Could there be anything more critical to the health of the team you lead than taking them into the presence of God? It is there that lives are adjusted, unity is gained, requests are granted, and the God of the universe is brought into the equation.

But most pastors pray little . . . and their teams even less. One study showed that the average time American pastors spend in prayer is seven minutes a day.

Praying with a team will not only help the regularity of your prayer life, it will foster an attitude of prayer in your team and ultimately your church. But prayer must be led. And, as a pastor, you are the leader.

What does it take to really develop a culture of prayer with your team?

TIME

Prayer should be spontaneous and constant. Hallesby said it is the "air we breathe and the atmosphere in which we live," and Paul encouraged us to "pray without ceasing." All day long we should be moving in the rarefied air of God's presence, consistently inhaling and exhaling with Him.

One of my godly, older staff members in the past had the habit of launching into a conversation with God in the middle of a sentence. I loved that. He was always aware of God's presence and always leading us there.

But along with this spontaneous intercession and praise, there should be times set aside weekly for prayer with our teams. At God's initiation, I currently have an hour of prayer each week with our pastoral team, and the beginning hour of each elders' meeting is spent in prayer. These are, without question, the best--and most important--hours spent with our teams. It is also a great practice to take your team away monthly for a day of extended prayer.

The purest leadership example we have is the early church in Acts. The unmistakable admonition from this healthy body was that the pastors should devote themselves "to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4).

Notice the order of these responsibilities. If we are not praying, we are neglecting our primary task as pastors. Like any other appointment, this time must be set aside and guarded ruthlessly, for our great enemy will certainly attack here first.

TRAINING

Group prayer must be led. Most people feel awkward praying publicly. As a leader, with the aid of God's Spirit, you must teach your team to pray. Here are a few suggestions:

• Understand the progression of prayer. Study the flow of Jesus' model prayer in Matthew 6:5-15. Don't miss the critical components (preceding the prayer) of how to enter God's presence. Martyn Lloyd-Jones provides great help on this in his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount (the greatest commentary I've ever read). Learning how to prepare for entering God's presence is critical to being able to lead your team there.
• Pray about prayer. As I come to our pastoral prayer time each week, I find myself praying about our prayer meeting. I ask God to bless us with His presence and lead our praying. I also spend time thinking about the direction He might want us to go that morning. "The person who is most prepared for any meeting always leads." Since this is the most important meeting of your week, come ready to lead as God has led you.
• Pray along themes. It's great to have variety in our prayer times. If we're praying about the "same ol', same ol'," we'll quickly lose interest. Ask God where your team needs to focus earnestly this week. Is it Sunday's service? The next initiatives on the calendar? Lost people? Needy church members? Your personal lives? One of the best times is an hour of pure praise--thanking God for who He is and what He's done, which should be done regularly. I find that God often leads me to these themes during my personal devotional times.
• Move prayer along. Long periods of silence may be needed at times, but there's nothing more awkward than a prayer meeting dying for lack of direction. Remember, corporate prayer must be led, so move to the next topic, thought, etc. Don't be afraid to gracefully guide this time.
• End on time, unless God is directing otherwise. We schedule one hour for prayer with the pastoral team before the workday begins. It's a sacred time that's been developed over the years, and we love to be there and pray together. We spend some time sharing, I set the tone and direction for the meeting (unless I've designated someone else), and then we enter in and pray. We seek to finish within the hour, but there are those great seasons when God is moving and our time extends. We welcome this, realizing its significance.
• Highlight your training. Your team members, whether they are paid or not, are in positions to lead others. While training them in prayer, take a moment to acknowledge what you're doing and why, and encourage them to do the same with the teams they lead. We realized one day, when lamenting that we didn't have a weekly large group gathering for prayer (which I would love), that we do have a prayer culture in our church; hundreds of people pray together weekly in small groups. This starts with the leaders and cascades to other teams.

TRANSPARENCY

Your team will only be as transparent as you are. Trying to act like you're something you're not instantly quenches the Holy Spirit and authenticity in your team, killing prayer.

Be honest. If you're struggling with an issue, invite your team to pray with you about it. If you sense spiritual opposition, call it out and deal with it in spiritual warfare. Wherever you are may indicate exactly where your team is. I have found this true so many times. God leads me places not just for my sake but for the health of our whole team, and He explodes in an atmosphere of humble honesty.

ACCOUNTABILITY

One day we will stand before God and give an account for our work as under-shepherds. Our most important task is leading the leaders in our church. How tragic if we have never led them to Him! What could be more vital than leading them into God's presence and training them to lead others there?

Take the time. Pay any price to teach your team to pray.