Every disciple-making movement (DMM) is marked by extraordinary prayer. Extraordinary prayer means praying more than you currently or ordinarily do. The book of Acts shows that every significant breakthrough in the early church was ushered in by prayer. Prayer places us into God's presence, aligns us with His purpose, and releases His power to advance His Kingdom. Extraordinary prayer is practiced individually and in groups. Here’s a simple template for effective DMM prayers:
- Thanksgiving and Challenges: Offer praise to God for His presence and progress in your disciple making activities. Share challenges and difficulties in your efforts to make disciples.
- Scripture Reading: Begin by reading a Bible passage. As you reflect on the passage, consider these questions to help guide your prayer: "What does this passage say about God and people?" and "What does this passage teach about disciple-making?" Use the answers to shape your prayer. You may also find it helpful to consult the DBS Story Sets or Ideas for Prayer provided below.
- Prayer: Allow the words of Scripture to inspire and guide your prayers for upcoming DMM plans, desires, and activities.
Ideas for Prayer
the open prayers
- Open Doors: Pray for opportunities to engage the lost. Colossians 4:3 NIV
- Open Eyes: Pray to see the readiness and the condition of the lost. John 4:35 NIV; Matthew 9:36
- Open Mouth: Pray for boldness and clarity in witnessing. Colossians 4:4; Ephesians 6:19
- Open Heart: Pray for people to receive the truth about God. Acts 16:14
the 7 sails prayer
A Disciple Making Movement (DMM) revolves around seven key elements, often likened to sails. Just as a sailing vessel requires two actions for movement—raising the sails (man's responsibility) and the wind filling the sails (God's sovereign choice)—DMM acknowledges both human initiative and divine guidance. See The 7 Sail Diagram.
- Focus on God's word: select a book of the Bible, and pray through it a passage at a time, with application to disciple making concepts and truths. Pray for an increase of people who read, obey and share God's word. Matthew 7:24-27, James 1:22-25
- Multiply Extraordinary Prayer: pray for the emergence of DMM prayer groups. Acts 1:14, 2:42
- Cast Vision: pray for opportunities to share about God's activity in disciple making and invitations to be trained. Acts 4:20
- Train believers: pray for effective instruction of the DMM principles and core resources like Discovery Bible Study (DBS). 1 Corinthians 11:1; Matthew 4:19; Matthew 28:20
- Go Out Among the Lost: pray for faithful and fruitful engagement with people both in situational and intentional efforts. Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19
- See Groups Start: pray for the emergence of Discovery Groups that mature and multiply. Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2; Acts 2:36-42
- Ongoing coaching: pray for gatherings that encourage the trained to multiply and persevere in the disciple making journey. Acts 14:22, 16-40
contact list prayers
This practice involves praying for at least one person from your phone contact list each day, aligning their last name with the corresponding day of the month. Here's how to do it: Start by reaching out to at least one person and ask if they have any specific prayer requests. Pray for their needs and concerns. After praying, let them know that you have prayed for them. This often opens the door to further conversation. Use this opportunity to share your vision and possibly guide them towards training or further spiritual growth. 1-A, 2-B, 3-C, 4-D, 5-E, 6-F, 7-G, 8-H, 9-I, 10-J, 11-K ,12-L, 13-M, 14-N, 15-O, 16-P, 17-Q, 18-R, 19-S, 20-T, 21-U, 22-V, 23-W, 24-X, 25-Y, 26-Z
Resources for Prayer
- Watch Prayer (9:54)
- Watch Prayer (3:07)
- Watch Prayer Calendar (1:32)
- Pray for your coaches and disciples. Ephesians 1:15-23
- Fast while praying. Acts 13:2-3
- Pray using the resources at sites like 24:14.