Praying With Power By C. Peter Wagner. (Pt. 4)

C_HAPTER 7  

GOD’S GIFT OF PERSONAL INTERCESSORS FOR

L_EADERS

M

of the four executive pastors of the huge New Life Church of bombay is Willie Sloan. Sloan and his wife had worked as church-planting missionaries in Nagpur, India, for ten years. their story was much like that of many other missionaries— they seemed to face serious opposition of almost every kind. they  tried  every  human  method  they  knew, but  after  ten strenuous years, they could point to only six small house churches as the fruit of their labor. I know some missionaries who would try to convince their supporters that such results were all that could be expected considering the circumstances, but Willie Sloan was not among them. Frankly, he was upset.

FULL-TIME INTERCESSORS

So the Sloans tried something that was new for them. they  began  to  employ  full-time  intercessors  who  would constantly keep them before God’s throne. three years later, 20 women and two men were praying full time each day. the intercessors were those who understood the principles of strategic-level spiritual warfare and whose prayers were known to be of the more powerful kind. During the three years they were receiving personal intercession, the Sloans, using the same methods as before, were successful in plant- ing no fewer than 180 house churches! Instead of planting six new churches in ten years, they were now planting six new churches a month!

I know of no pastors or other Christian leaders who would not desire to see that kind of incremental effective- ness in their ministries. Although certainly other variables are likely to enter the picture, I know of no step a pastor or missionary or seminary professor or other leader could take that has a higher potential for increasing ministry power than  recruiting  a  team  of  personal  intercessors. they, of course, do not have to be full-time employees as were those in India, but the right ones will still be highly committed.

I  regard  my  book  prayer  shield,  which  is  a  textbook about this subject, as the most important book I will prob- ably ever write for pastors and other leaders, including workplace leaders. When it was first published, my friend elmer towns read it and wrote a letter to me, saying,“Peter, when you die this will be the book, among the three or four dozen you have written, for which you will be the most re- membered.” I would agree with elmer.

Speaking of seminary professors, I mentioned my friend thom rainer’s research about prayer and church growth in the  last  chapter.  During  the  past  few  years,  thom  has emerged as one of the .300 hitters, so to speak, of the church growth movement. before becoming the dean of the billy Graham School of evangelism, Church Growth, and Mis- sions at Southern baptist theological Seminary, he pastored a  large,  rapidly-growing  church. the  following  is  thom rainer’s testimony:

In 1992, primarily because of Peter Wagner’s influ- ence, I began to pray that God would raise up inter- cessors for my ministry and my family. I was the pastor of a large church in birmingham, Alabama. As I reflect upon those days, I now see that they were the most difficult times I had known in pastoral ministry. but God did call several people to intercede daily for me. I began to know the power of prayer for my min- istry as I had never known before. God was once again showing me the priority and power of prayer.1

THE MOST UNDERUTILIZED SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL P_OWER

I clearly recall the days, back in 1987, when I first re- ceived the assignment from the Lord to research, teach, and write about prayer. Prayer was a totally unfamiliar field for me, so I began to build a library and to read as many of the books about prayer as I could to make up for lost time. I now have almost ten shelves of books about prayer. one of my early objectives, among other things, was to try to iden- tify the areas within the field of prayer that had not at- tracted much attention at that time. one of them, which I soon discerned, was this matter of intercession for Chris- tian leaders.

As far as I can remember, the only reference I found to intercession for leaders was a chapter in a book by e. M. bounds, the most prolific writer about prayer in American history. In his book Power through Prayer, written in 1912, he includes a chapter called “Preachers Need the Prayers of the People.” It may have been short (only two pages out of a total of 568 pages in his complete works), but, as is char- acteristic of bounds, it was straightforward.

bounds says,“Somehow the practice of praying in par- ticular for the preacher has fallen into disuse or become dis- continued. occasionally have we heard  the practice arraigned as a disparagement of the ministry, being a pub- lic declaration by those who do it of the inefficiency of the ministry.” What does bounds think of this? “It offends the pride of learning and self-sufficiency, perhaps, and these ought to be offended and rebuked in a ministry that is so derelict as to allow them to exist.”2

If praying for the pastor was in disuse in 1912, the same could also be said of 1987. It might well be that it had not come into prominent use in many churches during the 75- year interval. I have yet to see evidence that it was practiced in any intentional or overt way in the body of Christ throughout the centuries of church history. I became bold enough to state on the first page of my book prayer shield that the most underutilized source of spiritual power in our churches today is intercession for Christian leaders.

DISCOVERING THE NEED FOR A PRAYER SHIELD

I might never have noticed the absence of writings about personal intercession for leaders had it not been for a series of circumstances in my life God used to make me aware of the value of personal intercession. In 1982, I founded an

adult Sunday School class at Lake Avenue Congregational Church of Pasadena, California, which I subsequently taught for 13 years. Named “the 120 Fellowship,” my wife, Doris, and I soon became aware that this was probably the first Christian group we had been associated with during three decades of ministry that seemed to be spontaneously providing  a  substantial  prayer  covering  for  us. that  was quite a few notches above the expected prayers of Christian people for their leaders.

A life-changing event took place in 1983 when I experi- enced a free fall from a ladder in my garage. I fell about 12  feet to the cement floor on the back of my head and neck. It could well have taken my life, and it might have, had it not been for the prayers of a young woman from the Sunday School class. She had heard from the Lord, ten miles away, that someone important to her was in a life-or-death situa- tion and she needed to intercede immediately. this was new to her also, but she obeyed God and for 20 minutes she prayed fervently for legions of angels to protect whoever it was from death at exactly the time I was falling to the floor. that  initiated  a  period  of  seven  years  during  which  she served as the principal personal intercessor for Doris and me. the ripple effect also spread through the class, however, and many others started praying for us in a special way.

by the time I began researching prayer in 1987, I had become close personal friends with John Maxwell, then pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, Cali- fornia. Among other things, he told me he had recruited no fewer than 100 men in his church who were commit- ted to pray for him and his ministry on a highly account- able and sustained basis. I made a special point of studying what was happening at Skyline, and no one has influenced me more than John Maxwell in developing personal prayer partners of my own.

At this writing, Doris and I have more than 200 active prayer partners. one of them we call our “I-1” intercessor, and 21 are “I-2” intercessors. the rest we regard as “I-3” in- tercessors. We consider all of them highly important, but we relate more closely to the I-ls and I-2s. I have a picture of each of them pasted on the inside cover of my bible, and I mention them in my prayers each day, thanking God for the divine power that comes through their ministry on our be- half.

