For Leaders wanting a Prayer Shield...

When a leader decides to step out and ask for Prayer it's like 'drawing a line in the sand' and saying ' That's enough!'

When a leader asks for prayer, it can also be a humbling experience because it's often hard for many of us to ask for the very thing we need. There is always the lie of the enemy too, that says , ' Who am I, to be asking for a prayer shield? I'm not important.'

Well, if you are influencing for the Kingdom of God, if you are doing what God's asked of you, and taking ground for the Kingdom - who are you not to ask for prayer coverage ?!! Ask yourself who has benefited for hundreds of years, by convincing leaders ( whether in the church field or the business community), that they are 'not important enough' to be calling for prayer coverage? We all know the answer - the enemy! The time has come to realise that asking for prayer, is actually two fold:1. it's an act of humilty ( because it is humbling isn't it? ), plus the benefit is, God draws near to the humble, and 2. it's an act of warfare - you are rallying the troops! You are leaving the land of 'isolated' and entering the land of 'community' - no longer functioning in your calling and giftings, alone! It is my heart that leaders in all spheres of responsibility, who need prayer, will be matched up with intercessors who prayer and feel called to pray! What a sweet arrangement!


For leader’s being covered by a Prayer Shield, there are some responsibilities that you have towards those that commit to praying for you. Some of those are listed below. there are also pitfalls to watch out for, but I'll post those later.

A leader does not need to ask a Prayer Shield to pray for him everyday, although many will. Instead you can release them to pray as the Holy Spirit leads them.( I cover this in the guidelines I send out.)

A personal letter/email of prayer requests and praise reports should be sent out regularly to all your Prayer Shields. An itinerary if you are traveling, so they can pray more effectively for you. Also, when you are on an outreach or ministry trip, it is often a good idea to include any articles written about the ministry, so they can read what took place while they prayed. If you do have a coordinator, this will be something they will work with you to do for you.

The way you relate to your intercessors may depend on your type of ministry. Pastors for instance will be able to develop different relationships than traveling ministers will. (Most prayer shields tho, are done thru email and can have people on it that are spread out over great distances, so you may not ever have personal contact with any of your intercessors.) Make sure you relate to your intercessors on a regular basis, and let them know the answers to their prayers. This will keep encouraging them to pray! If you chose to use a coordinator ( like me) , they will ( or should) remind you to send thru regular prayer requests and have contact with your team.

Choose people to be your prayer partners that you feel comfortable with and ones that you can trust with intimate needs. You can hold them accountable, to keep your confidence. If you have a 'check' in your spirit, don't be guilted in to asking them to pray for you. Remember, you want these people to pray into the needs you have, and if you're not comfortable with the people on your Prayer Shield, you won't tell them what the real needs are. If this has been your experience, then there needs to be an ajustment in how you chose your prayer partners .If you already have a prayer shield up, and your uncomfortable with those on it, then I'd suggest you release them - thank them for their faithfulness - and build a new one!

People need to be thanked often for their prayer sacrifice. They work hard at this.

Be accessible! Remember they can’t be a help to you, if they can never contact you. If you set up a prayer that you are running, then they will want to contact you personally. If you have a coordinator, then most of the contact will happen between the coordinator and the Prayer Shield. The coordinator's job is to gather up all the info that comes it - edit it if it needs it - and pass it on to you. In my case, the intercessors have alot of inter-contact thru the prayer shield with one another - sharing words, scriptures or even just 'alerts in the spirit' that they are getting. This is a product of a sense of 'team' developing, among your intercessors. ( Of course a Prayer Shield and/or a coordinator's role, never takes the place of an already established relationship. At the same time, the intercessors work as a team, and that 'team dynamic always takes precedence over praying for the leader, as a individual. )

Once or twice a year, meet with your prayer partners in person ( if possible) for a lunch or a breakfast. Seeing them outside of prayer needs also means a lot. If your prayer shield, like mine, is scattered all over the world - it obviously makes meeting with them impossible! So...instead I send 'thank you' cards or emails, to let them know how appreciated they are.

Remember to also pray for your Prayer Shields. Ask God to continue to guard them and give them strength to do the job that they’ve committed to doing. Thank God for them ‘upon every remembrance’, and ask them to be refreshed in their labors. This isn't meant to be a heavy, or add to your workload. It's just a reminder that as the Lord leads you, to remember to ask Him to keep those praying for you, encouraged and in good health.

Chose what will work best for you with your Prayer Shield. Some intercessors like to have contact with you once a week, so they know how to prayer over your weekly schedule eg. Meetings coming up etc. An email once a week , that is automatically sent out with this info , can be really handy. Other intercessors follow a manual from Intercessors International that lays out a plan of prayer for each day of the week. Other intercessors will pray as the spirit leads them. What works will depend on the prayer style of your intercessors. Work with them and find what is comfortable for you and them! Again, work with your coordinator with this.

The biggest thing to remember is you are now working with a 'team' of intercessors. Each of their prayer styles may be different, but the heart in each of them is the same - they feel called to pray !

Again if you have questions, concerns or comments - let me know!