The first step is to pray. In Luke 10:2, the Lord invites us to pray and ask for laborers into the Harvest field. Seek Him to identify other prayer laborers in the community.
Secondly, look for where God is already at work. Identify existing prayer groups and networks that are already praying for the city. Explore the different types of prayer meetings that are going on in the community, how long they've been praying together and past attempts they've made to try to pray together with other groups.
Thirdly, identify any unresolved issues that might keep the community from praying together in humility and unity. Prayerfully seek reconciliation and possibly work together to resolve any problems.
Fourthly, Pray with and build relationship with prayer leaders in the community, i.e. pastors, intercessors, gatekeepers and ministry leaders. Call a community wide prayer gathering for the current leaders and intercessors within the community to meet one another and simply to pray together.
Discern together what the next steps should be for your community. Some cities will decide that the Pastors should meet weekly for prayer. Some will want an annual city prayer and worship gathering. Some cities start a 24/7 House of Prayer. Some communities start prayer walking troubled areas of their city. The goal should be an ongoing sustainable prayer movement that results in more disciples of Jesus, not just prayer events, but fostering a lifestyle of prayer for everyone.
Seek out resources that will help foster the prayer movement in your community and share them with those who are interested.
Pray Together and invite people to come together for prayer. Don’t just pray for people - pray with people.
Discover God’s DNA for Your Community
Connect through Prayer
In working together to disciple believers, prayer is your foundation and source of strength. Your relationship with God fills you with His love, which overflows into the lives of those you are reaching. As you connect with Him you are more prepared to connect with others. Prayer is the vital communication we have with Him.
Ask God for His Vision
God knows how He wants to mobilize a movement in your area to reach and empower every person. Why not allow Him to orchestrate the movement? Ask God to give you His vision and heart for your community.
Establish a Foundation of Prayer
Building a local movement means making prayer intentional. With whom can you pray and who will pray for you? Here are some ideas:
+ Make prayer a consistent part of your network meeting.
+ Meet regularly in smaller prayer groups.
+ Take one or more days to have a group prayer summit.
+ Enlist local groups to pray for your network and the communities you want to reach, i.e. Moms in Prayer, Congregational prayer groups, etc.
+ Set up an online social networking group to share requests.
3D Prayer
Prayer can be multidirectional for your community.
+ Pray Up: Establish the vertical relationship with God through praise and thanksgiving.
+ Pray Across: Intercede for one another regularly and at gatherings.
+ Pray Out: Listen to God as He reveals your community’s needs and resources for the people in your community.
Prioritizing Prayer
In our network one leader served at a small church that had a prayer garden and we met there. Our prayers were about seeking His will, lifting up our kids, and our community.
As we prayed, I saw us mature with cohesiveness and intimacy among us. Then we were prepared to truly help.
--Venetia Yates, Network Coordinator Bosque Farms, New Mexico
Connect through Prayer
How is your soul today? How can prayer help you in working together to transform people into disciple makers?
Ask God for His Vision
Take some time to pray right now. How do you sense God is moving in the lives of people in your community? When can you schedule some more time to get away, asking God what He has to say about reaching and equipping youth in your community?
Establishing Your Foundation
Who would be willing to pray for the people of your community? What action points can you set to get people praying together?
Praying in New Dimensions
How can you build prayer more intentionally into your networking times with other believers?
