Nourishing Faith (in a prayer meeting)
The below excerpt is taken from our prayer resource 7 Keys to host an effective prayer meeting. Nourishing faith in a prayer meeting is a key to seeing others grow and mature in their prayer lives and obedience to the Gospel.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Faith, “sees” with clarity who God is and God is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Faith is the doorway into relationship with God and the currency of heaven. Faith both moves and pleases God.
Faith both moves and pleases God.
Faith is not nourished by striving or petition-driven prayer. Prayer that begins to beg God or contend for spiritual breakthrough can diminish or eliminate faith. If your prayers have sweat on them, you have left faith and entered works. Again, those who “come to God must believe that He is.” Faith sees what is available in Christ and through relationship with God, we learn to receive from Him. Faith sees that God is able and willing to move with power and authority. History proves this very thing. Christian revival leaders and missionaries saw what was available in Christ and laid hold of it in prayer. The result was the salvation of people, the reformation of religion, and social transformation.
Community-wide transformation is possible through the Gospel (Acts 13:44-52). Nourish faith in those praying and believe that God can do the miraculous and change the spiritual environment of an entire community. Faith makes a demand on the resources of heaven (in Christ) to be expressed on the earth. Believe and trust God for great(er) things.
Believe and trust God for great(er) things.
When leading a prayer meeting, find creative ways to nourish and inspire faith:
- increase your expectation: lead a prayer meeting by inviting people to grow in their appetite for God’s presence and transformational power
- Read faith scriptures: start a prayer meeting by reading scripture that highlights how faith moves and pleases God (the Gospels and Hebrews 11 are a great place to start)
- share testimonies of healing, salvation and God’s provision with your team that lead towards thankfulness and confidence in the Gospel
- show a video or read a story of how God moved in response to prayer
- use historic revivals, church and missionary leaders as examples to highlight what God can do in answer to prayer
- in small groups pray for your personal needs, ministry needs, and lost youth from a place of confident faith
- share vision in prayer: enlarge your prayer vision and faith to believe that your entire community can be transformed by the Gospel (Acts 13:44-52).
- Lay out a world map or regional map and have your team gather around it to pray. Leadership Goal: share your prayer vision again at the end of the prayer meeting
Adam Shepski
Global Prayer Catalyst
Youth for Christ International
The above excerpt is taken from our prayer resource 7 Keys to host an effective prayer meeting
For other prayer resources visit epray.yfci.org