The longer I run the race of ministry, the more I realize it is prayer that keeps me going and produces results that last. It's not uncommon that as a young leader, I “ran” more than prayed. As I’ve matured, my understanding and practice of prayer has strengthened.

I have also learned, however, that my prayers are not enough. I need others to pray for me. In fact, I believe this so strongly that I think it’s dangerous to lead in a church without having specific people pray for you with great passion and consistency.

For the past 12 years, I’ve had seven prayer partners—one for each day of the week. Many wonderful people pray for me at 12Stone Church, but these warriors are the ones I count on, each on their day. When I was at Skyline Church, I had 30 prayer partners, one for each day of the month.

Upon arriving at 12Stone, God directed me to seven people, saying, “I want you to pray for your prayer partners as much as they pray for you.” God knew I couldn’t or wouldn’t do that with 30 people!

Another couple, Doug and Sherry (who live in Michigan), have prayed for Patti and me for more than 20 years. They have moved heaven on our behalf!

I send my prayer partners, as a group, quick emails and texts with prayer requests and results. These communications are not very structured, and they are not written with polished language, but they are highly personal and very practical. In turn, they often send me back prayer requests of their own. When we don’t have specifics, God shows us how to pray for each other.

Each prayer partner signs up for a year at a time. Some have been with me for many years. Others move off the team, and that’s OK. No guilt, just gratitude. It’s not a team that has meetings; some of them don’t even know each other! That’s OK too. They are all busy and don’t need another meeting. They use that time to pray.

I know they pray! I sense their prayers. I’m deeply convinced of the Holy Spirit’s power and God’s increased favor because of their intercession.

My current team includes Charlie, Matthew, Celso, Karen, Larry, John and Susan. For each of you, I am so profoundly grateful, and I love praying for you! To Doug and Sherry, I can’t imagine leading without your faithful prayers. Thank you!

So, to you as a church leader, let me ask: Who is praying for you? You don’t need seven. Five is great. Three will do. Two is good! If you have just one faithful intercessor, that’s fantastic—start there. If you don’t have specific committed prayer partners, ask God to help you select a few, and ask them this week.

Dan Reiland is executive pastor of 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Ga., listed in Outreach magazine as the No. 1 fastest-growing church in America in 2010. He has worked closely with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as executive pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as vice president of leadership and church development at INJOY. His semi-monthly e-newsletter, The Pastor’s Coach, is distributed to more than 40,000 subscribers. Dan is the author of Amplified Leadership, released in January 2012.

For the original article, visit danreiland.com.

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