, 66, 76, 98, 99, 104, 105,
creation and preservation	108, 24, 135, 136
Praise and worship for what God	27, 29, 46, 47, 65, 103, 104,
continues to do	111, 113, 121
Thanksgiving for what God has	9, 18, 21, 30, 34, 40, 48, 66,
done (answered prayer)	92, 107, 116, 118, 126, 138
Submission to God	16, 5, 27, 56, 62, 71, 101, 131
Hope in the Messiah	2, 16, 45, 110
Confidence in the law	1, 19, 50, 119
Mediations on wise sayings	1, 14, 15, 37, 49, 53, 91, 112,
125, 127, 133
Struggle with temptation	73, 141
Desire for guidance from the Lord	5, 25, 27, 61, 143
or dealing with worry
Confession and sorrow for sin	6, 32, 51, 106, 130
Distress or need in general	3, 4, 5, 7, 17, 28, 43, 54, 57,
59, 70, 86, 108, 123, 144
Prayers for the needs of another	20, 72, 85, 115, 122, 128
Pain or frustration in a time of	6, 31, 77, 137
illness
Discouragement or hurt	13, 22, 26, 42, 60, 69, 74, 79,
142
Sorrow or hope near death	23, 31, 39, 63, 88, 143
Grief or mourning	6, 31, 77, 137
Expressions of God’s righteous	49, 50, 78, 81, 82
anger at his people
Indignation at God’s enemies	10, 12, 35, 40, 52, 55, 58, 64,
69, 83, 94, 109, 120, 129, 140
Anger at God	44, 80, 137

Worship and Thanksgiving Passages¹⁴

Encounters with God

Jacob’s Dream	Genesis 28:10-17
God shows Moses his glory	Exodus 33:18-34:8
Elijah meets the Lord on a	1 Kings 19:1-18
mountain
Isaiah meets the Lord	Isaiah 6:1-8
Daniel’s vision of a man	Daniel 10:4-19

Worship Hymns of the Old Testament (see also Psalms listed by Mood)

The returned captives worship the	Nehemiah 9:5-38
Lord
Job’s response to the Lord’s	Job 42:1-6
speech
Praise of God as a beloved one	Song of Solomon 2:3-6; 7:10-13
A song of praise	Isaiah 42:10-13
A short worship hymn	Jeremiah 16:19-20

Thanksgivings in the Old Testament (see also Psalms listed by Mood)

Moses’ song of thanksgiving	Exodus 15:1-18
Deborah’s song of victory	Judges 5:1-31
Hannah’s prayer of thanks	1 Samuel 2:1-10
David’s praise for God’s	2 Samuel 22:1-51
protection
David’s thanks at the arks return	1 Chronicles 16:8-36
Praise at the rebuilding of the	Ezra 3:10-11
temple foundation
Thanksgiving when God restores	Isaiah 12:1-6
fellowship
Praise for deliverance from	Isaiah 25:1-5
oppression
Hezekiah’s thanks for healing	Isaiah 38:10-20
A song of happiness	Isaiah 61:1-11
Daniel’s praise for wisdom	Daniel 2:19-23

Hymns and Benedictions in the Epistles

A doxology	Romans 16:25-27
The humility of Christ	Philippians 2:6-11
The supremacy of Christ	Colossians 1:15-20
Glory to the King of the ages	1 Timothy 1:17
The mystery of Christ	1 Timothy 3:16
Honor to the Lord of lords	1 Timothy 6:15-16
A benediction	Jude 24-25

Praying Biblical Prayers¹⁵

Paul’s Prayers for Others

Unity	Romans 15:5-6
Hope	Romans 15:13
The glory of the inheritance	Ephesians 1:15-21
Knowledge of God’s love	Ephesians 3:14-21
Blamelessness, fruitfulness,	Philippians 1:9-11
discerning love
Knowledge of God’s will, strength	Colossians 1:9-12
for endurance
Knit together in love, assured	Colossians 2:-3
understanding
Increasing love and holiness	1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
Sanctification and soundness	1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Worthiness and fulfillment	2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
Comfort	2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Love & patients	2 Thessalonians 3:5
Peace	2 Thessalonians 3:16

Prayers and Requests for prayer Related to Evangelistic Outreach

Elijah’s prayer at the	1 Kings 18:36-27
confrontation sacrifice
An outreach psalm	Psalm 67
The prayer of the early church	Acts 4:27-31
Paul prays for the Thessalonians	1 Thessalonians 3:12
Paul’s requests for prayer	Ephesians 6:19-20; Philippians
1:18-19; Colossians 4:2-4
Jesus prays for the ministry of	John 17:1-26
the church

Prayers for Healing Prior to the Ministry of Healing

Moses prays for Miriam	Numbers 12:13
Elijah prays for a dead boy	1 Kings 17:20-21
Elisha prays for a dead boy	2 Kings 4:32-34
Jesus prays for Lazarus	John 11:41-44
Peter prays for Tabitha	Acts 9:40
Paul prays for Publius	Acts 28:8

Prayers for Mercy & Revival¹⁶

Revival Prayers in the Old Testament

Ezra’s prayer after discovering	Ezra 9:5-15
intermarriage
Nehemiah asks for the Lord’s	Nehemiah 1:4-11
promise of return to be fulfilled
Isaiah asks for judgment	Isaiah 2:6-9
Isaiah asks for kindness and	Isaiah 33:2-4
strength
Isaiah’s prayer after recounting	Isaiah 63:14-64:12
God’s mercies
Jeremiah’s cry for his people	Jeremiah 14:7-9
Jeremiah’s prayer at the	Jeremiah 14:19-22
affliction of the Lord
A lamentation of Jeremiah	Lamentations 5:1-22
Daniel’s prayer at the discover of	Daniel 9:3-19
the duration of Jerusalem’s
destruction
Joel’s prayer for the people	Joel 2:17
Micah prays for God to shepherd	Micah 7:14-20
his people again

Prophetic Psalms

”Remember your congregation”	Psalm 74
”We have become a taunt”	Psalm 79
”Restore us, O God of hosts”	Psalm 80
”Will you not revive us again?”	Psalm 85
”O Israel, trust in the LORD”	Psalm 115

Revival Prayers in the New Testament

The disciples pray for power in	Acts 4:24-31
ministry
A prayer for the Lord to come	Revelation 22:17

Prayer Glossary-styles, ideas, & venues

Conversational Prayer: Conversational prayer is communal prayer where
people pray in turn over a number of issues. While each person takes a
turn, there is not a prescribed order to moving around the group, rather
the person who feels that they have something to pray simply leads out.
Others pray for the same topic, until everyone has had a chance to pray on
that topic. Do not feel like the topic has been “finished” or that you
would be disagreeing with the person by praying for the same topic. You
are agreeing and adding what insights or interests God has laid on your
hearts.

Cambridge Style: Cambridge style prayer is communal prayer and is a form of
conversational prayer which concludes with the person praying saying, “In
Jesus name.” and the rest of the participants say in unison, “Amen”. Amen
means, “let it be,” and when said by the group it is an agreement that this
is their prayer too.

Journaling: Journaling is where a person writes his or her thoughts and
prayers. In writing one’s thoughts, one can refine what he or she is
trying to say and listen to what God might be instructing on how to pray.
When one is reflective in prayer, it allows for one to be open to
correction while also increasing conviction and boldness. This also allows
for the input of scripture into one’s prayers as well. Journaling can be
used as a component of a prayer meeting.

Prayer Log: A notebook or journal used to keep a record of what was prayed
for. You then check it the next week for answers to prayer. If you can’t
tell if God has answered your prayers, you may need to be more specific in
what