VICTORY THROUGH THE INTERCESSOR

Just about everyone who has spent some time in Sunday School has heard the story, from exodus 17:8-16, of how Joshua defeated Amalek in the Valley of rephidim while Moses was on a nearby mountain interceding for him. Joshua has gone down in military history as the general who won the battle.We know, though, that the feat was accomplished, not through superior military skill or bravery, but by the power of God.

tWo   thINGS   NeeD   to   hAPPeN   SIMuLtANe- ouSLy   For   VICtory   IN   the   MINIStry:  the PAStor or LeADer MuSt PrAy More, AND the PAStor  or  LeADer  MuSt  LeArN  to  reCeIVe INterCeSSIoN.  the  chief  human  instrument  for  the  flow  of  divine power into the Valley of rephidim was Moses, the intercessor. When Moses’ hands were up, Joshua was winning; when they were down, Joshua was losing. Aaron and hur came alongside and did what was necessary to support the intercessor, and the battle was won.

the  battle  of  rephidim  was  won  by  prayer. how  much do you think Joshua was praying that day? obviously, it was very little, if at all. Joshua reminds me of many pastors and other Christian leaders today. they are the ones on the front lines. they are fighting the daily battles on the front lines of the Kingdom of God. It is not easy. No other profession records a higher percentage of burnout cases. research shows that the pastor is the number one factor, among many, for the growth or nongrowth or for the health or weakness of the local church. No wonder the devil seeks out pastors.

terry teykl says,“We are at war with an unseen spiritual enemy who opposes pastors at every turn.”3  their battle will not be won, though, by their knowledge of Greek or their mastery of systematic theology, or their pulpit communica- tion skills or any other good human quality. they need help from God just as Joshua did.

e.M. bounds says, “Air is not more necessary to the lungs than prayer is to the preacher. It is absolutely neces- sary for the preacher to pray. It is an absolute necessity that the preacher be prayed for.”4 Notice that two things need to happen simultaneously for victory in the ministry: the pas- tor or leader must pray more, and the pastor or leader must learn to receive intercession.

PASTORS SHOULD PRAY MORE

Awhile ago I conducted a research project about Amer- ican pastors and found that the average pastor prays 22 minutes a day. this did not surprise me too much, but I was a bit startled to find that more than one out of four pastors pray less than ten minutes a day! When I present seminars or classes for pastors, they all nod their heads and identify with those numbers. Furthermore, they all know they need more prayer.  before I go on to talk about receiving the prayers of inter- cessors in my classes, I admonish the pastors I am teaching to exercise more self-discipline and to make a firm decision to pray more. It boils down to their choice. everyone has 24 hours a day, and it is ultimately up to each one of us how we decide to manage that time. At the end of the day, we have been doing what we have considered, for whatever reasons, the highest pri- ority items.the excuse“I was too busy to pray today” is about as weak as they get. It would have been more honest to say,“I had higher priority things on my agenda today than to pray.”

bill hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, whom I mentioned in the last chapter, agrees. that is why he wrote a whole book about prayer, titled too Busy not to pray. he is a good example, because few pastors could have been busier than hybels was while leading his church to become the largest one in the united States. For a long time, bill hybels thought he could assume prayer would simply be a part of his lifestyle as he went about a daily routine. It did not work, though. hybels says,“I used to try to pray and receive God’s leadings on the run. It became obvious to me that my pace of life outstripped my capacity to analyze it….At the end of a day I would won- der if my work had any meaning at all.”5

his solution? “I developed my own disciplined approach to stillness before God. It is the only spiritual discipline I have ever really stuck with, and I am not tempted to aban- don it because it has made my life so much richer.”6 every morning bill hybels spends 30 to 60 minutes of clock time in a secluded place, just with the Lord. he has discovered that “People who are really interested in hearing from God must pay a price: they must discipline themselves to be still before God.”7

BUT THAT IS NOT ENOUGH

Pastors or other Christian leaders do not possess the spiritual self-sufficiency necessary to carry them in their ministries or in their personal lives. Without mentioning any names, the pastor who was involved in one of the high- est-visibility moral downfalls in recent years professed to pray for two and one-half hours daily. In retrospect, how- ever, he admitted that one of his weaknesses was his reluc- tance to receive meaningful personal spiritual support from other members of the body of Christ.

e. M. bounds  says, “the  more  the  preacher’s  eyes  are opened to the nature, responsibility, and difficulties in his work, the more he will see, and if he be a true preacher the more he will feel the necessity of prayer; not only the in- creasing demand to pray himself, but to call on others to help him by their prayers” (italics mine).8

Pastors have failed to seek personal intercession for many reasons, but I believe the number one reason is igno- rance. I can cite repeated cases of pastors who first heard about  personal  intercessors  in  one  of  my  seminars. they formed prayer teams in a week or two, and later wrote about the tremendous difference it made. they said,“Why didn’t I ever know about this before?”

Cindy Jacobs of Generals International, who is one of Doris’ and my closest prayer partners, writes,“Whenever those in ministry call me with tremendous burdens on their shoulders, one of the first questions I ask is, ‘Do you have personal  prayer  partners?’ they  will  invariably  say, ‘I  have people who tell me they pray for me on a regular basis.’ And I say, ‘but do they know your needs on an intimate level?’ only a handful have even thought of mobilizing personal intercession.”9

terry teykl, one  of  America’s  foremost  prayer  leaders, was one of those pastors suffering burnout while he was pastoring the rapidly growing Aldersgate united Methodist Church  in  College  Station, texas. “In  1987,” teykl  says,“I went  through  a  personal  crisis  and  burnout….there  sim- ply weren’t enough hours in the day. At the time, I was a de- vout codependent who was committed to a ministerial model  of  rugged  individualism.” the  situation  was  serious enough  to  demand  counseling. After  some  time  off, terry came to realize that, as he puts it,“because I was laboring under an image of total self-sufficiency, I had been remiss in asking members of my own church to pray for me!”10

When  terry  teykl  confessed  his  weaknesses  from  the pulpit and asked his people to pray for him, things began to change. he says, “My life took a dramatic turn for the better. People began praying, and I entered into an entirely new relationship with the flock. I would not have remained in ministry without the prayers of these saints.”11

WHO ARE THE INTERCESSORS?

those  who  are  familiar  with  my  book  Your  spiritual gifts Can help Your Church grow (regal books) will know that I think it is important to distinguish between spiritual gifts and Christian roles. to illustrate: All Christians must live a life characterized by faith, although only a limited number have the gift of faith (see 1 Cor. 12:9). every be- liever should tithe his or her income and give generous of- ferings over and above that, but some have a gift of giving that goes beyond what is expected of the others (see rom. 12:8). everyone who is born again should be a witness of the saving power of Christ, but a few have a gift of evangel- ist (see eph. 4:11). by the same token, every Christian has a role to pray and to intercede, but God has given to some the gift of intercession.

