Prayer Groups That Manifest The Holy Spirit’s Presence and Power A) What is the purpose of a charismatic prayer group? In 1 Cor 14: 24-26 St. Paul explains, “When you assemble, one has a psalm, another, an instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything should be done for building up.” Through hearing inspired, prophetic messages a person coming to the assembly “will be convinced by everyone, judged by everyone, and the secrets of his heart will be disclosed, and so he will fall down and worship God, saying ‘God is really in your midst’.” The purpose of charismatic prayer groups is to: Worship God: “Through him (Jesus) let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Heb 13:15); “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col 3:16). As we give God the praise and worship that is due to him, we become open to the Holy Spirit praying and working in us and through us. Experience God in Your Midst through prophetic inspirations and signs that manifest the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual gifts are “manifestations of the Spirit” (1Cor 12:7). They show forth and demonstrate the presence of the Spirit. People’s hearts are convinced, judged, and disclosed (1 Cor 14:24). “All (are) given to drink of the one Spirit (1 Cor 12:13) and we should “not quench the Spirit (or) despise prophetic utterances” (1 Thes 5:16-21). Charismatic prayer meetings should be “a demonstration of Spirit and power” (1 Cor 2:4). We experience God in our midst through: Prophetic revelations: Prophecy, inspired Scripture passages, inspired images and visions, words of knowledge and wisdom, interpretation of tongues, etc. Signs of God’s presence and power: “My message and proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power” (1 Cor 2:4-5). Gifts of healing, miracles, being overcome in the Spirit, a felt transforming presence, release from fears, experiencing a new joy, peace, self-control (fruit of the Spirit), receiving a new spiritual gift, empowerment for an area of service, etc. Leadership with Spirit-led wisdom: Wisdom in leading the prayer meeting, planning for the prayer group, teaching with practical wisdom, calling forth gifts and services, reconciling relationships, correcting with love and wisdom, etc. (see 1 Cor 2:6, 10, 12-13; Col 3:16; Acts 13: 1-3, 16:6-10, 20:22-23). Build Up the Community: Encouragement, solace, teaching, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to bring God’s benefits to others (1 Cor 14:3; 12:7). Rom 12:4-8, 1 Cor 12:4-13 and Eph 4:11-16 describe how the use of spiritual gifts build up the community as the body of Christ led by the Spirit. B) What are the Elements of a Charismatic Prayer Meeting? Song, Praise, Worship (entering the presence of God): The focus is honoring (worshiping) God and surrendering ourselves fully to the Holy Spirit, so the Spirit can praise the Father and the Son within each of us and among all of us. Prophetic manifestations (exhorted by the presence of God): People need training to develop a daily prayer time that opens them to the prophetic inspirations and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Teaching (wisdom about the presence of God) leading into #4: Good teaching should be inspirational, educational and practical. Demonstration of Spirit and of Power (touched by the presence of God): If the prayer group is an evangelizing group, then you should expect the word of God to be confirmed by signs and wonders (in Luke 10 the 72 disciples are empowered to proclaim the kingdom of God, cure the sick, and cast out demons; signs and wonders are expected in Acts 8:4-8; 14:3; 19:11-12, 20; 28:8-9). After the teaching we can regularly pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the area(s) that the teaching covered. This can be done with the whole group, or in a small group, or in one-to-one sharing and prayer. Do not leave prayer for healing and empowerment only for after the meeting or at special seminars. Evangelization, healing prayer and empowerment by the Spirit should all work together. Growing as a Supportive, Serving Community (unity in the presence of God): The Holy Spirit can work most powerfully when the prayer group has a real sense of growing as a united community. Spiritual gifts are for the building up of the body of Christ. We cannot get so focused on ministry, or even prayer, that we do not let the Spirit form us as a community that can live, love and work together. Eph 4:11-16 describes the importance of being “joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the bodies growth and builds itself up in love.” (via Michael Joseph V Tupaz Page).
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 19:57:47 +0000
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