Praying Pam

I love working on, and teaching on Prayer Shields . Why? Well...I think they are a type of symbol of the Body. A group of people, working together on behalf of anothers benefit! We don't always feel like we are personally getting something out of praying for someone else, but then, the Word tells us that if one part of the Body hurts, the whole Body hurts - so it goes to reason, that when one part of the Body gets healed, or breaks through or is able to rejoice again, that the whole Body must, somehow, someway, also be reaping the benefits! I love knowing I've been a part of team, who has helped 'dig someone else out' from under their circumstances or warfare! It's a great feeling. In order to be a really good prayer shield tho, there are a number of things that have to working right - or ' fitly joined together'. The first one is TRUST. A leader has got to trust us (his prayer people) with his requests - whether those requests are needs, wants or just iss

The second (most common) barrier to establishing a Prayer Shield is 'offense' or wounding in a leader by prayer people. Are you surprised? Don't be! The enemy has used offense since the Garden to manipulate situations and people, to do what is most beneficial to him, and hurtful to them. We will always be offered the opportunity for offense or hurt, but it's how we chose to deal with it that will determine it's finale effect on our lives and ministries. Over the years, as I've spoken to many pastors and church leaders, their biggest issue is often trusting prayer ( or prophetic) people! If there are any past issues with prayer people who have used their gift of prayer to manipulate/intimidate , judge or gossip about a leader, those unhealed wounds will cause a leader to feel insecure and uneasy when approached about setting up a prayer shield. The first thought is that they can't trust their real needs to those that are offering to pray, because they mi

One of the most common barriers to actually establishing a Prayer Shield for a leader, is often the 'leader'. Most leaders struggle with feeling inadequate about even asking for something like this, because they don't believe they deserve it..or are doing anything important enough that merits it. The other most common barrier is 'past experiences' either with intercessors or with prayer, that the leader needs healing from. Now...let me explain. (I'll do this in two parts..and today just blog on the first barrier....) 1. False humility - " I'm not important enough to actually ask people to be committing time to pray for me." Perhaps the hardest thing for those that are doing the jobs they do, because love to 'serve' others, is to actually believe that they deserve a prayer shield. I don't know how many times I've heard people say that they can understand why ' this person' or ' that person' needs prayer shield (