EXTRAORDINARY PRAYER BY THE PASTOR AND HIS CHURCH
Twelve years ago today, the evil forces of this world attacked our nation. The events of September 11, 2001, moved our nation into a long and immediate pause. Each of us will remember until our death, the specifics of our own moment when we engaged, via television, the enemy attacks upon our country.
As much as we could on that day, we called our church to prayer. Many came to our worship center that night, calling upon the Lord for our nation. The following Sunday our church and most of America’s churches were filled and overflowing. People knew they needed God, the church, and each other. This crisis moved us into a season of extraordinary prayer.
Pastor, do you practice extraordinary prayer?
Most pastors I know believe in prayer. However, I am not sure if most pastors believe in the power of extraordinary prayer. Extraordinary prayer is prayer beyond the ordinary. Leaders of the past have called us to extraordinary prayer. Jonathan Edwards wrote about it and called for it among his peers.
I believe Jesus would expect us to rise early for prayer, even as He did in Mark 1:35,
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He
got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted
place. And He was praying there.
This was an ordinary practice of Jesus.
Rising early in the morning, even when it is still dark, and finding a private place to enter a session of prayer should be an ordinary practice in the life of a pastor. How could a pastor ever expect his people to do something he himself is not practicing and doing personally?
Therefore, extraordinary prayer would be something like this plus more. Perhaps it would be a special season of prayer, possibly including a time of prayer and fasting. Or, something else that the Holy Spirit would lead a pastor to do. All I know is that we all need to be practicing extraordinary prayer.
Pastor, we need to rise up and lead our people in the call to prayer. We need to model ordinary and extraordinary prayer. We need to pray. We need to pray extraordinarily. We need the filling of the Holy Spirit. We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We need the power of God. Extraordinary prayer is the key to the Spirit-empowered ministry of the pastor.
Pastor, are you leading your church to practice extraordinary prayer?
I have a major burden right now for my church to be stronger in the ministry of prayer. I am burdened that we seem to do many other things before we practice prayer.
I tell our team continually that if we are not careful we will diminish prayer even in a worship service. I love worship music, but it is not a substitute for prayer. I feel it is imperative that a pastor calls upon the Lord before his church weekly, modeling earnest, passionate, believing prayer. A pastor can mentor the people in prayer by practicing prayer in worship.
Then, there are moments for practicing extraordinary prayer. I have tried to lead our church to engage in extraordinary prayer through the years in many ways like:
*Special prayer meetings on Sunday night
*Special seasons of prayer on Sunday mornings
*Special seasons of prayer and fasting
*Special nights of prayer
*And many other ways
Right now, we are preparing to launch a special prayer ministry called, The Cross Church Circle. The Cross Church Circle prays for the ministry of Cross Church. This will be a web-based ministry for most, but we will make it available to those who are not users of technology. Monthly, I will develop a major prayer guide to send to our people. We are asking our people to follow this guide weekly for 30 minutes. The response has been extraordinary.
As of this time, we have 3,257 people, across all of our campuses, who have committed to pray for 30 minutes a week using this prayer guide. We launch this ministry on October 1. I will lead this ministry and I will prepare the prayer guide. I will manage it from my office — some things the pastor does not need to give away. Pastors must stop trying to delegate their anointing to others — YOU are anointed to lead the church — Lead It! Pastors MUST lead their churches to practice extraordinary prayer.
Can you imagine it?
Can you imagine what will happen to Cross Church when 3,257 or more people begin to pray for 30 minutes a week as part of the Cross Church Circle? As the people follow this prayer guide, they will become informed, inspired, and empowered to pray for this ministry. I believe this will result in them loving their church more and serving their Lord more than ever.
May God do extraordinary things in the lives of our people and our church as they begin to move into a time of practicing a lifestyle of extraordinary prayer. I cannot wait to see what God will do!
Yours For The Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Identity Crisis?
One of the fastest growing crimes in the U.S. today is identity theft. According to a 2011 report by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, around seven in 100 families in the U.S. were affected by identity theft in 2010.1 The same report defines identity theft as “the unauthorized use or attempted misuse of an existing credit card or other existing account, the misuse of personal information to open a new account or for another fraudulent purpose, or a combination of these types of misuse.”
To personalize it, if a person steals your personal information, then uses that information to pretend to be you in financial transactions, they have stolen your identity. It can cost victims thousands of dollars, and even when the money is recovered, it can take enormous amounts of time to ensure the victim’s credit history is restored. If you have been a victim, you will understand all too well.
Our Identity
Our identity is important because it tells who we are. How we identify ourselves and are identified by others can bring anxiety, fear, hurt, joy, contentment or dozens of other emotions. When people identify themselves negatively (“I’m stupid,” “I can’t do anything right,” “I’m just a sorry drunk”) it can be projected onto God as if He holds the same opinion. What, then, does the Bible say about identity?
For those who are believers in Christ, this is a very important question. Romans 6:11 says, “So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Likewise, Ephesians chapters 1 and 2 teach over and over that we are both in and with Christ. Further, we learn that we were dead in our sins (2:1), we previously lived according to our desires and were by nature children under wrath (2:3), and that we were dead in trespasses (2:5).
Our Identity in Christ
There is a specific reason these verses are important. The lives of believers are divided into two parts: our past before Christ, and our present and future with Christ. Our past was cursed, as were we were condemned. Our present is blessed and our future secure. This is true because we are no longer in sin, but in Christ. In the eyes of God we are not identified with our past and its sin, but with Christ and His righteousness.
This illustration, found in Bible Studies for Life: Do Over, is particularly helpful,
“In 1993, a group of milk producing marketers developed a new advertising campaign—one with a simple slogan: “got milk?®” The idea was to plaster famous people on billboards with a foamy white moustache. The campaign took off and sales increased dramatically. Milk leaves a discernible mark. So does salvation. When a sinner becomes a saint, his life is no longer marked by sin. Salvation leaves a discernible mark.”2
Having an identity crisis? Just remember, all those who have been redeemed are in Christ. You are not what you were, so do not identify with your past sins. Now, by the grace of God, you are His child.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.