Intercessors pray longer than the average Christian, they pray with more intensity, they enjoy prayer more, they see more frequent answers to their prayers, and they have spiritual ears to hear from God more readily than most. I think virtually every church has been provided with some individuals who have the gift of intercession. the best I can estimate, they may represent about five percent of the membership of the average church. In many churches, though, the intercessors have never been recognized. Some pastors have no idea any such thing as specially-gifted and called intercessors exists. others may know about interces- sors, but they feel threatened by them because intercessors are known to hear from God regularly, and they may hear some things about the church the pastor has not yet heard.  If I were satan, I would give high priority to keeping pastors and intercessors apart. If ignorance would do it, that would be fine. For those who are not ignorant, though, I would try to produce conflict and estrangement. It is a fact that many intercessors, because they are acutely aware of specific details of the invisible world, develop patterns of behavior and conversation a bit out of the ordinary. Admit- tedly, some have a tendency toward what could be consid- ered as flakiness, although I have not yet met an intercessor unwilling to receive correction.

Alice Smith, one of our personal intercessors, says,“be- cause of the spiritual burdens they sometimes bear, inter- cessors can easily become moody.

the PerSoN Who hAS the hIGheSt SPIrI- tuAL AuthorIty IN the ChurCh IS the PAS- tor. thoSe Who heAr MoSt FroM GoD, FrequeNtLy   More  thAN  the   PAStor,  Are the   INterCeSSorS.  Put   theM   toGether, AND you hAVe A WINNING CoMbINAtIoN.  heaviness or depression can creep into the intercessor’s life, so it is necessary to ask the holy Spirit whether a bur- den is genuine or an attack of the enemy.”12

Some intercessors are shy; they have perceived that they are rejected; they know they are different and think they are alone, and  therefore  they  pull  into  their  shells. they  con- tinue to pray, but their prayers carry only a fraction of the effectiveness they could have if they flowed out of a quality relationship with the pastor for whom they are praying.

CONNECTING PASTORS WITH INTERCESSORS

Connecting pastors with intercessors is like connecting a quarterback with a wide receiver. they are different from each other in skills and roles as well as physical character- istics. each one alone could do relatively little for the team. together, though, they score a touchdown. the person who has the highest spiritual authority in the church is the pas- tor. those who hear most from God, frequently more than the pastor, are the intercessors. Put them together, and you have a winning combination.

For years I have observed the incredible relationship be- tween John Maxwell and his I-1 intercessor, bill Klassen. When John became the pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, this stranger managed to get an appointment with him. he told John he was an intercessor who prayed for pastors, and God had sent him there to pray for John. As anyone who knows Maxwell will tell you, this is not the usual  way  John  initiates  relationships. this, however, was not a usual meeting. the holy Spirit was there with power, and he bonded them in a supernatural way.

Maxwell says, “Neither of our lives has ever been the same since that meeting. bill became my personal prayer and accountability partner after that, and he went on to help me organize a prayer partner ministry at Skyline, a group of people who prayed for me every day during my fourteen years there and who met in small groups in a tiny room at church every Sunday to cover the services with prayer.”13  I relate this incident to illustrate how intercessors hear from God and speak blessing into the lives of those for whom they pray. Fourteen years went by, and God was moving John out of the local church into a national training ministry. he tells of how he made that difficult decision, and bill Klassen was one of the first who knew about it.

When John told bill he had made his decision to leave the church, big tears came into bill’s eyes and he said,“John, you’re exactly right. In fact I had a passage I wanted to share with you when you told me because I knew it was coming.” he opened his bible to Isaiah 43:18-19, which was already marked, and read, “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?” they embraced and wept together, having the assurance from God that the way they were heading was the right way.14

In the last few paragraphs I have highlighted those who have the gift of intercession. We should not draw the con- clusion, however, that people who do not have the gift can- not enroll as personal intercessors for leaders as well. When Doris and I first formed our closer circles of prayer part- ners, which we call I-l and I-2, probably not more than half had the gift of intercession, and the others simply used their Christian roles as prayers and supported us tremendously. Many on our broader I-3 list do not have the gift of inter- cession. As the years have passed, it turns out that presently of 22 I-l and I-2 intercessors, only three do not have the gift. I will admit, though, that our team is quite a bit above the average, and we thank God daily for them.

PETER AND PAUL HAD PERSONAL INTERCESSORS

one morning King herod woke up and decided he would put two Christian leaders on his hit list: James and Peter. he succeeded in killing James, but not Peter. he kept Peter in jail, and was preparing to execute him when an angel entered the jail cell and escorted Peter past the maximum security guards and into freedom without any- one knowing what was happening. how could something like this occur?  the  bible  says  something  about  Peter  it  does  not  say about James: “Constant prayer was offered to God for [Peter] by the church” (Acts 12:5). the prayer meeting was held in the home of Mary, the mother of Mark. I have a hypothesis which I think is reasonable. Mary could well have been Peter’s personal intercessor. Whether James had a personal intercessor we cannot know. When Peter was in prison, the same thing happened then as would happen today  if  I  went  to  jail. the  intercessors  would  be  on  red alert, and they would call in all the reinforcements avail- able to do battle on my behalf in the invisible world. I have no doubt that what happened in Mary’s house literally saved Peter’s life.  When Paul writes to the believers in rome, he pleads for personal intercession:“Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spi- rit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me”(rom. 15:30).

Paul asks the believers in ephesus to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. . . for me, that utterance may be given to me” (eph. 6:18-19).  Paul commends the believers in Philippi for their prayers on his behalf (see Phil. 1:19) and mentions by name euodia and Syntyche (Phil. 4:2), who, I believe, were Paul’s personal intercessors. this probable relationship has been hidden from many bible students by two things. For one, the two women seemed at the moment to be at odds with each other for some reason, and this has attracted a good bit of the attention of preachers and commentators. Second, our usual english translations have Paul describing these women as those“who labored with me in the gospel”(Phil. 4:3), and they hide the literal meaning of the Greek, which really is “who did spiritual warfare on my be- half.”15 this sounds a lot like the ordinary job description of personal intercessors.

