BUILDING THE CHURCH THROUGH PRAYER: Part 4

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PRAY?

In his book The Heart of a Servant Leader, Jack Miller writes:

“Make the whole ministry center on private and corporate prayer. Do not expect bigger victories in tough areas until corporate praying becomes the complete center of the ministry. The reason? It is in prayer together that we find grace to give up control to the Father, rely exclusively on the Spirit, and see the demons subdued. It is here we get our life, vigor, zest, and authority for the battle…Without constant adoration, thanksgiving, intercession, and confession together, we are going to teach people to rely on our traditions, plans, technologies, and methods rather than on grace.”

Miller then describes the difference between “maintenance prayers” and “front-line prayers.”

• Maintenance prayers are short prayers in which we ask for our basic needs, health, and for God to consider our personal situations.
• Front-line prayers seek God for something much bigger than our own needs. It is praying in a way that we are considering God and His passions and desires.
  

What is “Front-line Prayer?”

First, it is prayer that is focused on God’s power, presence, and kingdom. Instead of quickly moving to “Give us our daily bread…” we stay and pray for “God, your Kingdom come, you will be done” with intensity and often in protracted ways.

Front-line prayer…

• is prayer for the renewal of the Church and of the city. It is prayer that is larger and more intense.
• is when people gather and cry out and “lift their voices together” (Acts 4:24) as we pray in the Kingdom of God.
• seeks after God’s grace and recognizes that nothing can be done without it.
  

Grace is indeed a key basis for this manner of prayer. When the Gospel becomes more than a concept, the love of Jesus becomes so real to you that Jesus becomes a foundation which holds you up. With such a foundation we can confidently ask for God’s kingdom to come upon our church and cities for His glory.

I’ll look to unfold more about Front-line Prayer in my next blog…