Ephesians 3:14-20 :: learning by doing

We are in the midst of our SummitLIFE Leader Gatherings right now where we are encouraging one another and praying for one another. These gatherings are taking place in 4 locations, on 4 nights, throughout the triangle. Our first one was last night and it was awesome. We prayed for our church, & for one another as group leaders. At first glance, that sounds more like a prayer meeting than a training session. And that is exactly what I was hoping for. You see, real learning comes almost always from doing. To get a real grasp on how to do something you practice it right? Leading a small group is no different. So we are, through practice, training one another on how to pray using the scriptures. We are doing that because we are recognizing the simple truth that unless prayer meeting happens in our small groups, it wont happen at the Summit Church. Please let that sink in if you are a SummitLIFE group leader. Ok, Let me show you what praying through the scriptures looks like using Ephesians 3:14-20.

For the Church:

• Pray that our church would be a place where people, every family in our reach (15) would come to know and love Jesus (17). Pray that for easter especially.
• Pray that the Christians who make up the Summit Church would begin to grasp the greatness of God’s love (19) because that is when true life change starts to happen (19).
• Recognize that God is capable of answering these prayers in bigger and better ways than you can fathom (20) and praise him for it.
• Recognize that the end game of your prayers is not you, but the glory of God. And Pray that our church would be a place that sees generations of people live lives that glorify God.

For your SummitLIFE Group:

• Have each person (or family) pray specifically for another person (or family) the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 3:14-20.
  • That the Father who created all men (15) would strengthen them in their faith through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in their lives (16)
  • That they would be firmly rooted and established in the love of Christ in such a way that through each avenue of their lives they begin to see the height, depth, length, and width of the grace given to them.
  • That they would worship God as they come to understand more completely his love for them (19).
  • Believe on their behalf that God is SO much bigger than their prayers or circumstances. He can do greater things than they could possibly ask.
  • Pray their lives are conformed to the purposes of God in Christ in such a way that the glory of God is made known through them.
• I look forward to praying this with you who lead small groups at the Summit Church during our upcoming leader gatherings together. If you do not know which one you are supposed to be at, please call me ASAP at 919.383.7100!