Those prayer types

A few days ago a friend, who's more an apostolic type, asked me this question: "What do you see as the advantage of being part of prayer initiatives, as most prayer people I know seem to be quite narrow-sighted and spiritualistic in their approach." Challenging question. Just a little background: since 1994 I've been working with various prayer initiatives and prophetic groups, locally, nationally and internationally. This involvement has decreased over the past few years, for various reasons, but I still value being connected to the prophetic segments of the prayer movement.

Of course my friend is right about some prayer people being spiritualistic and narrow-minded ("there's no need to build practically, God will do it all if we just pray for revival"). At the same time: I've seen too many answers to prayer to be able to ignore that God is at work.

I believe it's helpful to realise that the prayer movement, like other streams of renewal, is an expression of the reality of today's church: a community that prays, but also a subculture that struggles to get a real handle on the world in which we live. I'm part of that reality and that struggle. Still, when God 'burdens' people to pray, it's because He wants to move, so I recognize the prayer movement (that's very much a global phenomenon) as a work of the Spirit.

In an optimal scenario the prayer movement fulfills a prophetic function of 'hearing from God' and actively 'making way' in the heavenlies for what God wants to do on the earth. Even when you recognize that segments of the prayer movement don't function well (which clearly is the case), or that the prayer movement as a whole lacks an apostolic (strategic building) paradigm, there are still things God is drawing our attention to through the prophetic antenna the prayer movement provides.

That's why I'm still (though less frequently than before) in intentional relationship with people in the prayer movement - both leaders and intercessors - that I trust for their discernment and insight in God's dealing with nations. I'm also part of a national prophetic group, linked to the house of prayer in Utrecht, that meets for a full day every two months to discern what God is saying and doing nationally and internationally. I need that balance in my life and ministry of hearing prophetically and acting apostolically. And also in the prayer movement more and more people realize that a new reality of church is emerging, that will break through existing paradigms. In fact, isn't that what we're praying for? A revival or reformation of the church, impacting society?

I'm quite keen to keep the prophetic and apostolic dimension of what God is doing these days close together, as the one can't do without the other.