Let us pray . . .

Prayer is the backbone of the Christian life. Without prayer we have no communication with God, nor He with us. As drastic as this may sound, it is true. Prayer is the "holy phone line" between us and heaven. What many people don't understand, though, is that prayer isn't just an "ask-fest." It is not merely a time when we go to God with a list of needs or demands, and treat God like a supernatural Santa Claus or Genie in a Bottle. Prayer centers our hearts upon the things of God, and as we focus upon the Lord, He is able to commune with our spirit and guide us.

If we were honest, none of us spend enough time in prayer. Oh sure, we all say, "I want to get closer to the Lord; I want to pray more than I do; When I pray all I seem to do is ask for things; I can never think of what to pray about; I can't seem to focus for a long time," and a number of other phrases. It is true that we need to have more time with the Lord in prayer, for prayer is our one-on-one fellowship time with God Himself. And who among us couldn't stand to use a little more time with the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe? Hands, anyone? Anyone?

Right, then. Moving on. Not only would we say that we as individuals need to be closer to the Lord (at least in private; most people tend to be 'holier' in the presence of others than in private, when no one is watching), but we would all agree that our particular church congregation needs to be closer to the Lord. All congregations face difficult times, struggles, events which truly test our faith and perseverance. We need to resist, however, the temptation to say, "If everyone at my church lived at MY spiritual level, then we'd really see success." We need to be honest and admit that every member of the congregation has a responsibility, and that all of us fall short. So what are we to do about it?

Recently, in my own congregation, we started a Weekly Prayer Plan. Prior to the implementation of this plan, we had agreed as a church to set aside a fifteen-minute period of time, only one day a week, and during that time pray for the church (in whatever way we felt led). We were following the pattern we find in the first century church in Acts, where they were all "in one place in one accord." The success of that first century church is something that is not limited to the first century, but can be seen in the 21^st century as well, if we will follow those early believers. We may not always have the opportunity to be in one place at the same time, but we can most certainly be in one accord at the same time.

With this thought in mind, we began to pray, and the effects were both amazing and immediate. The Spirit began to move in ways that are hard to describe, but almost instantly Spiritual growth was apparent in the lives of many individuals, and that Spirit was carried over into our worship services. Then, after a little more prayer and discussion, we arrived at our Weekly Prayer Plan. I want to describe what this plan is about before presenting the details to you. In short, we have come together as a church and agreed to focus our prayers each day on a specific topic during a specific time. For fifteen minutes each day (except for Wednesday and Sunday, which I'll explain in a moment) we stop what we're doing and we pray for that day's topic, with the knowledge that even if we're alone, others in our congregation are also praying to the Lord at the same time for the same thing. The times vary from day to day in order for people to actually give it some thought, to keep it from becoming just a mindless habit or rut.

Sundays are a bit different in that four separate fifteen-minute blocks are set aside for prayer, to start the day, after morning worship, before evening worship, and to end the day. Wednesdays are also different in that we ask people to fast. If you read the Bible you find that physical fasting was an integral part of the spiritual welfare of the individual and the church. When people were serious enough to forego food, listening to the Lord instead of their own stomachs (for even one day), great things were accomplished. Those who have tried fasting (myself included) will tell you that things get done when we follow this wonderful means of dedication and devotion.

Our church has benefited greatly from this program already. It does our soul much good when we know that we're not alone as we pray. It also helps to have something specific upon which to focus as we pray. And when you stop and think, making the dedication of only fifteen minutes of your day to pray (even if it's a sacrifice at that time to do so) is not too much to ask. You may be thinking, "What good can just my fifteen minutes of prayer really do?" Well, think about it this way: if only four people set aside the same fifteen minutes to pray, that's an hour's worth of combined prayer on one topic. If twenty people pray, that combines for five hours of prayer for the day. If a hundred pray for that fifteen minutes, that combines to (get this!) 25 HOURS OF PRAYER A DAY!!! Now you can begin to see just how important your little fifteen minutes can be for your church and for you ... and for the kingdom of God.

I invite you to join my congregation in this prayer program. You don't have to specifically pray for my congregation in doing this (although we would appreciate it!), but pray for yourself and for your congregation in the topic of the day. And I would also ask that if you join us in this prayer program, send me a comment here on this blog, so that we can kind of keep track of who and how many are praying, and so we can pray for you and all who are praying at those times. Enlist the prayers and support of your friends, your family and your church. This grass-roots effort can, I fully believe, change the world. So please let us know about it so we can encourage one another and change our world. Below you will find the details and times of the Weekly Prayer Plan. Won't you join us? I know the Lord will bless you if you do!

Weekly Prayer Plan

Originated by the congregation of the Westwood Church of God, Ashland, Kentucky

http://westwoodchurchofgod.org/prayerplan

Day Plan	Description
Monday: Relationships	From 7:00 to 7:15 PM, the focus should be on improving personal relationships. Pray for someone with whom you're having difficulties; pick someone with whom you are not very close and pray for them; pray for a friend, that your friendship would not only help the both of you, but would be an inspiration source to others.
Tuesday: Outreach	From 5:45 to 6:00 PM, focus your prayers on the outreach of the congregation. This would include praying for people to be reached through our efforts, as well as praying for the Lord to show you ways we as a church or you as an individual can reach out to family, friends, strangers, or the community in general.
Wednesday: Fasting	During the day All Day Wednesday, make the decision to fast for the Lord. This fasting would not necessarily include the absence of something to drink, but at least choosing to forego eating. During those times you would normally eat, spend in prayer or thoughtful consideration of God's will. If you get hungry, pray harder! This helps with personal dedication as well as submitting yourself totally to the Lord.
Thursday: Finances	Every congregation goes through financial dry spells from time to time. From 7:15 to 7:30 PM, pray for the financial condition of the church. Do not pray, "Lord, give us what we need or want," but rather pray the Lord would bless you with the means to give more to His work. No matter what, pray for continued or renewed faithfulness to give sacrificially. Ask what the Lord would have you give, as well as the courage to have enough faith to go through with giving it.
Friday: Witnessing	From 6:00 to 6:15 PM, our prayers should center on our ability to witness for the Lord. This would include praying for individual opportunities to witness on a personal level, as a combined congregation, and as one part of God's kingdom. Also included in these prayers should be asking the Lord how best to present Him and His message to those we meet. Don't be afraid to be specific! Ask for courage, for methods to accomplish the witnessing, and for God's glory!
Saturday: Spiritual Growth	All of us should want to get closer to the Lord. As a congregation, the best way for that to happen is for each individual member to devote himself/herself to getting as close to the Lord as possible, then joining together in fellowship of Spirit. From 7:45 to 8:00 PM, pray for your spiritual growth, as well as the spiritual condition of the church, that all of us would do whatever is best for us to know God and understand Him and His Word on a personal level, then be able to communicate that with each other and to those outside our congregation.
Sunday: Guidance	During the following times, pray for the guidance of Christ in all areas of our church life, including unity, fellowship, prayer, study, faithfulness, service, giving, and anything else you are led to pray for: 8:00-8:15 AM; 1:30-1:45 PM; 4:15-4:30 PM; 9:45-10:00 PM

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