PRAY
for direction and power
Overview
SUMMARY In Jeremiah 33:3, God said, “Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvelous things that you know nothing about. There are over 1300 Church Planting Movements in the world today, and every single one of them is characterized by extraordinary prayer. Prayer is––without question––the #1 Secret of The BFAM Strategy. You may say, “Prayer is not a secret.” Well it’s true that most believers acknowledge the importance of prayer, but their behavior shows they don’t really believe it. The secret is that prayer is not merely “a game changer,” it’s an absolute essential. Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Praying the way the Bible teaches us to pray invokes God’s supernatural power, and not praying that way results in unnecessary barrenness—every time! There are many significant benefits of prayer, but for our study we focus on two: direction and power. DIRECTION – We can’t just do whatever we think we should do and get supernatural results. God already has a plan, so we need to pray to find out where He wants us to go, and what He wants us to do. POWER – Before we go out to minister, God wants us to pray to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, like Jesus did. Then we won’t be limited to our own strength, wisdom or abilities. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Jeremiah 33:3 | “Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvelous things that you know nothing about Mark 9:29 (NKJV) | And he said to them, “This kind [of evil spirit] can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” James 5:16b | …The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Story
THE MOTHER OF THE MOVEMENT Jerry Trousdale tells the story of watching 300 new believers getting baptized in a “very challenging Muslim region.” Baptism events like this had become regular occurrences in that area because God was saving thousands of Muslims through a Disciple Making Movement. Even so, they had to plan and facilitate these events with extreme secrecy for security reasons. Jerry arrived before the baptism began and was watching a number of people make preparations. As he looked around he noticed, standing under a tree, a woman with a constant look of “happy anticipation.” She was clearly full of joy over the event, so he presumed that she would be involved somehow. As time passed, and along with many other people, baptism candidates began arriving with “an unforgettable rising chorus of worship.” During the event when the new believers were being baptized and celebrated, Jerry looked a couple of times at the woman under the tree, expecting her to participate somehow, but she never did. She seemed content to rejoice over each baptism from the shade of the tree. He did notice a few people greeting her, but it seemed as though none of those being baptized knew who she was. After the people dispersed, Jerry finally asked someone who that woman was. Astonished, the person said, “Don’t you know? Without her none of this would have ever happened. She is Hadhi, the mother of the movement! This is more than a Disciple Making Movement, it is a prayer movement. And it all started a few years ago in her home when people began praying for us.” (Miraculous Movements, pages 47-48) You see, God is ready to move! He wants to reach people much more than we do. That’s why He’s stirring our hearts, even now, to pray, and to call on Him to breathe on nations, regions, cities, and people all over the world. Movements––meaning moves of God––can neither be started nor sustained by human energy. Moves of God must be initiated and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit moves in response to earnest, persistent and faith-filled prayer. Will you be among those who start such prayer?
