DALLAS (ABP) — Baptists understand numbers. That's how they measure baptisms, Bible study attendance, donations and building campaigns.
But when it comes to prayer, Baptists seem less certain about how to measure the effectiveness of prayer ministries.
Counting the number of people signed up for an intercessory prayer ministry or listing answers to prayers may provide some means of charting progress, but those are secondary standards of measurement, said Ted Elmore, a member of 121 Community Church in Grapevine, Texas, who works as a church consultant.
“How many people are delighting in God? By praying, we learn communion with God,” he said. “We may not get answers to our questions, but we become a people who are contented with God. The measure of effective prayer is whether people are walking in communion with God and growing in their contentment with God.”
Church members' deeper walk with God is demonstrated through attitudes and actions. Praying people are eager to serve, willing to forgive and full of grace, he insisted.
Deirdre LaNoue, a Baptist historian and former professor of spiritual formation at Mount St. Joseph's College in Cincinnati, Ohio, agreed.
“Jesus told us that the greatest commandments in all the law are to love God with all that we are and to love others as much as we love ourselves,” LaNoue said. “If those participating [in prayer] are being drawn into a deeper love for God and if people are being truly loved and served, I think these are clues that the prayer ministry is effective, although I grant that this can be hard to measure.”
Small groups provide the best place to gauge the prayer life of members, Elmore stressed.
“Effectiveness is best measured in small groups where people agree to be held accountable in covenant with one another,” he said. “That's where you get a sense of the spiritual growth of one another.”
Betty Talbert, director of spiritual formation at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary, likewise emphasized the importance of small groups.
“The group should be certain about its purpose and consist of no more than 12 members. Ten is better. Eight is perfect,” Talbert said. Members should pledge confidentiality and agree to be faithful in attendance, she said.
Small prayer groups have a long history in Baptist churches. Talbert said traditional intercession was associated with Sunday school, the Woman's Missionary Union and Wednesday night prayer services. The groups were small enough to know the details of the missionaries for whom they were praying, she added.
When small groups within a larger fellowship focus on prayer, pride becomes a potential pitfall — along with the perception that the small group is “holier-than-thou,” LaNoue noted.
“The danger of pious pride is a deadly one,” she said. “I think the best antidote for it is making sure the leadership constantly teaches and trains on the idea that prayer is a means of service. I don't think we teach enough on the virtues. Certainly humility and generosity are key. I think we should be watchful of our attitudes and anything else that can cause division in the body. Leadership must be proactive.”
Leaders can help the church as a whole develop a closer connection to prayer-based small groups, Talbert added. For instance, a pastor may lead a worship service celebrating the decision of members who have committed to spiritual growth through involvement in small groups. As a part of the service, he or she could invite the whole congregation to pray for those members.
“This approach has the goal of letting everyone in the church be a part of what is happening with the groups,” she said.
Church leaders also can promote harmony by working to enlist new people in the prayer groups.
“Be certain that all members feel welcome to join groups at any time,” she said. “If everyone is always welcome, no feeling of superiority develops inside or outside the group.”
Baptists typically have focused almost exclusively on intercessory prayer, but they can grow spiritually by focusing on different types of prayer.
“Try new prayers. Let some folks do contemplative prayers. Let others do prayers of adoration using Psalms as their text,” Talbert suggested. “Ask folks to use journals and write their prayers or write answers to prayers.”
Contemplative aspects of listening and reflecting in a conversation with God can also be beneficial, the experts agreed.
God transforms lives when people open themselves to him, Elmore noted. Devotional Bible reading “just because it's God's Word,” not studying for a lesson or sermon, combined with periods of quiet meditation provide a context in which the Holy Spirit shapes lives, he added.
“There is a lot to be said for solitude, for shutting out the noise of the world and just listening. God uses his Word to teach us to hear his voice,” Elmore said. “In solitude and meditation, the Holy Spirit works, shaping us through that. … It is through prayer and meditation — not activity, but being in the presence of God — that we find satisfaction.”
Fasting, journaling, simplicity, service, solitude and confession represent some of the spiritual disciplines Christians historically have found helpful aids to spiritual growth, but LaNoue noted not every Christian responds equally well to every discipline.
“We are not meant to be cookie-cutter Christians. I think our unique temperaments tend to dictate the ways we are most comfortable relating to God,” LaNoue said. “But this doesn't mean we shouldn't stretch ourselves and try to keep the relationship fresh and creative by utilizing a variety of disciplines. This might require trying things that are outside my usual comfort zone.”
Spiritual disciplines are just tools to be used or not used, depending on how effective they prove for a particular individual, she noted.
“Whenever we start comparing ourselves or using the disciplines as a measure of how spiritual someone is, the disciplines become legalistic and destructive,” she warned.
“The disciplines are not an end in themselves. They are a means to an end. They place us in the path of God's grace and transformative power, if we practice them with the desire for him and nothing else.”
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