Outline for an Intercessory Prayer Meeting

Outline for an Intercessory Prayer Meeting

For a group of 3-20, for approx 1 hour. Gather in a comfortable circle, in a quiet place. One person should lead the meeting. That person should initiate all the transitions. 

Praise

Come to the Lord in a free spirit of praise and thanksgiving. Use guitar, acapella voices, worship music on a speaker, sentence prayers of praise, words of God’s attributes, a reading of a jubilant Psalm - essentially whatever works. 

Confession

Open up a time of confession. Offer the participants the freedom of speaking out loud or internally to the Lord, whichever is safe. A gentle nudge toward out loud, as a move towards freedom is encouraged, and can be modeled by the leader. It will enhance the vulnerability and honesty of the group. The leader can close with a blanket confession, “Lord we offer you the sins we know and those we don’t know, please have mercy as we come to pray.” Remember together that God is faithful to forgive if we confess our sin. (I John 1:9)

Protection

Pray prayers of protection such as “hide us in the shelter of your wings Lord  (Psalm 61:4)”. Ask that what happens in this prayer time would be only the Lord’s will and that together we would be kept far from the evil one.  

Prayer topic

Explain to the group what the prayer topic is. This has been discerned earlier by the leader. It should be clear and specific, so that one would know in the future whether or not there was an answer. 

Listening

Open up a time of silence to incline the members ears to the Lord regarding the prayer topic. The question here is “Lord how do you want us to pray for this?” or even, “How are you praying for this?” (given that Jesus is at the right hand of the father making intercession for us - Romans 8:34). Move into silence for at least five minutes. This can be uncomfortable at first, but press in. 

Individuals may “hear” God in many different ways. Some may have: a scripture come to mind, an image or picture form in their mind’s eye, a strong impression or idea, a memory, a bodily sensation (like a pain in the chest, or sinking feeling in the gut), or absolutely nothing. 

Reporting and Discerning

Go around the circle and share what each one received from God. The leader should encourage humility in sharing (“I thinkthis was from God”) as well as boldness for those who may be reluctant to speak. As each one shares, ask the group to listen for common themes, or for God to highlight a particular word. Discus together what it seems that God is saying and agree on a plan for prayer. 

Intercession

Pray into that specific area, as the group is led. Pray until you get a sense of “breakthrough” in the spiritual realm. Often you can denote breakthrough as the tone of prayer shifts from fervency to peace. Trust that a shift has been made in the spiritual realm and look forward to seeing the answers to the prayers offered in the natural realm. 

Closing

Close by thanking the Lord for leading and guiding you and giving you the chance to pray. Bless the participants. End at the agreed upon time, so as to honor those that came. 

Source: Connie Anderson adaption of Hallie Cowen’s adaptation of a YWAM prayer guide.

What happened?

Yesterday after having lunch with a student, I got really bad headache. I don’t get many headaches so it was strange. We had had a nice conversation and I mostly wanted to encourage her in her faith because she’s a young Christian facing many life challenges but her hunger for God’s word is inspiring. When I got home, the headache was so debilitating that I just laid on my couch and slept. I woke up and my head still hurt so I prayed and asked a friend to pray. In the evening, we planned to have a GBU group and I lead the study. I told God I was going and I was very firm on the decision. My head still hurt but I went. I thought there would be 3 of us, all Christians. Oh was I wrong! The 2 students invited: one is Muslim and the other abandoned his faith a while ago and is slowly coming back to Jesus. We met in a park so there were 3 people we met before we started. We shared our snacks with them and invited them to join us. We started and it was awesome because the 3 people came back during the discussion to join us. I don’t think any of them are Chrsitian but they were open. One student shared Gospel and another invited them to his church. I was so blessed to be there and participe in spite of my headache. When I got home I was even more pain than earlier, even lights were blinding. But I was so thankful and happy that I didn’t cancel because of some pain. God faithfully led our group to be witnesses. Praise Jesus!

A life transformed

I want to share about a student, who came seeking and a bit skeptical and who now is walking with the Lord. I'm keeping her name anonymous to protect her identity. If you want to know more about her, please feel free to ask. And if you come to France, I'll introduce you to her ☺️

She is a French student, who started coming to the GBU (InterVarsity France). She had so many questions about the Bible and about Christians. Her doubts led her to seek more and ask more questions. I believe that her openness and the love of the students in the group allowed her to be comfortable to keep seeking and going further with the Lord. I can see that God lead her closer to Jesus step by step. It started with a conversation with a Christian friend, then getting sick and being stuck in bed so she took it as an opportunity to read the Bible for herself. 

