How do I use a Prayer Shield?
The most common question I get asked is, "How does it work?" or " How would I use a Prayer Shield?"
Many leaders would like to have intercessors praying for them, but they don’t know how to mobilize them, or after they have mobilized them, how to communicate with them. Hopefully training up someone to take on the role of Co-ordinator will help you in that, but you still need to know how to work with your co-ordinator so that he/she can get your prayer requests out to your team. Please make sure you feel comfortable with your co-ordinator editing your requests – sometime less is more! REMEMBER : These should be intercessors that you can TRUST with details. If you'd be worried about 'them' knowing details – then they are not the ones to ask. Your personal Prayer Shield needs to be ones you feel confident in.
KEEP IT SIMPLE - requests that can be kept to one page, so that your Intercessors can keep it in their bible, or on their fridge - this helps those that are list pray-ers, as well as others, to keep your requests handy. Your co-coordinator can do this – edit things down etc.
BE CONSISTENT: At least once a month – no less than that! Again your co-coordinator will help with this, by contacting you. Have personal and ministry requests, so your family's needs are also getting prayer..Remember, your family pays a price for you to be in the Ministry - so make sure they get prayer too! Some leaders have their spouses send thru the family requests in order to make sure the family needs are getting adequate prayer coverage – it's your choice.
GO WIDE: That means....nothing is too little: we've prayed for a Leader's daughter , who was going for her driver's license...We want to pray! Use us! It's all about the details : Don't always wait for a crisis to have prayer on your behalf, or your family's. Prayer is about detail.
SOME CAUTIONS:
1.False emotional dependency: Their prayers should NOT usurp your own hearing from God on a regular basis as a leader. Neither should having prayer partners excuse you from having your own prayer time with God.
2.Control by intercession and prophecy: You may become too dependent on your prayer partners, and listen only to them. Remember to maintain ministerial accountability to those over you to keep you in balance Remember too that your prayer partners should not be giving you direction, as much as being a confirmation for you. Our job is to be praying for you to hear from God!
3.Spiritual adultery: This relationship with a prayer partner of the opposite sex., where strong ties of affection are formed. If you are married and spend long hours speaking intimately with a member or the opposite sex, you are headed for trouble! Be careful about sharing too much intimate details. Intimate conversations can lead to emotional attachments and entanglements. Spiritual adultery takes place when yo begin to spend more of your thoughts and energies on the person who is ‘praying’ for you, than on your spouse. Be careful and set boundaries.
4.Unwise choices – Be careful about your choices for prayer partners. Many pastors/leaders have been made the subject of gossip by telling the wrong thing the wrong person. If you are uncomfortable with a Personal prayer partner, you must listen to that ‘check’ and though you may still want to allow them to pray for you, it may not be wise to involve them in intimate details of your life or ministry.
5.Stacking your Prayer Shield with friends and people from your Church:
While this may not seem at first, like it could be a problem – it can become one. When you have things you need prayer for that concern matters of the church – having a prayer shield made up of mostly people from the church, causes a conflict with wanting/asking for prayer. That's why I try to set up Prayer Shields that have a good mix for you – so there is always prayer and prayer people available to you, when you most need it. Another problem can be that people who have a personal relationship with you, often find it difficult to adjust to being a part of a prayer team on your behalf, and so want to talk to you personally or go to you personally, instead of learning how to 'discern' and pray as a team.
Many leaders would like to have intercessors praying for them, but they don’t know how to mobilize them, or after they have mobilized them, how to communicate with them. Hopefully training up someone to take on the role of Co-ordinator will help you in that, but you still need to know how to work with your co-ordinator so that he/she can get your prayer requests out to your team. Please make sure you feel comfortable with your co-ordinator editing your requests – sometime less is more! REMEMBER : These should be intercessors that you can TRUST with details. If you'd be worried about 'them' knowing details – then they are not the ones to ask. Your personal Prayer Shield needs to be ones you feel confident in.
KEEP IT SIMPLE - requests that can be kept to one page, so that your Intercessors can keep it in their bible, or on their fridge - this helps those that are list pray-ers, as well as others, to keep your requests handy. Your co-coordinator can do this – edit things down etc.
BE CONSISTENT: At least once a month – no less than that! Again your co-coordinator will help with this, by contacting you. Have personal and ministry requests, so your family's needs are also getting prayer..Remember, your family pays a price for you to be in the Ministry - so make sure they get prayer too! Some leaders have their spouses send thru the family requests in order to make sure the family needs are getting adequate prayer coverage – it's your choice.
GO WIDE: That means....nothing is too little: we've prayed for a Leader's daughter , who was going for her driver's license...We want to pray! Use us! It's all about the details : Don't always wait for a crisis to have prayer on your behalf, or your family's. Prayer is about detail.
SOME CAUTIONS:
1.False emotional dependency: Their prayers should NOT usurp your own hearing from God on a regular basis as a leader. Neither should having prayer partners excuse you from having your own prayer time with God.
2.Control by intercession and prophecy: You may become too dependent on your prayer partners, and listen only to them. Remember to maintain ministerial accountability to those over you to keep you in balance Remember too that your prayer partners should not be giving you direction, as much as being a confirmation for you. Our job is to be praying for you to hear from God!
3.Spiritual adultery: This relationship with a prayer partner of the opposite sex., where strong ties of affection are formed. If you are married and spend long hours speaking intimately with a member or the opposite sex, you are headed for trouble! Be careful about sharing too much intimate details. Intimate conversations can lead to emotional attachments and entanglements. Spiritual adultery takes place when yo begin to spend more of your thoughts and energies on the person who is ‘praying’ for you, than on your spouse. Be careful and set boundaries.
4.Unwise choices – Be careful about your choices for prayer partners. Many pastors/leaders have been made the subject of gossip by telling the wrong thing the wrong person. If you are uncomfortable with a Personal prayer partner, you must listen to that ‘check’ and though you may still want to allow them to pray for you, it may not be wise to involve them in intimate details of your life or ministry.
5.Stacking your Prayer Shield with friends and people from your Church:
While this may not seem at first, like it could be a problem – it can become one. When you have things you need prayer for that concern matters of the church – having a prayer shield made up of mostly people from the church, causes a conflict with wanting/asking for prayer. That's why I try to set up Prayer Shields that have a good mix for you – so there is always prayer and prayer people available to you, when you most need it. Another problem can be that people who have a personal relationship with you, often find it difficult to adjust to being a part of a prayer team on your behalf, and so want to talk to you personally or go to you personally, instead of learning how to 'discern' and pray as a team.
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