1. / Nourish Faith. 2. // Lean towards Thanksgiving and Praise. 3. /// Keep it Biblical and pray truth in your prayer meeting

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1 // 7 KEYS TO HOSTING AN EFFECTIVE YFC TEAM PRAYER MEETING John Wesley said, God, does nothing but in response to prayer. We believe, John was right! We are also aware of some of the challenges that present themselves when coordinating a prayer meeting. The following keys, will provide tools to host a prayer meeting for lost youth. 1. / Nourish Faith 2. // Lean towards Thanksgiving and Praise 3. /// Keep it Biblical and pray truth in your prayer meeting 4. //// Don t let the Devil set the agenda 5. ///// Respond, obey and listen for the Holy Spirit 6. ////// Pray for Lost Youth 7. /////// Celebration and JOY! 1. / Nourish Faith 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 (emphasis added). Faith, see s with clarity who God is. 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.

2 Faith is not found in 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 see s that God is able and willing to move with power and authority. History proves this. 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 to 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. 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 Gods presence and transformational power Read faith scriptures: start a prayer meeting by reading scripture that highlights how faith moves and please God (the Gospels and Hebrews 11 are a great place to start) share testimonies of healing, salvation and Gods provision with your team that lead towards thankfulness and confidence in the Gospel show a video or read a story of how God answered 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 entire communities 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 2. // Lean towards Thanksgiving and Praise Psalm 100:4 says, Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. God specifically instructed the Israelites to remember His power, miracles and works on their

3 behalf. He instructed them to share these testimonies with the next generation. When the Israelites forgot Gods works they often fell to their enemies because they forgot that God is able (read Psalm 78: 5-7, 9-11, 41-42). Thanksgiving and praise focus us to remember what God has done in our past, growing us in confidence to what He will do in the future. Thanksgiving and praise assure our hearts and build confidence in faith to face current obstacles and challenges. Exhibit thanksgiving and praise in a prayer meeting by: remembering personal encounters with the Lord. Remember when/how He saved you, transformed your heart, provided for your ministry, transformed a friend, youth or family member invite thankful participation: have your team speak out loud in prayer to the Lord what they are thankful for. Have your team declare from in thankfulness their trust in God s ability to guide, protect, counsel and transform incorporate music: invite a worship leader to lead music that expresses thankfulness for God's presence and praise for His ability to act, heal and restore. Feel free to move back and forth between intercessory prayer and music be creative and share prayers of thankfulness and praise by having your team, write them down, paint them, express them in song or creative arts celebrate communion together, remembering what Jesus did by dying our death so we may live in His resurrection. Express thanksgiving and praise while receiving the elements of bread and wine/juice 3. /// Keep it Biblical and pray truth in your prayer meeting Communion with God and effective prayer do not originate in feelings but truth. Knowing the truth of God found in Christ sets us free. Jesus said in John 8:32, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. The word of God is true. The word of God defines you as a saint, royal priest-hood, child of God and the body and bride of Jesus Christ. Christians may struggle to engage with God at a deep level as they feel un-worthy or sinful. Look for ways to strengthen your team in their acceptance as the Children of God (1 John 3:1-3). Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to those present. During your prayer meeting build your teams confidence and assurance in Christ by: reflecting on scripture: have your team reflect on a piece of scripture individually and in silence that unpacks their identity in Christ. After a selected amount of time, invite your team to share in

4 small groups what impacted them from the scripture reading. Romans 5-8, 2 Corinthians 3-5, any chapter in Ephesians, Col 1:9-29 & 3:1-17, 1 Peter 2:4-10, 2 Peter 1:1-11, 1 John 3-4 are great scriptures for reflection in small groups declare in prayer the truth of God s word over each other declare God s truth in prayer over lost youth you are connected with. Pray that they may come to know Jesus pray God s word by literally praying and agreeing with scripture. Here is an example: Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:9-10). You can then pray something like, Father, thank you your word is true and you desire for earth to be just like heaven. I pray asking that the decisions of our community/city/government/individual would reflect the values and authority of heaven. As there is no sickness in heaven we ask that you would move with power and heal so that you may be glorified and many would come to know Jesus as their saviour! 4. //// Don t let the Devil set the agenda Jesus coming into the world, was God on the offensive. God was taking back (redeeming) the world from the enemy through His son. The Devil, would love to set the agenda for your prayer meeting. The Devil would love the motivation of your prayers to be formed in fear, inadequacy, doubt, dis-unity, skepticism and unbelief. Prayer not founded in faith cannot move or please God. God has called and provided us a higher place to pray. In Christ we pray from victory, not for victory. Jesus was never moved to prayer by the enemies assaults or schemes. Jesus never allowed the enemy to set His agenda. His agenda was set by what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). Never in the Gospels do we find Jesus responding in prayer saying, the devil is at work here or this community is too spiritually dark to reach. Jesus, the light of the world prayed with a view of what God could do, not in response to what the enemy was doing. Personally, when discerning spiritual warfare I never call a prayer meeting with a motivation of fear. I will pray for the Lords strength to lead and protect but I work to guard my prayer from being motivated and formed by fear. If a situation seems dark, or if someone says, it s spiritual warfare, I am never impressed or caused to respond in fear. I cannot afford to allow my prayers to be moved to the defensive. A prayer meeting formed on the defensive has stoped looking at Jesus and has began to look at the situation or spiritual attack. We are in Christ and able to pray to our Father who called us out of

