And the Place was Shaken: How to Lead a Powerful Prayer Meeting
Overview
Franklin’s thesis is that praying together as a church is crucial because it is communion between Christ and His body and should never be minimized as formality. Prayer is a vital element of corporate worship, as important as any sermon or musical presentation. However, having an effective corporate experience of prayer—whether in a large congregational setting or a small group—depends on many factors. Franklin highlights not only the theology behind powerful corporate prayer but also the effective habits and practices of a praying church. And the Place was Shaken makes an impassioned plea for churches to grow in passion for Jesus through praying together. It identifies for leaders of prayer the four responsibilities they must execute in guiding God’s people, and it gives practical suggestions for how to fulfill them.
Top Highlights
“What I’m about to tell you is one of the reasons most churches don’t have much spiritual power. Churches today have generally abandoned this practice.’ You would catch the intensity and conviction in my tone: The greatest workings of God come by corporate prayer, and we will not see the power of God in sufficient measure to transform the world around us until we pray together. As a leader you must make praying together a priority equal to preaching and teaching.” (Page 4)
“The implication should be obvious. If you lead prayer, you must grasp this one truth above all others: your primary job is to help the people of God be God-centered, to teach them that the primary purpose of prayer is a lifestyle of walking with God. They must be oriented to him, not themselves. They must see life from his perspective rather than their own.” (Page 35)
“The apostles were not referring to their personal prayer life but to the ministry of mobilizing the people of God to pray together. They were declaring that the two ministries they especially must do as church leaders were mobilizing the church to pray and preaching/teaching the Word of God. Do you see why I was so amazed? The implications were tremendous!” (Page 8)
“The first secret that unlocked the resources of heaven for them was this: they went from being on their own agenda to being on God’s agenda. They quit seeking a seat on Jesus’ right and his left and began praying for boldness to testify in the face of persecution. They quit flirting with a return to fishing and focused on shepherding the people of God. They stopped worrying about their circumstances and began seeking an endowment of power from on high to preach the gospel. They changed from being self-centered to being God-centered. This determined their power with God—or rather God’s power through them.” (Pages 33–34)
- Title: And the Place was Shaken: How to Lead a Powerful Prayer Meeting
- Author: John Franklin
- Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
- Publication Date: 2005
- Pages: 207