After her sickness, she started her school year and a friend's sister was in the same city as she was. So, she got invited to the GBU and come with all her curiosity and questions. Then she started coming to our group in English and started asking more questions not just about the Bible but also about our personal relationship with the Lord. When she went to church, she was touched by the faith of the people there and desired it for herself, so she kept going. 

At some point through this process, she committed herself to knowing Jesus more and going deeper. I have been able to read the Bible with her and she also has Christian friends with whom she can have discussions. She still has so much to learn and needs to build a stronger foundation, but I can see her already being transformed. She's not the same person she was before. Knowing her has given me hope. I have hope to believe that many students like her will encounter Jesus. In France, people are skeptical and opposed to the Gospel. I believe that I can have the opportunity so see more lives transformed by the love and grace of Jesus.

Loneliness & Isolation

 Where to begin? I should say that God created his children to live in community, we are created in his image to live alongside one another. It’s not always easy, but necessary for our survival. He gave Adam Eve and all of his other children someone to walk alongside them. Even Jesus his son, who was completely human and completely God, had 12 close friends. This isn’t a post on marriage or friendship so I’ll stop there.

When it comes to loneliness and isolation, I go through periods when I moved to a new place or started something new. I don’t know anyone and I have to find my place in a new place. This time it was coming to Nancy. I have already moved so much so I thought I would be a pro by now. Apparently, I’m not. I get lonely like every other human being on this earth. Even if it’s just for a period, I think it could even be healthy.

I realized that I was having a hard time when I kept thinking about leaving France. I would say to myself, “If it doesn’t work out here, I could always go home.” My comfort was knowing that I could escape. It wasn’t like I was depressed just struggling to make friends and get settled into a routine and life that I was excited to live.

As I write this, I’m still in the period of isolation and loneliness. I don’t think the feelings have completely gone away, but they are having less of an impact on my decision making. I want to do things so that I won’t feel alone or different. I want to feel included and not struggle with feeling like a foreigner. I have already lived in France for more than 4 years and sometimes I feel like I just arrived. The only advantage is that I have a good grasp on the language.

My comfort came when I read 1 Kings 19 while listening to a training podcast. It was so helpful to know that I wasn’t alone. The man who led it is now our InterVarsity president and I was surprised to hear his struggles which seemed much worse than mine. He and his wife were physically isolated and also not integrated in the culture. On the other hand, I can communicate almost exactly what I am thinking and Starbucks arrived this past summer. Seriously it’s the little things that help me keep my sanity.

When I read the story of Elijah in the desert completely isolated and discouraged also wanting to give up and die; I said, “It’s not that bad for me.” I realized that I was too focused on myself and what I was lacking. It was when God took care of him in the desert that he gained a new perspective on his situation. In the same way, God revealed himself to me. He showed me that he was all I needed and that he gives me everything I could ever possibly need, nothing more nothing less. He brought me back to the source and awaken me to his inner workings in my life. I was ripped out of my comfort zone only to come to realize that I can depend on him.

“As a deer longs for streams of water so my soul longs for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1

He slowly gave me these nourishing drops of water. He didn’t give them all at once just enough for the moment and then he would invite me to come back for more. What have I learned from all of this? God has a purpose in everything he does. He wants to teach us and mold us. Sometimes it’s hard and painful to accept his method but once we do it’s refreshing. He draws us into a loving relationship with him. Even though I still have these feelings, I can recognize God’s tender voice calling me closer to him. The fact that he cares for me so much and would take me through all this means he loves me. His grace is in sending Jesus so that I can have a relationship with him. He allows me to experience a loneliness that draws me nearer to him. It’s so perfect and complicated. I try not to understand everything just trust God has some crazy plan that will be for my benefit and also benefit others.

Embrace this loneliness and isolation with me and find a Savior on the other side...

Building friendships & self awareness

Would you invest in a friendship with someone you knew was leaving? Would you make an effort to get to know them even if you might not see them again?

Who are you really?

I'm in the season of seeing friends come and go. It's not that I have driven them away, it's just that they planned to leave before I arrived. I see that the limited time I have with them is precious. We all can learn and grow through relationships even if it's for a short time. There's kind of a romantic aspect to my story, though I'm not really a romantic. I like meeting people and getting to know them. I wonder though if I'm missing out on longer term friendships. I can't say for certain. I hope that this season doesn't last too long because it's kind of cruel. I'm already a new person in a new place. My hope is to build a life for myself and not be constantly uprooted. I cannot choose where I'll be longterm but I can try to enjoy where I am now.


