Prayer Ministry
The Midlands Prayer Network is a resource to establishing a Praying Church Movement—a fellowship of congregations with an emphasis on personal and corporate prayer, identifying and affirming intercessors, and expanding to a missional focus through prayer evangelism. Avail yourself of the resources provided and join with prayer warriors around this world to break down strongholds and prevail in prayer for the body of Christ.
Diana Angran is married to Tony W. Angran and they currently serve as the pastors at Solid Rock Church of God in Centerville, IA. Tony and Diana have two children and seven grandchildren. Diana has served in many areas of ministry in the church while growing up and now as a pastor’s wife; some of those areas consist of Sunday School teacher, Wednesday night children’s hour teacher, music, women’s ministries president and bible study teacher. Diana writes devotionals for her monthly newsletter since 2004 and has spoken at ladies luncheons and meetings. Diana is the Prayer Coordinator of the Midlands Region for the Praying Church Movement. Diana is an advocate for prayer having experienced a miraculous healing at the age of 4. Diana had a heart murmur that was going to require open heart surgery; the hole had grown so large that it was pumping the blood out of the heart faster than the body could replenish it. After going to the Clinic in Des Moines, Iowa on a Wednesday morning for some pre-surgery procedures, Diana’s mother took her to church on Wednesday night where they had, “Wednesday night prayer meetings.” Diana’s mother stood to testify that God had given Diana as a gift to her and if He wanted her back, she wanted God’s will. The pastor had Diana’s mother bring Diana up front where the church gathered around and laid hands on Diana and prayed. The heart murmur was there on Wednesday but it was gone on Thursday, Praise the Lord. There is no evidence that it ever existed except what was in the doctor’s charts.
Seven Dimensions of The Praying Church Movement
The Praying Church Movement – is a fellowship of congregations with these characteristics and goals:
The FOUR DIMENSIONS
- AT-HOME PRAYING (personal, couples, the family altar): The encouragement and resourcing of at-home, to-be-like-Jesus daily transformation prayer and the restoration of the family altar.
- AT-CHURCH PRAYER: The establishment and nurture of regular church-wide prayer meetings, ‘Great Days of Prayer!’ And when possible a monthly or weekly prayer meeting, coupled with a pervasive prayer philosophy that aims to under gird all the ministries of the congregation, by making prayer a component that is integrated into every ministry of the church. The adoption of the Moravian principle: ‘No one works; unless someone prays.’ The Goal: “A worker for every intercessor; and an intercessor for every worker.’
- The identification and affirmation of INTERCESSORS – training them, then teaming, then directing by pairing needs and intercessors, and debriefing them – taking them seriously. The goal: a prophetic and priestly balance in intercession. Further, intercession pushed into the city, watchmen on the walls persistently.
- An external missional focus, a definitive PRAYER-EVANGELISM interface, with a focal point, a mission field in view, one near and one far.
THE SUPPORTING DIMENSIONS
To Accomplish the Above, a Congregation Needs –
- A PRAYING PASTOR AND PRAYER COORDINATOR, with a team, who together provide leadership to a prayer ministry team that develops a strategy and plan to bring prayer to the center of the lives of its members and all the church does.
- A PRAYER TOUCH-POINT The creation of a prayer ministry center or a resource room that connects people of prayer and the congregation; and provides prayer helps to spur the prayer effort onward, and also engages members in the ministry of prayer. Here prayer groups should be deployed. Adoption of people groups should take place. Prayer evangelism should be featured.
- There should be regular TEACHING AND TRAINING in the area of prayer, with both content and experience driven options.
(Church of God Prayer Trainer’s Network)
- Prayer is not a program, it’s a relationship!
- If we want to move from the natural to the super-natural, we need to be a people of prayer.
Where to start:
- Identify a person from each congregation that is a person of prayer, embraces the praying church movement four dimensions, and would be willing to be part of the Midland’s Region, or district prayer team.
- Prayer teams would meet or touch base once a month (can be via teleconference) to pray together, pray for the Region, share ideas of what has been effective as a prayer initiative in their local church.
- Brag on God! Track prayers, requests and answers. Publicize and brag on God when clear resolutions appear for things prayed for.
- Encourage local churches to set up a Pastor’s Prayer Partner team. Every person agrees to pray one a day a month for the pastor. With 30 people, John can pray for pastor on the 1st, Sue agrees to pray on the 2nd, Joe prays for pastor on the 3rd……everyday someone is praying for the pastor.
- Watchers on the Wall – with a six-couple or person team, have each couple/person on the prayer team take a day and be the point person to pray that day. Each team would pray on their day for the Administrative Bishop and state office team.
- Identify Intercessors across the region to pray for church plants.
Nothing lies outside of the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God. – Mrs. Charles Cowman, Stream in the Desert