5 darkness and into His marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9). I pray from the provision and victory Jesus purchased through His cross, not the distracting roar of a fallen foe (John 12:31). Spiritual warfare can certainly thump us and I am not proposing that spiritual warfare is easily navigated. I am proposing that spiritual warfare CAN be navigated when you know Gods truth in Christ. In spiritual warfare, I seek to strengthen myself by prayer in view of my identity in Christ and Gods ability to securely keep me. By knowing and standing in truth I am better equipped to identify and deflect the lies and scheme of the enemy. Partnering with the enemies lies is debilitating and a huge disadvantage. In spiritual warfare I am called to stand (not worry, fear or partner with the enemies lies) by applying the whole armour of God (Eph 6:10-20). Having people pray for me in these seasons provides a wonderful opportunity for me to be strengthened to stand in Gods provision of Christ and His armour. Once, while on a prayer walk in Canada, a number of us sensed the strong presence of demonic spirits over our city. We responded by celebrating the finished work of Christ to save souls no matter how dark it felt spiritually. In prayer, we stood firm in truth that Jesus had indeed overcome sin and the Devil and now holds the keys to hell and death (Rev 1:18). As we prayed on the streets together, a young man was walking past. In response to us asking how we could pray for him, he responded that he had terrible pain in his shoulder. We prayed for him and the Holy Spirit healed him instantly. We were able to share the Gospel with this young man and invited him to come learn more about Jesus. If we had allowed the sense of spiritual warfare to distract us and cause fear, we may have never prayed for that young man. When it comes to spiritual warfare, we in Christ, are on the offensive. In your prayer meeting: pray from victory and rest, not for victory respond to God s leading when calling a prayer meeting. If you sense to call a prayer meeting about spiritual warfare, do so in faith, not fear guard the motivation of your prayers from fear and unbelief read and grow in the confidence scripture gives us (Ps 91, Isa 54:11-17, Luke 10:19-20) regarding the enemy identify challenging ministry, personal or community situations. Write them down and pray for them knowing God is not intimidated by the devils schemes

6 5. ///// Respond, obey and listen for the Holy Spirit Leader and mega church pastor Bill Hybles once said, every new ministry we begin, starts with a God whisper in a prayer meeting. Prayer is a catalyst for mission, creativity and ministry strategy. In prayer, we learn to respond, obey and listen for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is active and is speaking. He desires to lead, inspire, convict, counsel and empower your team when they gather to pray. During your prayer meeting: Write down and reflect on scriptures that are read or prayed. If these scriptures resonate with you or your team, ask the Holy Spirit if there is a command to observe or obey that applies to you or your team Listen for God whispers. God often speaks through people. It is a wise practice to listen to others while they pray for you. Learn to practice discernment as you listen for God s leading don t hype the Spirit up, He comes down. Jesus fully paid through His death, that you would become the recipient of the counsellor, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit doesn t come through hype, music or formula. He comes in trusting relationship when we live by truth and faith. Make room in your prayer meeting to simply respond to the Holy Spirit s available presence. Instruct your team to ask the Holy Spirit how and what they should pray: - ask as individuals or small groups, Holy Spirit, who do you desire me to pray for? Who is on your heart today? Instruct your team to pray for those people - ask the Holy Spirit, Is there anything you desire to speak to me about my life, my relationships or the ministry of YFC today? - ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and your team with His power and love for the lost 6. Pray for Specific Lost Youth God is inviting His Bride to pray for those who don t know Him. Make a list of specific youth (and their families) who do not know Jesus. Pray for these youth during your prayer meeting by name. 7. /////// Celebration and JOY!

7 The Kingdom of Heaven is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirt. (Romans 14:17, emphasis mine). A prayer meeting should conclude with celebration, joy, and confidence to share Jesus (Acts 4:27-31). As you conclude your prayer meeting, look for ways to celebrate what God is doing. Celebration and joy are necessary to sustainable prayer and intercession. speak and share encouraging words with one another celebrate the ways you sensed God leading your prayer time allow your team to continue in prayer for one another if it is appropriate, needed or edifying write down in a shared space what you sense the Lord doing join hands in prayer and declare God s ability to reach more people in Christ sing together a final song that brings glory to God prepare a fun snack and good coffee/tea to conclude your prayer meeting Prepared by: Adam Shepski Global Prayer Catalyst YFC International Every lost teenager depends on our prayer. Your prayer moves God. In faith, prayer, and scripture you will find that God withholds nothing from those who believe. The impact of the Gospel in your family, community, and country hinges on a heart yielded in prayer and obedience. It is not arrogant to say, Prayer shapes history.