Suggestions from the Pastoral Staff on how to PRAY
Personal Prayer
* I learned from my former pastor and mentor to pray in concentric circles: starting with myself and for a happy and holy heart and life, then for my family, then closest colleagues and partners in ministry, then church, then ministries and opportunities of the church, the global issues and needs – then closing: “Glorify yourself in all things, Amen!”
* I decided what percentage of my ministry I would like to be set aside for prayer. I then set aside the appropriate amount of time each morning to pray (away from my computer & phone) before the details of the day cloud my mind. I use the midweek prayer, and monthly prayer calendar, as well as requests I’ve received during the week to guide me.
* My concern is that I pray in line with the Lord’s purposes. I often pray through Scripture. I have several prayers from Scripture that I use to inform my prayers for various people and situations.
* I follow my daily Bible reading with prayer. The head of my prayer list is “Confession of Faith” (where I affirm the things I’ve read) and “Confession of Sin” (where I try to repent of those things that have been brought to mind specifically by the day’s reading). My list is daily – each day beginning with staff families (pastoral staff, key ministry leaders), then for individuals involved in my ministry, then the monthly prayer guide, and ending with people for whom I pray daily.
Family Prayer
* Each morning over breakfast I lead my family in a few minutes of devotion. After we have eaten, I read a verse of Scripture. Usually, the verse is taken from a Psalm that we progressively recite (a section each week) with a view to eventually memorizing it. If we don’t successfully memorize the passage, that is fine. What matters most is the process. However, you will be surprised by how much the little ones retain. After we recite the verse together, we sing a song from the hymnal. After singing, we pray for family, friends, missionaries, the persecuted church, our government, the military, and those who don’t yet know Jesus.
* Each night before bed we enjoy another devotional routine. It starts with the reading of a Bible story. We then sing. Each child chooses a worship song (they have a short list of familiar ones). We don’t allow the same song to be sung for two consecutive nights for the sake of variety. My wife and I occasionally introduce a new song to keep the repertoire full. After singing, we kneel beside one of the beds and pray.