OBTAINING INTERCESSORS

Virtually nothing about the subject of personal inter- cession for pastors and leaders was available in 1987, but we have  many  fine  resources  now. these  are  listed  in  the  re- source section at the end of the chapter. Several of these books include lists of steps, and every list is good. I am not sure, however, that every list fits every situation, and that is why I have hesitated in making a list of my own. What might work for a local church pastor might not work for a seminary professor like me, and what might work for me might not work for the leader of an evangelistic association or a Christian leader in the workplace.

We Who Are LeADerS MuSt (1) obtAIN Per- SoNAL INterCeSSorS, AND (2) MAINtAIN Per-

SoNAL INterCeSSorS.

I am sure, however, that two principles will apply across the board. We who are leaders must (1) obtain personal in- tercessors, and (2) maintain personal intercessors. I have worded this intentionally to imply that if something is going to happen, it will ordinarily happen at the initiative of the leader. Certainly there are exceptions to this rule, such as the manner in which bill Klassen approached John Maxwell. If it does happen that way, though, it is absolutely essential that the pastor be open to receiving intercession before a bill Klassen introduces himself. unfortunately, not all pastors are open to having intercessors.

A major reason some pastors or other leaders shy away from personal intercession is that they fear the personal vulnerability that will likely occur if they open themselves to  the  serious  intercession  of  another  person. this  is  a  le- gitimate concern because such is not only likely to happen, indeed, it should happen. that is why the choice of interces- sors and cementing the relationship is such a serious mat- ter. Doris and I believe that divine initiative is called for in selecting an I-1 intercessor. God takes the action, and we simply recognize that his hand is moving. We accept new I- 2  intercessors  only  after  months  of  waiting  on  God. the pathway for I-3 intercessors is more open, but we still look for certain indications before relating to new ones.  obstacles are rapidly being overcome, and I regularly re- ceive reports of pastors who are connecting with intercessors. Alice Smith is noticing the same thing. She says,“Christian leaders are learning about the nature and calling of interces- sion. It is exciting to see pastoral leadership become more aware of the ministry of intercession.their interest in developing in- tercessors and appropriating their gifts in the Church will en- courage the rest of the body to pray.”16

MAINTAINING INTERCESSORS

John Maxwell says,“If you are going to develop lasting relationships with your prayer partners, transparency is fun- damental. When you are transparent, you communicate that you trust and value them and their prayers. by confessing your sins, needs, and weaknesses, you show them how they can pray for you. And you open the door for them to be transparent too.”17

When Doris and I make a covenant with people to serve as I-1 or I-2 intercessors, we communicate to them both in person and in writing that from that time on; we are giving God permission to tell the intercessors anything and every- thing about our personal lives. because most intercessors are prophetic, this means they know! We trust them fully, though, because we have made sure they have the spiritual maturity to handle whatever God tells them; and because they love us, they use it for our blessing.  It is not unusual for an intercessor to call and say, “I prayed for you almost three hours yesterday afternoon, and it was a powerful time. here are a couple of things I believe God wants you to know. there are some other things, how- ever, that God instructed me to keep to myself for now.” It is true that some of our intercessors know more about us than we know ourselves, and I would not have it any other way.

Communication with the intercessors is essential. our I-1 and I-2 intercessors have our unlisted home phone number and are encouraged to call at any time of day and night. We try to write a personal letter to all intercessors about every four or five weeks. I frequently send separate mailings to I-1 and I-2 intercessors when a crisis or impor- tant decision is imminent. Apart from our personal family, these are the most important people in our lives.

God has given us leaders a precious gift of personal in- tercessors. It is my prayer that more and more pastors and other Christian leaders around the world will receive that gift in gratitude, and that as a result God’s kingdom will ad- vance as never before.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS 187

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

            Were you surprised to read that the average American pastor prays 22 minutes a day? Do you know many pas- tors who pray more?

            Who are some people you could name who seem to have the spiritual gift of intercession?

            to  your  knowledge, does  your  pastor  have  some  special people relating to him or her as personal prayer partners?

188    PRAYING WITH POWER

            Discuss in your own words why the devil would want to keep pastors and intercessors apart.

C_HAPTER 8  

I  believe that the cities of the world have become the pri- mary target for planning evangelistic strategy. other tar- gets are legitimate as well. Dawn Ministries, for example, develops  strategies  for “Discipling  a  Whole  Nation.” the Joshua Project 2000, growing out of the A.D. 2000 Move- ment, has targeted 1,739 significant unreached people groups. Campus Crusade has chosen “Million People target Areas” as its primary focus.Whatever unit we select, however, almost invariably large numbers of those who make up the unit will be found in cities.

TEARING DOWN SPIRITUAL “SOUND BARRIERS”

how can we make certain the cities of our nation and of the world are open to receive the good news of Jesus Christ? I like the way John DeVries of Mission 21 India puts it: “the  devil  has  created ‘sound  barriers’ around  every  city and every people group; spiritual sound barriers which can only be torn down through prayer. We can have the best methods, phenomenal sums of money, and dedicated work- ers, but none of these can tear down the demonic, spiritual walls which keep people from hearing the gospel. only prayer is effective! And once prayer is answered and the walls come tumbling down, all that remains is the ‘mop up’ operation, much like Israel’s taking of Jericho.”1

DeVries illustrates his point by citing a case study from Goa, the Portuguese-speaking, roman Catholic city on the western shores of India. Goa had gained a reputation among Christian leaders in the whole region as being notoriously resistant to the gospel, according to S. Joseph, pastor of the New Life Fellowship in bombay. Following God’s call, Pas- tor Joseph had gone to Goa to help plant churches, but, like others before him, he was stoned and run out of the city. Church-planting teams continued as well as they could, but after years of fighting a strenuous uphill battle they could only count six tiny, struggling house churches as the fruit of their labor.

Five years later, however, a Christian prayer team arrived from brazil. these intercessors had been called to do a one- year  prayer  journey  on  behalf  of  the  city  of  Goa. they rented a house and for 12 months did nothing but pray for the  city.  then,  having  accomplished  their  assignment, they went back to brazil. Did this do any good? Were their prayers of the powerful kind? yes, they were. Pastor Joseph reported that in the two months following the departure of the brazilian intercessors, his New Life movement had planted 18 new house churches!

