Prayer is the great elevator of hope for the people of God. Prayer holds out the possibility, even the certainty, that things can be different than they are now.
Certainly, every believer prays for their own church, but could a kingdom mindset call us to pray for churches — all churches that preach the gospel, but especially churches of like faith and practice? And if you are praying for churches in your county, state or nation, what should you pray? Here are some suggestions:
1. Pray that God will give churches vision for His mission: God’s mission for us is the Great Commission which is a call to multiplication. Just as the first couple was called to be fruitful and multiply, local churches are called to multiply by making disciples who will pass the faith along to the next generation. Pray for men and women of all ages to catch the vision for multiplication.
2. Pray that God will drive out or change the chokers: In some churches there are people, possibly well meaning, who are choking the growth in their church. Thom Rainer refers to these members as “Disrupters” and identifies six traits that describe them:
- He often seeks positions in the church so he can get attention.
- He often votes “no” in business meetings.
- He loves to say, “People are saying . . .”
- He tries to get followers at the church for his cause of the moment.
- He often assures the pastor and other church leaders how much he loves them and supports them. And then he goes and stabs them in the back.
- He loves to use “facts” loosely for his case or cause.
Pray that God will remove them from His churches or change their heart.
3. Pray that God will raise up the helpers: The church has a mission, and it takes the people of God working together to complete that mission. Nehemiah 4:6 is a model for how church members can work together to finish an assignment. In the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem it was written about the people, “So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” Pray that God will raise up workers in His churches to complete the assignments He has given to these churches.
4. Pray that God will grow the givers: A recent Baptist Press article highlights the need for this prayer.
Ron Sellers, Grey Matter Research president, said he finds it sort of “tragically funny” that Christians debate what the tithe is, whether it’s giving to church alone or church and secular philanthropic concerns. Is it based on the net, or the gross income? “And my point is, stop the debate; it doesn’t matter,” Sellers told Baptist Press. “Almost nobody is tithing.”
Stewardship is discipleship and faithful disciples of Jesus will want to give generously to advance the gospel at home and around the world. Pray that God will grow givers in every church.
5. Pray that God will bring in the lost: Every church has a biblical obligation to reach into its community with the gospel. Some churches focus on a “come and see” approach where they develop programs to bring lost people into their services. Others practice a “go and tell” strategy where they intentionally go to the lost with the gospel. Some churches do both. Churches thrive when lost people are becoming saved people and saved people are growing in their concern for lost people. Pray that God will bring lost people to churches.
6. Pray that God will make His churches grow: The book of Acts shows the gospel advancing and churches growing. In Acts 2:41, 3,000 people were saved after Peter’s sermon. Acts 2:47 shows people were being added daily to the church. Acts 4:4 shows the number of men who believed being about 5,000. Acts 5:14 records more and more men and women believing the gospel. In Acts 6, the growth of the church was stymied due to a conflict, but once the issue was resolved the church grew again. Acts 16:5 states, “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.” Pray that all gospel preaching churches in your state, county and community would be growing churches.
7. Pray that God will be glorified in His churches: Paul reminded the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” As local churches represent the Lord Jesus on earth, pray that God would be glorified in each church.
If you do not know what else to pray, then join me in praying that every church will be a thriving church and that every leader will be a cared-for leader. Can you imagine how things would be different in our state if every church, large or small, city or rural, traditional or contemporary, was a thriving church? God would be glorified and the world would be blessed. Let’s pray together to that end.
Dr. Todd Gray 