Powerful Church Prayer Meetings Handout

Biblical Patterns for Powerful Church Prayer Meetings
From the booklet by Dr. Gregory Frizzell



Corporate prayer is God’s primary pattern for sweeping evangelism and
revival.


Why the intense prayer of previous generations?

1.Their deep belief that intense corporate prayer was essential to meeting God in revival and widespread evangelism.

2.They were experienced at meeting God in powerful prayer meetings.

3.Former generations exhibited intense spiritual hunger and a deep desperation to seek God’s face.



Especially in the New Testament, God’s absolute ‘essential’ for His Presence and Power to radically change lives, cities, and whole nations, is believing, obedient, and corporate prayer! The churches were devoted to their Lord and therefore to corporate prayer, and experienced God’s mighty activity as they prayed. Every time of prayer was a crucial time before God.
- Henry Blackaby



What were the historic patterns of corporate prayer and how have we changed from generations of great revival and evangelism?

1. Prayer meetings focussed on lost people, personal repentance, revival and missions.
2. Until the 20th century, prayer meetings were primarily led by lay people.
3. People spent the majority of time praying.
4. Prayer meetings were not confined to brief time slots or crowded into other activities.
5. Church prayer meetings involved whole families.
6. Prayer meetings contained strong emphasis on personal repentance and confession.
7. Fasting was a frequent emphasis. The first 300 years of Baptist history held a common emphasis on fasting among serious believers.
8. Prayer meetings were characterized by great fervency and inspiring testimonies.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that modern prayer meetings are extremely different from the churches of the great awakenings. But, believers, we should take hope. Through God’s grace our prayer meetings can change! Based on scripture and history, corporate prayer is not only the biblical thing to do, it is the most practical thing we can do! Like nothing else, God used prayer to release His supernatural presence in church discipleship, evangelism, and missions. Beyond question, God’s supernatural power is the desperate need of our day.