Establishing a Rhythm of Frontline Prayer
The key is rhythm
Back when I used to play competitive rugby, I was fortunate enough to work with one of England’s coaches for a time. His brilliant teaching has helped me in more areas than just sport.
I remember him asking, “Do you want to know why some players come through in a clutch and deliver under pressure?” The answer came next: “The key is rhythm. They do the same thing they’ve done a thousand times in practice. The mind and body remember the routine and execute the skill. That’s how to be a clutch player.”
During COVID, a fellow pastor and I reflected on how routines were crucial in staying refreshed and resilient through a grueling couple of years. At a time when so much had been thrown up in the air, when challenges surfaced on multiple fronts, when days had been a heady mix of home-schooling, crisis pastoring, furloughing, Zoom fatigue, mourning, and much more, the foundation of spiritual rhythms kept me going.
Today is still full of its own challenges—and we still need well-honed spiritual rhythms to make it through them. In particular, I want to emphasize the rhythm of frontline prayer.
Frontline prayer
Frontline prayer is different from personal prayer (praying for yourself, your family, friends, etc.). Isaiah speaks of it like being a watchman:
“I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
give yourselves no rest,
and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.”—Isaiah 62:6-7 (NIV)
In a similar way, God exhorts us in Colossians to remain “watchful” as we devote ourselves to prayer (Colossians 4:2). Frontline prayer is looking to the horizon, watching out for where the next spiritual attack or opportunity may come from, seeking to take new ground, advancing God’s mission until he establishes the heavenly Jerusalem.
In our cities, this means being alert to what God is doing. What are the needs in my city that I need to respond to? Where are those needs? How is the gospel uniquely the answer to this? Of the many things my church could do, what should we do to respond?
My rhythm of frontline prayer is that, whereas I pray first thing in the morning for personal prayer, I pause at lunchtime to pray for the church, ministry needs, and frontline prayer. I also build in a half-day per month and a day per term for a spiritual retreat. But as with the Desert Fathers, a retreat is not a retreat from the spiritual battle, but a retreat from distractions to be refreshed and engage in spiritual battle through prayer.
If you are struggling to know where to start or what to pray for in your city, why not use the book 5 Things To Pray For Your City? It is structured around 21 areas of city life that need prayer, from navigating relationships in the city to meeting the marginalized, from witnessing to internationals drawn to the city to many other areas of ministry. By praying over one area each day, you’ll quickly cover large areas of the city and get a feel for where you might want to invest in specific frontline prayer. My prayer is that the Lord would use a resurgence of interest in frontline prayer to give us wisdom to make the most of this opportunity (Colossians 4:5).
About the Author
Pete Nicholas is a senior pastor at Inspire London church, which is part of the Redeemer City to City network. He is on the City to City UK executive team. Previously he worked for Christians in Sport, and before that as a management consultant in the technology industry. He has also written Virtually Human: Flourishing in a Digital World, A Place for God, and co-written 5 Things to Pray for Your City.