PRAY EXTRAORDINARILY
Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscles of omnipotence. — John MacArthur
Pray superabundantly. Acts 14:23; Luke 6:12 Extraordinary prayer precedes all movements. This is seen throughout the book of Acts where it ushers in each significant advancement of the gospel. It is also a decisive factor in modern day movements. David Watson comments, "We found many common elements among the different groups [that started hundreds of churches], but the only element that was present in every team was a high commitment to prayer."1 Many movement leaders spend hours a day in prayer. However, let extraordinary prayer simply be more than what you are currently praying now. Extend your prayer time beyond what it is presently.
Pray privately. Matthew 6:6 Spend time alone talking with God, asking Him to make you a disciple maker. Remember, it is God's job is to build his church. Matthew 16:18 Our job is to make disciples. Matthew 28:16-20
Pray with others. Acts 1:14 Try to spend at least one hour a week in prayer, with others who are committed to making disciples. Many groups meet over Zoom. They block the video during the sixty minute prayer time and pray as a group for God to launch a disciple making movement. Many pray from Scripture, they have read that week. Some people also form groups that pray for four hours once a month.
Pray for others. Colossians 1:3 Create a prayer calendar (see below) and pray for individuals on a monthly basis. This creates opportunities to learn how God is working in their lives, talk about disicple making, and generate more people using the prayer calendar concept.
Pray contagiously. Share your group prayer experiences with others and encourage them to multiply prayer by starting their own movement focused prayer meetings. Movement leader Chris Galanos states, "As we began to encourage others to pray, different groups of people in our church felt God leading them to pray through the night. One person who initially started praying with us on Sunday nights started his own half night of prayer on Friday nights. Then another person started a half night of prayer on Thursday nights. And another person started having monthly all-night prayer meetings. Several others started praying for extended periods of time as well."2
Pray the Scriptures. John 15:7 This guides the content of prayer, resulting in thanksgiving, confession, adoration, petition, intercession, requests, questions, and much more. Allow the Holy Spirit to use the Scriptures to direct your conversation with God.
Pray the Steps. John 14:13-14 Look over the Steps involved in Multiply and ask for God's power and presence; especially for your next Step.
Pray continuously. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Prayer is not something to do until we accomplish the next step in disciple making. It's something we do throughout our entire disciple making journey this side of heaven. A disciple maker never outgrows the need to depend upon God through prayer.
Pray privately. Matthew 6:6 Spend time alone talking with God, asking Him to make you a disciple maker. Remember, it is God's job is to build his church. Matthew 16:18 Our job is to make disciples. Matthew 28:16-20
Pray with others. Acts 1:14 Try to spend at least one hour a week in prayer, with others who are committed to making disciples. Many groups meet over Zoom. They block the video during the sixty minute prayer time and pray as a group for God to launch a disciple making movement. Many pray from Scripture, they have read that week. Some people also form groups that pray for four hours once a month.
Pray for others. Colossians 1:3 Create a prayer calendar (see below) and pray for individuals on a monthly basis. This creates opportunities to learn how God is working in their lives, talk about disicple making, and generate more people using the prayer calendar concept.
Pray contagiously. Share your group prayer experiences with others and encourage them to multiply prayer by starting their own movement focused prayer meetings. Movement leader Chris Galanos states, "As we began to encourage others to pray, different groups of people in our church felt God leading them to pray through the night. One person who initially started praying with us on Sunday nights started his own half night of prayer on Friday nights. Then another person started a half night of prayer on Thursday nights. And another person started having monthly all-night prayer meetings. Several others started praying for extended periods of time as well."2
Pray the Scriptures. John 15:7 This guides the content of prayer, resulting in thanksgiving, confession, adoration, petition, intercession, requests, questions, and much more. Allow the Holy Spirit to use the Scriptures to direct your conversation with God.
Pray the Steps. John 14:13-14 Look over the Steps involved in Multiply and ask for God's power and presence; especially for your next Step.
Pray continuously. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Prayer is not something to do until we accomplish the next step in disciple making. It's something we do throughout our entire disciple making journey this side of heaven. A disciple maker never outgrows the need to depend upon God through prayer.
Resources
- Read: Multiply Extraordinary Prayer
- Watch: How to Pray Like a Disciple Maker - Prayer Calendar (1:32)
- Watch: Extraordinary Prayer in Movements (9:24)
- Watch: Prayer Calendars (21:18)
- Watch: A 23 Year History of Prayer (48:15)
- Watch: Building A Culture of Prayer (35:55)
Apply
- What do the following passages say about prayer? Acts 1:14 resulting in Acts 2:41; Acts 3:1 resulting in Acts 4:4; Acts 4:29 resulting in Acts 4:31; Acts 6:3-4 resulting in Acts 6:7; Acts 7:59-60 resulting in Acts 8:1-4; Acts 9:13 resulting in Acts 9:18; Acts 10:9 resulting in Acts 10:47-48; Acts 16:25 resulting in Acts 16:33.3
- Which prayer practice will you begin this week? Tell the group. Review this and other Apply responses in your next meeting.
- David and Paul Watson, Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey of Discovery (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2014), Chapter 12, p. 79 Kindle
- Chris Galanos, From Megachurch to Multiplication: A Church's Journey Toward Movement (Lubbock: Experience Life, 2018) Chapter 13, p. 76, Kindle
- David Platt. https://radical.net/article/a-constant-dependence/