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Praying Households

Households offer a fantastic opportunity to bring prayer into the localities in which we live. Whether a house is a family praying, a group of Christians living together, the meeting place of a church home-group, or simply Christian friends gathering together to pray for their neighbourhood, this is a powerful way of bringing our communities and their needs before God. 

Praying Households schemes first started in India, where Mission India has planted 100,000 "witnessing prayer cells" in the first ten years since the scheme started in 1985. The idea has since spread to the UK, the USA and many other places, where the schemes have a variety of names including Prayer Houses and Lighthouses. 

This is also a great way for church leaders to take the prayer ministry of their churches out into the communities they serve.   It may be helpful to provide some guidance to "praying households" on what you are aiming to achieve by the scheme, and what they should be praying for.   With just a few households joining the scheme, an area can effectively be covered in prayer (see right).   This kind of scheme can also a great opportunity for churches within an area to collaborate, since that increases the number of Christians living in a particular area, and will strengthen the scheme.

praying households together build up a network of prayer.
Pointers for Prayer : Here are some thoughts on what to pray for :
i. Pray for your immediate neighbours, seven households around where you are living. If you don't know their names, then find out!  Pray for them specifically, for any needs that you are aware of, and if they are not Christians, then pray that they may want to find out more about Jesus.  If you don't know much about them and their needs, you may like to have an open house where you can invite your neighbours in for coffee, or for a barbeque.
ii. Pray for the needs of your community : for schools, community life, those who are working in the community. Each area has its own specific needs and issues, and "praying households" allows focused prayer to be brought to bear on these issues.
iii. Pray for the wider community : your town or city council, and the broader issues within your area. Pray particularly for those with leadership roles in your community, and for the church's ministry and working relationships with them. Relationships between church and local government can take a while to develop, so this is a long term prayer need.  Again, you may need to do some research to inform your prayers.
iv. Finally pray for household, that you may continue to be a good witness in the community, and for any specific needs amongst the pray-ers. Pray that you would have the time and energy to help establish Christian community in your area.
v. As the scheme develops, pray for other praying households, especially those close to you. You might like to meet with them occasionally to pray together and encourage each other.