Few people would expect to be assigned a one-year prayer journey for a single city on the other side of the world. however, rapidly-increasing numbers of believers on every continent, some having the gift of intercession and some not having it, are moving outside of their churches to pray ag- gressively  in  their  communities. they  understand  warfare prayer and know how it can penetrate those sound barriers of darkness so that the light of the gospel can shine through.

HOW REVIVAL WILL COME

Not too long ago, I heard what I take to be a prophetic word from a Southern baptist pastor, Jack Graham of Prestonwood stonwood  baptist  Church  in  Dallas, texas. Speaking  to  a room full of younger pastors, he said, “revival will come when we get the walls down between the church and the commu- nity.” I have repeated this hundreds of times to tens of thou- sands of leaders since I first heard it.  I have also sensed that God is revealing a prophetic Scripture to accompany this admonition: namely, Joshua 1:3. the word from God to Joshua provided a literal man- date for his task of taking possession of the Promised Land: “every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you.”  Joshua’s role was simply to put his physical body on the site, and then allow God to do the rest by using his super- natural power. he saw it demonstrated soon afterward when Jericho fell. by “prophetic Scripture” I mean that God, from time to time, seems to take a Scripture that may have had its own particular meaning in its own context perhaps thou- sands of years ago and brings it to life once again, just as literally as before, into another more contemporary context. this  is  how  I  view  Joshua  1:3  today. God  is  giving  us  new tools for action at this time of the final thrust for world evangelization, which I detailed in Chapter 5. It is up to us to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, and once we hear it, to decide that we will obey.

If we want to have our communities transformed by the power of God we must, therefore, pull down the walls.We must place the soles of our feet out into the community itself by em- ploying our principal weapon of spiritual warfare: namely, prayer.this does not mean in any way that we should pray less inside our churches. A review of Chapter 6 will be reminder enough that I feel strongly about local churches becoming true houses of prayer. We need to pray more inside our churches. We also need to pray more inside our homes. that is not all, though. We must also move outside of our churches by be- seeching powerful prayer for our communities.

In theory, the power of prayer knows no boundaries or geographical limitations. this is true, but it is not the whole story. other things being equal, on-site prayer is almost al- ways  more  effective  than  distant  prayer. those  who  have  a healing ministry know from experience that the same prin- ciple applies. Prayers for healing are answered for individ- uals in other states or in other countries. however, something about physical proximity, the laying on of hands, the anointing with oil and ministering one-on-one measur- ably increases the frequency of actual healings. It is by no means certain, for example, that the dramatic change in the spiritual atmosphere of the city of Goa would have taken place if the brazilian prayer team would have stayed home and prayed for Goa from their homes or churches in brazil.

PRAYER EVANGELISM

It is biblical to pray for the lost. Paul commissions timothy to engage in spiritual warfare. he says,“this charge I commit  to  you, son timothy, according  to  the  prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare” (1 tim. 1:18). Paul’s charge to timothy emerges from the premise that “Christ Jesus came into the  world  to  save  sinners” (1 tim. 1:15). Jesus  came  for  so many other good things, though, that we at times forget his primary purpose: to save lost souls (see Luke 19:10). the division in 1 timothy between chapters 1 and 2 has often blocked us from seeing exactly what Paul’s charge to timothy focused on: namely, prayer. “there fore,” says Paul, “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, interces- sions,  and  giving  of  thanks  be  made  for  all  men” (1 tim. 2:1). Why? because “[God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 tim.2:4).  “PrAyer IS the MoSt tANGIbLe trACe oF eterNIty IN the huMAN heArt. INterCeSSory PrAyer oN behALF oF the FeLt NeeDS oF the LoSt IS the beSt WAy to oPeN theIr eyeS to the LIGht oF the GoSPeL.”  In the process of evangelism, bringing lost people from the power of satan to God (see Acts 26:18), Paul recommends prayer first of all. Ed Silvoso believes this so strongly that he has introduced a new term into the english language: “prayer evangelism.” In his outstanding book that none should perish (regal books), he begins each chapter with   a   principle.  the   principle   underlying   his   chapter “Prayer evangelism” states, “prayer is the most tangible trace of eternity in the human heart. intercessory prayer on behalf of the felt needs of the lost is the best way to open their eyes to the light of the gospel” (italics his).2

ed Silvoso takes Paul’s charge to timothy literally when the only specific persons mentioned by Paul after telling timothy to pray for “all men” is “for kings and all who are in authority”(1 tim. 2:2). Silvoso suggests that this implies much more than just mentioning their names in prayer.

Silvoso says,“to pray effectively for them, it is necessary to go beyond this first step. We should go to those in au- thority and ask what their prayer requests are….the open- ness of the lost to intercessory prayer on their behalf has been the greatest surprise I have encountered in our city- reaching ministry. I have yet to be turned down by anyone in authority to whom prayer has been offered.”3 Could it be that personalized prayer for the public officials of our community might make a difference?

It seemed to work in boulder, Colorado, according to an  item  in  the  national  and  international  religion  report. boulder, a hub of witchcraft, satanic worship, New Age, and the largest buddhist temple in America, may now be in the beginning stages of a Christian renewal. It seemed for a while as if the forces of darkness had the upper hand. Nearly half the churches in the county were experiencing serious divisions. Pastors were frustrated, angry, and on the verge of leaving town. God, however, used a Nigerian grad- uate student to bring the pastors together for a weekly prayer meeting. Prayer began to change things in the city.

