Who do you have who prays for you? What intercessors are a part of your life? Doug prays every Tuesday for one hour and I know I’m included in that time he spends before God. I recently received a word from Doug that had the unmistakable ring of truth. Let’s not underestimate the power of prayer.
As you’re doing incarnational, missional work, you’re engaged in extending God’s kingdom. There will be spiritual battle. So especially as we are involved in real life-on-life ministry, we need other people to uphold us in prayer. I’m thinking of Aaron and Hur holding up the arms of Moses to win the battle. He was too tired to hold up that staff on his own for so long, but only when the staff was upheld were they winning the battle.
What intercessors do you have who you know consistently support you in prayer? I challenge you to respond to this blog entry with some names… first names only. If you’re having trouble coming up with people, ask for help. You can’t do this on your own.
I literally just sent off an email to my ‘prayer shield’ team and then saw this post come through! I got the idea from C. Peter Wagner’s book ‘Prayer Shield’ to develop a team of intercessors to lift up the needs of my family and ministry. It’s a team of about 7 people that I send a short email to when there’s a particular need. To join the team, the commitment I’ve asked for is as follows:
1. To include our family and ministry in your regular prayer time (either daily or weekly)
2. To pray for the specific needs when you recieve a prayer shield update (usualy around 3-4 times a month)
3. To respond to me with any particular Bible verses or impressions that God gives you while you pray.
This has been an effective and streamlined way to ensure I”m getting the prayer support I need while giving specific direction to pray. It’s been a blessing!
I just re-established my prayer partners, after having neglected them for almost a year. I’m thankful that 22 people have recommitted to pray for me at various levels of commitment that I’ve asked for (daily, weekly, monthly). I send them a monthly prayer email letter where I give them an update on my life, ministry, and family. I also ask how I can pray for them – this is a partnership in prayer.
Besides my wife, Letty, and my mom, Gracie, I have an I-1 intercessor, my good friend Hector, with whom I meet at least monthly. My accountability partner, Gary, and I also pray for each other when we meet every other week.
Bob, this comes back to the profound E.M. Bounds principle you shared with me some 25+ years ago: “Prayer is not preparation for the battle… prayer is the battle.”