I believe that a good friend is hard to find. It takes time, energy and faith. You never really know a person even after several years of friendship. It's really easy to hide parts of yourself and not reveal it right away. Since I've started living in France, I have realized that I have several personas. Nia the American in France, Nia the American in the US, Nia the French-speaking American in France, Nia daughter of Tina and David and sister to Conor and Tiffany. Each persona is different depending on who I'm with. Who really knows me? Who thinks they know me but are completely wrong? I wouldn't be surprised if that were everyone including me. There is a certain beauty to getting to know someone. There are always surprises. I am constantly surprised how many clichés and stereotypes have influenced my thinking. Even a person's appearance can be deceiving. I hope that I can be known and keep building relationships despite the many obstacles I face. God knows who we are completely and still loves us. My prayer is to have grace for others and receive grace in return. This small act brings us closer to God and into a deeper relationship with him.

My prayer and desire is that we may see ourselves and others for who we truly are. I am inspired by the verse in 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord tells the prophet Samuel to not be deceived when he saw David who would be the future king of Israel. Instead God wanted him to see who he really was.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

The reason why I am in France

The short answer to why I'm in France is for students to know Christ; I'm like a messenger. But since it's better and clearer to explain, I'll do my best to try.

I came to France knowing that is was a difficult place to be a Christian and that there were far many more atheists and people indifferent to religion than in the US. I knew that I wanted to stand boldly for Christ and encourage others to do the same. I didn't realize what that really meant until I started going through the application process. Now that I have gone through the fire by completing an application in French for the GBU, then an even longer one in English for InterVarsity. Now that I have overcome the challenging task of raising my financial support, I can focus on my task: standing boldly for Christ and encouraging others to do the same.

I wasn't naive enough to think it would happen at once, but I hoped that maybe after 6 months I would see some fruit. I have to confess my lack of patience because it doesn't always show right away. The groups that I helped with were predominately Christian. I felt like we met weekly to show off what we knew about the Bible. Even though I knew that we could still learn and grow, I felt something was missing. They were actually people who were missing. Those who didn't know Christ. I have to admit most groups have a couple students who aren't Christian. One group had a Muslim student come all year and another group had a guy very open but without a religion who was invited by his Catholic friend. But for the most part, the groups were filled with Christians. I wonder now if I was really encouraging or if I got used to the groups as they were. Maybe their friends didn't want to come.

This year, I'm being more intentional. I have committed myself to pray daily for the students who don't know Christ to come to the groups. I don't know how they will come, but God will bring them. Last night, I hope again that it might really happen. Here's the post I put on Facebook and a reason to praise God.

Me, Elizabeth & our fav snack

"I forgot to mention this. But last night as we said good-bye to Elizabeth, we said hello to 2 of her friends who are not Christian. They came because they were invited and were able to participate in our discussion. It was amazing to see how Elizabeth could share this moment with her friends who don't know Christ. We kept smiling at each other through the study because I could see how excited she was. Praise God for bold, self-less students!

This has been my daily prayer, I truly desire to reach out to those who don't know the Bible or Christ. I don't want our groups to be exclusive especially to students who can truly benefit. Please pray with me that more will come hungry to hear what the Bible has to say."

Saturday Strolls

On Saturdays, I've gone on strolls in Nancy. It's been a good way to get to know the city and find inexpensive ways to entertain myself.

>>> My first stroll, I started walking down a street to see where it went. I took only my keys least I be tempted by a boulangerie or something else I don't need. I enjoyed the sights to see and the names of apartment buildings that were taken from regions in France: Alsace, Bourgogne, Lorraine... On my way home, I found some useful trash that someone had thrown out. I picked it up and walked quickly away, just in case they changed their mind.





<<< For second stroll, I decided to take myself out on a free evening date. I enjoyed the silent, illuminated streets without feeling in danger. I felt the advantages of being in a small city and enjoyed being outside at night as a single woman.










>>> On the third one, I took the tram to the terminus and walked home. To my surprise, the end of the line isn't very exciting, but the walk back was lovely. I saw a cute little park, the river, bridges decorated with flowers and I even bought a few needed items.

My recent stroll had a mission. I wanted to find the secondhand, warehouse-like shop Emmaüs without getting lost. On the map, I realized that I could take the same street almost all the way there. I had no idea how direct it was to get there after I went the first time. I literally went out of my way for no reason. The flip side was that I did have an enjoyable time that day. I didn't take a photo of my recent walk so below is from the time I got lost.

I wonder where my next stroll will lead me. Will they run out quickly after I have seen the entire city? Naw! Pas possible.