The " How not" to pray and evangelism (1)

The " How not " to prayer and evangelism (1)
The local church is a school .School for ministry .
The essence of ministry gifts is to train us for ministry
Ephesians 4:11-12 KJV
[11] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
With the advent of bible schools ,it appears many local churches made the work of ministry exclusive to the " called to ministry ", yet scripture never gave such dichotomy .
I believe bible schools were a palliative at some point and should not be made a permanent feature ( that's for another day )
In scripture ,people matured into such responsibility ,as they grew up spiritually ,ministry i.e preaching and teaching ,overseeing others was committed to them
An example is Ephesus
Acts 20:17-18 KJV
[17] And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
[18] And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
These were the 12 men he taught and mentored from the point of salvation to ministry
Acts 19:7,9 KJV
[7] And all the men were about twelve.
[9] But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
Its typical in the church .In scriptures .
One Area we might need to address fast as touching this is prayer and evangelism .
Subtly we have created a class of people who should do this .
We now have prayer departments and evangelism or outreach departments.
It means not everyone should or wants to pray and reach out to the unsaved .
This is not so in scriptures .
Prayer meetings was for ALL members of the Local church .
Acts 1:14-15 KJV
[14] These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
[15] And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
Before the day of Pentecost,the whole church prayed together ,no special prayer " squads "
Acts 2:41-42 KJV
[41] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
[42] And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
All the new church members,new converts ,three thousand of them ,joined prayer meetings immediately .
When Peter and John were threatened ,they didn't call on the "prayer warriors ", they told the church
Acts 4:23 KJV
[23] And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
Acts 4:24,31-32 KJV
[24] And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
[31] And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
32] And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
The multitude,the whole church prayed .No special prayer team .
The first three days of "new convert" Saul of tarsus were spent praying
Acts 9:11 KJV
[11] And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
That says something to us about how we should immediately tutor new members ,new converts .
Acts 12:5,12 KJV
[5] Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
When peter was arrested ,it was the church who prayed not a special prayer team .
There was NO special prayer team .
[12] And when he had considered the thing , he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
Many were gathered praying .The Church .
All the apostolic instructions were focused a whole lot on congregational praying .
Romans 15:30 KJV
[30] Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
Praying for ministers
Ephesians 6:18 KJV
[18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
For all saints .
Ephesians 6:19 KJV
[19] And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
And for ministers too.
Philippians 1:19 KJV
[19] For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
Everybody prayed .
Colossians 4:2-3 KJV
[2] Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; [3] Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
Same here ,the whole church had the burden of prayer .
2 Thessalonians 3:1 KJV
[1] Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
We find no special ministry of prayer .
I once heard someone explain prayer as helps ministry given to some special brethren .
Helps has nothing to do with prayers.
It's the office or duties of deacons ..
They attend to natural duties in the local church .
By the law of first mention ,we can consider this
Acts 6:3-4 KJV
[3] Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4] But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
It was mentioned as touching distributing food and separated from prayer .
Deacons are those who oversee physical things used in ministry ,like food ,money .
Prayer is not helps .
People were commended for being good examples in prayer .
Colossians 4:12 KJV
[12] Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
You know this because you saw him pray .
He must have been faithfully attending prayer meetings .
1 Timothy 5:5 KJV
[5] Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
Same as this exemplary widow .
If we must have departments in churches ,let it not include prayer .
All members must attend the same prayer meetings .
Yes ,groups can meet to pray ,but it's not because they have a special ministry of prayer we all don't have ,rather it should be because they have a common duty which demands them praying together eg the choir meeting to pray ,the cell leaders meeting to pray
Acts 6:4 KJV
[4] But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
In my local church ,all church members must pray .
We dedicate several hours to pray every week and you must be present to be seen as a real member of the local church .
We adopted a style or method from Word of Life Church Minneapolis USA,pastored by Rev Mac Hammond ,I heard his wife Revd Lynne Hammond ,who handles the prayers in the church explain this method she calls prayer groups .
This is to keep the church praying daily .
We pray daily .
You choose the day of the week you can be available to pray and join that group .
Without this you can't function in a department .
You must attend and belong to one of the prayer groups that meet at least a day in the week to pray .
If u can't create time to pray with the church ,kindly keep your music talents ,ushering smiles to yourself .
Prayer is a must !
Luke 18:1 KJV
[1] And he spake a parable unto them to this end , that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
A constant ,not a variable .
Jesus made his folks pray .
Matthew 26:40 KJV
[40] And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
One hour should be the minimum .
Pastors must never treat prayer with kid gloves .
I once pastored a church 1998 for a friend with a large choir .
I asked them to join me in prayer and just less than 10 percent of the group showed up !
That number became the new choir .I immediately knew those who should not sing again till they change .
If you can't pray you shouldn't sing in church .
We don't need your voice as much as the power of God in Demonstration.
Without prayer you are like a broken cistern that can't hold water .
Keep your talents till you can pray .
You can't minister to people you are too " busy " to pray for .
Let prayer meetings be filled again .
Many prayer meetings today are filled today because of the purpose .
Prayer for to get husband,wife ,children,jobs ,break family curses etc
That's not what we have just read .
The prayer meetings were for ministry ,for souls ,for the furtherance of the gospel .
Prayer must be treated as the duty of every church member .
E.W.Kenyon once said " a prayer less church is a powerless church ".
I agree
(To be continued )
Seen this
I give myself to the ministry of prayer of and for all saints ,I present myself at church prayer meetings !
I call You blessed!
Jesus is Lord,We Win!