What  happened?  the  first  thing  was  that  the  pastors found their attitude toward the city changing. Mark tidd, pastor of Crestview Christian reformed Church, says that pastors who had been “praying as if boulder was Sodom” began seeing the city “as Nineveh—more in need of com- passion than condemnation.” then they did what Silvoso also advocates: they introduced themselves personally to boulder’s leaders—the mayor, city council members, county commissioners, chief of police, county sheriff, school lead- ers, and others. When the authorities saw that the pastors genuinely wanted to serve them, the civic leaders were both shocked and delighted. Strong relationships formed, and the Christian community in boulder began to get a fair hearing. Churches  began  to  grow  instead  of  fight. tidd’s  congrega- tion, for example, has more than doubled in four years.4

PASTORS AND INTERCESSORS IN HARMONY

In one of the books in the prayer Warrior series—War- fare prayer—I include a chapter about the rules for praying for a city (see pp. 161-178). I believe it would be helpful to reiterate two of the rules here and show how they relate to each other. A major starting point in encouraging changes in boulder was the willingness of the pastors to meet together regularly to pray.  My rule goes like this: secure the unity of the pastors and other Christian leaders in the area and begin to pray together on a regular basis.At this point, I am not advocating more min- isterial or formal associations of churches. I am suggesting the spiritual unity that can come through praying together. It is important for the believers of a city to pray together, but it is much more crucial for the pastors to do it.  No one has done more in recent years than Francis Frangipane in catalyzing the unity of pastors in city after city. his book the house of the Lord (Creation house) is a classic. In it, he defines the house of the Lord as “that liv- ing, united, praying church in the city. the Lord’s house will consist of evangelicals and Pentecostals, traditional churches and charismatics; it will be free of racial and class preju- dices. they  will  simply  be  Christians  who  know  Jesus  as Lord, believe the truth of the Scriptures, and are committed to one another as brethren.”5  here is how my friend Morris Cerullo views it:“Satan’s number one goal in citywide warfare is to destroy the unity among the churches in that city. he will try to divide the leadership with jealousy, competition and gossip.  It  IS  heLPFuL to  See  PAStorS  AS the  hANDS AND INterCeSSorS AS the eyeS. WheNeVer the hAND reACheS out to touCh or GrASP SoMethING to Do A Job, the eye GuIDeS the hAND to the ProPer PLACe.  “then, he will try to divide church members of different churches one against the other. When the church is in disarray because of disunity, Satan moves his forces into the city promoting sin, corruption, and a general oppression over the city and the churches of the city to keep the church from mounting a counter attack.” 6

THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF THE INTERCESSORS

this leads me to my second pertinent rule: Work with in- tercessors especially gifted and called to strategic-level warfare, seeking god’s revelation of (a) the redemptive gift or gifts of the city; (b) satan’s strongholds in the city; (c) territorial spirits as- signed to the city; (d) corporate sin past and present that needs to be dealt with; and (e) god’s plan of attack and timing.

Pastors praying together for their city is an essential starting point. If they do not move on to relate to the inter- cessors in a meaningful way, though, they are going into the battle with one hand tied behind their backs. Although there are exceptions here and there, few pastors have the gift of intercession. In the body of Christ, the hand cannot say to the eye,“I have no need of you” (see 1 Cor. 12:21).

In this analogy, it is helpful to see pastors as the hands and intercessors as the eyes. Whenever the hand reaches out to touch or grasp something to do a job, the eye guides the hand to the proper place. In the more advanced stages of prayer for a city, “especially gifted and called” intercessors are recommended. In the last chapter, I stressed the impor- tance of pastors of local churches connecting with personal intercessors.  As readers of prayer shield know, I have found it helpful to distinguish between general intercessors, crisis interces- sors, personal intercessors, and warfare intercessors. Al- though many intercessors minister across the board or in more than one area, some tend to feel called especially to one of them. At this point, the experienced warfare inter- cessors are the most effective.

What do the intercessors, teamed with the pastors, do? here is where much of the content of this book comes to- gether.  the  intercessors  are  familiar  with  strategic-level intercession (Chapter 3), so they see the whole picture from the perspective of the invisible world. through spiritual mapping (Chapter 4), they discern the principal targets, both positive and negative, toward which prayer needs to be focused.   they    understand    identificational repentance (Chapter 5), and know where to look for the corporate sin that needs to be remitted. they are especially gifted to hear from God (Chapter 2), and know his direction for timing and procedure.

the  intercessors, however, do  not  make  the  final  deci- sions of what should be done and when. they are under the authority of the pastors who discern the proper application of what they hear through the intercessors. Sensitive inter- cessors will never yield to the temptation of attempting to control the pastors either by personal persuasion or through spiritual means. When they appear to appropriate authority to themselves, the relationship with pastors frequently breaks down.

Working together in harmony, city pastors and city in- tercessors are an unbeatable combination. Satan knows this well, and he knows it better than do many Christian leaders. the bible tells us not to be ignorant of satan’s devices (see 2  Cor. 2:11). two  of  his  most  used  and  most  effective  de- vices for blinding the minds of lost people in a city or in a nation to the glories of the gospel of Christ are (1) keeping the pastors of the city apart from each other, and (2) keep- ing the pastors and the intercessors from building strong relationships. If satan or the principalities of darkness as- signed to a specific city can succeed in doing this, they are home  free. they  can  use  the  city  for  their  playground  and steal, kill, and destroy almost at will.

DOES THIS WORK? LOOK AT GOIANIA, BRAZIL

ed Silvoso not only writes books about prayer evangel- ism in cities, but he also practices it. I happened to be work- ing with him at a conference in Los Angeles awhile ago at which five women who flew in from Goiania, brazil, intro- duced themselves as intercessors. they invited ed to min- ister in their city, and he said he would, but they must first talk to the city pastors when they arrived back home.

In Latin America—the macho culture—women usually do not take the initiative in projects of significance, and when they attempt it, the men more than likely head in the other direction. Still, the intercessors called the city pastors to a meeting. Silvoso tells what happened:“usually pastors do not respond to impromptu invitations even when im- portant pastors send them, much less when they come from three unknown housewives.the odds against these ladies suc- ceeding were enormous. how many pastors showed up? over 120. Incredible! A true miracle!”7

the  intercessors  were  bold  enough  to  suggest  to  the pastors that it might be God’s timing for a new move ahead in their city, and they also admitted they had gone ahead and tentatively invited ed Silvoso to conduct a training  seminar  about  prayer  evangelism. the  anointing of God must have been powerful because the pastors thought it was a good idea and became enthusiastic about it. Furthermore, instead of taking control of what was shaping up to be a major event, as would have been expected, they commissioned the intercessors to move ahead, promising their full support, and laying hands on the women to receive the power of the holy Spirit for their job.

the  next  week, the  women  launched  a  radio  program and soon had more than 100,000 people in the area praying together with them on the radio for one-and-a-half hours every day. before long, nearly everyone in that large city of more than 1 million, including the city officials, knew about the intercessors and their huge prayer team.

THE PRISON RIOT: CALL THE INTERCESSORS!

