In this essay I will be covering how to pray for a church service and preparing the ground on site for breakthrough and the most powerful time in prayer. This has been my habit for decades. My family and friends are well aware of my routines in this matter. They are the secret to any success that I have in ministry.
First, you invite the Lord into the services that will be conducted on Sunday. It is the Holy Spirit who needs to be in control. From the invocation to the benediction of the service He must be in control. You pray that everything that said, sung and done in the service will bring honor praise and glory to His name. You bind, break and cast out any forces whether worldly, fleshly or demonic from the services. You ask the angels to camp around your facility and that their presence would inside as well. In this way you keep out any forces or spiritual activity that would keep the Lord from doing His full and complete work in people's heart. You pray that God will lead all the participants and people in the service would walk out different than when they walked in. Remember we grow from glory to glory.
Next, you pray for the worship services. Pray for the song leader and those who served with them. That they would be unified and anointed. Empowered, having the Lord's authority and power. They would have wisdom clarity and boldness. Each person involved would come in expectation and a desire to serve and worship the Lord. The music would have a deep impact on both the musicians and the people. That the songs chosen would not be their favorites but songs that would lead the people into worship. Pray that professionalism and the striving of it would not take place over leading the people into the presence of God. Pray that the people would not get distracted, that they would be able to release the cares and distractions of the week to the Lord and enter into worship. That the worship time would have its full effect and that they would be ready to receive the word.
Thirdly you pray for the finances of the church. Remember you are praying that every need would be met. That generosity and prosperity would be sown in the church not stinginess and poverty. A church is able to function well when the finances are not a concern. Pray that God would send generous giving people into your midst. That discipleship and evangelism can be conducted. It takes money to make things work. Pray that people would sow above what is expected and even give sacrificially as the needs are known. Pray that God would give you cheerful givers.
Fourthly, pray for the word. You want to have good solid meat every time the pastor speaks. Pray that God would give him the anointing, power, authority, enablement, unctioning, wisdom, clarity and boldness to speak what God has put on his heart. He would speak what God wants the people to hear and not be tempted to preach for the itching ears in the audience. Pray that your pastor stands behind the pulpit and preaches with all heaven standing behind him. Pray that he has time to adequately prepare and pray over his message. That he has time to prepare his heart, mind and spirit for giving the message. Pray that he has wept and prayed over his message. A good sermon is 10% written preparation and 90% prayer preparation.
Fifthly, pray for the application of the word. A good message is only as good as the application of it into the hearts, minds and lives of the audience through out the week. Pray for salvation, healing, deliverance, restoration, reconciliation, forgiveness, strength, freedom, victory and break through in every area of lives. It is absolute essential that people walk out different than when they walked in. Corporate services are only as effective as the prayer ministry that has been done before. The more people involved the stronger and more effective the service. James put its into perspective when he said, "Do not only be hearers of the word but doers as well.
:Lastly, pray for all the other ministries going on. It could be children's church or Sunday School, teens, adult studies, cell groups etc. Every ministry and person who works in these ministries need to be covered in prayer. Pray that God would anoint, empower, flow through and they would be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Pray that they are adequately prepared in every way and that when they minister they are ministering out of the excess not out of bare bones. That they would be ministering out of Lord's strength and not their own.
Your prayer support is so essential to a well run and functional church. A praying church is a powerful church.
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