Just three weeks before ed Silvoso arrived for his prayer evangelism seminar, a riot broke out in the Goiania prison. the  rebellious  inmates  took  two  judges, a  chaplain, many guards, and  others  hostage. they  set  entire  cell  blocks  on fire. After several days of violent confrontation, they threat- ened to kill the hostages. the situation had reached a crisis. the governor of the state had sent his best troops, but they could not penetrate the prison.  As Silvoso tells it, the   governor   chose   better   and   more   powerful weapons. having heard about the praying ladies, he called them. When the ladies, together with several pastors, showed up at the governor’s palace, with tears streaming down his cheeks, he told them, “My weapons are useless for the emergency I am facing. I need a better weapon and you have it—prayer. Can you take over and bring resolution to this major crisis?”8 the  intercessors  were  not  surprised.  they  had  been praying, along with 100,000 others, for the city in the midst of crisis. they practiced two-way prayer and received a clear enough word from the Lord to say to the governor, “ Do not worry anymore. Within 24 hours everything will be resolved with no blood shed! ” the governor then turned over his cellular phone, which had a hot line to the army colonel in charge of the government troops, instructing the colonel to take whatever action the ladies indicated, because they were hearing what the holy Spirit had to say.

the  result?  ed  Silvoso  reports, “before  the  24  hours were over the inmates surrendered, all the hostages were re- leased, the two judges as well as many guards received the Lord, and the ladies were publicly honored by the governor for having resolved an impossible situation. Now the gov- ernor’s palace is wide open for prayer meetings, and a city of over one million people knows that God cares!”9

I visited Goiania a few months later, and I have seen firsthand how the harmony between pastors and interces- sors has opened the spiritual atmosphere over the city for the rapid advance of the Kingdom of God.

HOW TO GET STARTED

It is hard to read about these examples of praying in the community without saying,“I wish that could happen in my  city  as  well!” It  probably  can. Maybe  it  is. the  fact  of the matter is that a majority of our larger cities in the united States now have citywide prayer movements at some stage of development.  For years in my prayer seminars, a few folks have raised their hands when I asked if the pastors in their city were meeting for prayer on some kind of a regular basis. I am amazed at how rapidly the proportion of hands has escalated in only the last couple of years or so. I realize it is not scientific, but it has led me to believe that at this writing about half of America’s cities have started some kind of prayer movement. At this rate of increase, it will not be long before the city that does not have a citywide prayer movement will be an exception to the rule.

Several years of cumulative experience have surfaced a number of attractive ways of praying for a community, most of them well within reach of existing churches, pastors, in- tercessors, and prayer ministries. Although it is not possible to include them all in this chapter, I will briefly highlight those I consider to have shown above average potential for across-the-board application.

BEGIN WITH THE RIGHT HEART AND THE RIGHT A_TTITUDE

It is necessary to recognize from the start, and never for- get, that the source of power for reaching a city is God, and that knowing his direction and timing is crucial. Intimacy with God is a nonnegotiable. Whether you are an interces- sor or not, if you want to begin praying for your city, I rec- ommend that you read Alice Smith’s Beyond the Veil, which many regard as one of the best current books about inti- macy with God.  For example, bobbye byerly, one of Doris’ and my personal intercessors and for years the u.S. National board President of Women’s Aglow Fellowship International, says this about Beyond the Veil: “Alice so skillfully weaves the depth of God’s call, plus the deep yearning within intercessors to respond and seek his face. I could not put it down. I believe the holy call that is coming forth for intimacy is more clearly reached here than in anything else I’ve read. ” 10

the  following  is  the  kind  of  statement  you  will  find  in the  book: “the  door  of  intimacy  is  open  to  all  those  who will  enter. the  Lord  delights  in  the  believer  who, yearning to know what cannot be known naturally, enters the throne room through prayer with simplicity and humility. beyond this veil, the child of God will touch the heart of God, bask in his loving words of affirmation, tremble at his unlim- ited power and authority, and come away forever changed.”11 I highly recommend this book for all who are serious in reaching their cities for God.

be sure to allow God access to your own heart. Cleanse any strongholds that might invite spiritual forces to enter. be sure you have no unconfessed sin. If you seem to be sub- ject to irresistible temptations, find someone to pray for you or deliver you. If you fail to do this, you will open yourself to becoming a vulnerable target for a possible counterattack of the forces of evil.  Double check the authority issue. Do you have or are you working under the covering of sufficient spiritual authority to move into your city or target area? Are the spiri- tual leaders in agreement? In most cases, it is unrealistic to expect 100 percent agreement, so it is best to discern whether a sufficient number of pastors of life-giving churches are involved in this effort. If the leaders are not in agreement, the timing may not be right.

Francis Frangipane says, “We also want to remove any sense  of  human  pressure  concerning  citywide  prayer….to seek to motivate pastors by pressure or manipulation will only breed resentment among them; they will fail to find the sweet pleasure which comes when leaders willingly seek God together.”12

Finally, reexamine your motives. be sure your attitudes about praying for your city are totally in line with the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5:22-23). If you have any feelings of getting even with someone, of finger pointing, of resent- ment, of self-righteousness, or of carnal pleasure in having the judgment of God fall on perceived “bad guys,” work on that by covering the multitude of sins with love. If you can do that, you are ready for war.

A TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR PRAYER VIGIL

Concerts of Prayer International, led by David bryant, helped catalyze a massive prayer effort in New york City, which, as I outlined in praying for our Cities, produced tan- gible results. First of all, several pastors of the city gathered for prayer and issued the Metro New york City Prayer Covenant, agreeing to uphold their city in prayer. Concerts of Prayer personnel from their urban Strategies Division came alongside the pastors and agreed to mobilize as many churches  as  possible  to  participate  in  what  is  called “the Lord’s Watch.” the Lord’s Watch is a multiethnic, ongoing, 24-hour-a-day prayer vigil for revival, reconciliation, refor- mation, and reaching the lost. they keep intercessors linked by distributing a newsletter published in english, Spanish, and Korean.

each participating church chooses one day a month, and on that day every month it agrees to cover the city for 24 hours. by using this plan, as few as 31 churches could make sure that their city is being prayed for every hour of every day. New york, though, has more than 31 churches partici- pating;  it  has  no  fewer  than  130. the  city  is  being  prayed for at all times, not just by one church, but by four or five. Many of the churches have more than 100 of their members participating. the goal of the Lord’s Watch is eventually to have 1,000 churches actively on board.

you might think this quantity of prayer would make a difference in the city. All the results are not yet in, but one of the most encouraging signs has been a marked decrease in New york City’s crime rates every year for the past three years. the elated police department is predicting that if this trend continues, crime will drop below levels not experi- enced since 1968, when John V. Lindsay was mayor and a subway token cost 20 cents! Sociologists might speculate on other explanations, but the pastors of the city are absolutely convinced that this is a direct result of the massive citywide prayer during the last few years. Major advances have also been recorded in Christian unity and racial reconciliation within the city.

A variation on this, called “the Watchman Prayer Alert,” was conceived by Larry thompson, a Southern baptist pas- tor. First developed to cover a local church in prayer, it has expanded to cities. the week is divided into 168 hour-long periods. Church prayer groups from participating churches choose one or more of the hours of the week, and agree to pray together for the city during that hour. When one group is finishing its hour, it calls a representative of the group committed to the next hour, and so on to build a level of ac- countability. If a group fails to respond for two consecutive weeks, a discussion is held with the city prayer coordinator, and if it happens again the group is dropped. this program obviously  demands  a  higher  commitment  than  does  the Lord’s Watch, but either of them will provide a substantial prayer covering for the city.

MARCHES FOR JESUS

In 1996 more than 170 nations of the world, including 625 cities in the united States, participated in Marches for Jesus. An estimated 10 million believers, spanning every time zone, were marching in the streets of more than 2,000 cities on May 25, 1996.  this  success  was  far  beyond  the  wildest  dreams  of  the four creative leaders, Graham Kendrick, roger Forster, Ger- ald Coates, and Lynn Green. they decided to get the walls down between the churches and the community in London in 1985 and place the soles of their feet out on the streets of London’s notorious Soho district. they first used the name “March for Jesus” in 1987, and 15,000 went out into the streets of London singing praises to the King of kings. Gra- ham Kendrick says the idea emerged when he “became in- terested in the dynamics of praise and in its relation to prayer and spiritual warfare.”13

For the churches of many cities, the March for Jesus has become as much of a permanent part of their calendars as have Christmas and easter. In Sao Paulo, brazil, some 1.2 million marched one year and received coverage on every national brazilian television network. Governor Pataki of New york and Governor Wilson of California each issued official “March for Jesus Day” proclamations.

In Guatemala City, 100,000 marched, breaking the record for any public march in history. tonga, just west of the international date line, held the first march of the day, led by the king and queen no less, who later hosted a ban- quet for the participants.

“DeFINeD PrAyer WALKING IS PrAyING oN- SIte  WIth  INSIGht. It  IS  SIMPLy  PrAyING  IN

the  Very  PLACeS  thAt  We  eXPeCt  GoD  to brING Forth hIS ANSWerS.”

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of the police officers assigned to the march donated his day’s paycheck to help pay the bills.

PRAYERWALKING

A 24-hour prayer vigil or a March for Jesus requires some degree of citywide organization. Prayerwalking, how- ever, can be simple, and it is the most feasible way to get started for many who say,“yes, I want to get the walls down and put the soles of my feet in my community with prayer.” Next week, if you want to, you can get together with one or two Christian friends in your neighborhood, simply walk the streets of your neighborhood and pray for a half hour or 45 minutes. Pray for the families in the homes you pass; pray for the schools; pray for those who drive by; pray for the businesses; pray for the police officers. be open to God so he can indicate directly to you how you should be praying.

Steve hawthorne, arguably today’s apostle for prayer- walking, describes it as follows:

God is rousing Christians to pray for their cities in an “up close and personal” way. Christians are pressing their prayers beyond the walls of church buildings to bring clear and quiet blessing on their neighbors in Jesus’ name….this  sort  of  on-site  intercession  has come to be called “prayerwalking.” Defined prayer- walking is praying on-site with insight. It is simply praying in the very places that we expect God to bring forth his answers.14

According to hawthorne, three basic models of prayer- walking have surfaced:

        Home Zone prayerwalking is where Christians prayerwalk where they live, work, study, worship, or play. the model I mentioned in the paragraph before last would fit here.

        Key Site prayerwalking involves selecting a certain place or several places and targeting them for a special, sus- tained prayer focus. Identifying such places is a function of spiritual mapping.

        Total Coverage prayerwalking aims to cover the en- tire city in prayerwalking in a systematic and ongoing fash- ion. hawthorne has a remarkable vision for what he calls “PrayerWalk uSA” in which every home on every street in the country will be prayed for regularly. he is monitoring the progress by zip code.15

NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSES OF PRAYER

Neighborhood houses of Prayer, developed  by my friends John DeVries and Alvin Vander Griend, also aim to cover each neighborhood in prayer, but the design is slightly more formal and organized than general prayerwalking. Church leaders who are more comfortable with structure will welcome so-called houses of Prayer.

A premise underlying houses of Prayer, in John DeVries’ words, is that “there’s a territorial aspect to prayer. We do not merely pray for individuals, but we pray for households, neighborhoods, businesses, and communities.”16 In this plan, backed by excellent start-up resources, a group of be- lievers decide to meet together in a certain place such as a home, a  dorm, or  a  business  for  prayer  once  a  week. this meeting is called a house of Prayer, and the group can order an “official” flag to hang on the porch or some other con- venient place.

the  weekly  meeting  is  held  inside, but  during  the  fol- lowing week the members are assigned to pray on site for certain groups of houses or other targets. As the group members do this, they attempt to make contacts or build relationships with the individuals for whom they are pray- ing.  they  offer  to  pray  for  people’s  specific  needs  in  the weekly house of Prayer meeting. If the people are not home, door hangers invite them to call a number and share their prayer  requests. they  have  established  a  wide-open  feed- back channel to receive and record specific details of an- swered prayers in the neighborhood.

If it is true that revival will come when we get the walls down between the church and the community, the won- derfully varied ways and means God is giving us to pray in our communities must lead us to believe that revival is close at hand.

212    PRAYING WITH POWER

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

        Just as a rough estimate, what percentage of Christian prayer in your city do you think is done in the community as opposed to in churches or in homes? What percentage should it be?

        you may not have heard the term “prayer evangelism” before reading this chapter. Describe it in your own words.

        to your knowledge, what is being done among the pastors of your city by way of encouraging a citywide prayer movement?

        have you ever prayerwalked? If not, would you be inclined to begin? What would it take to get regular prayerwalking to spread through your city?

(Note By Blogger: Due to the length of the book which this content is from I have broken it up into a short series of blog posts.)