Prayer

Freedom Prayer is a personal prayer ministry where individuals can schedule a focused prayer time with members of Wintonbury’s Freedom Prayer Team. The main goal of the prayer ministry is to allow the Holy Spirit to identify and address areas hindering a deeper personal relationship with God.

This ministry uses a biblical framework to give the Holy Spirit room to address inner hurts and wounds, identify and break strongholds, and bring healing and freedom, all with the purpose of knowing God better (Ephesians 1:17).

While Jesus can meet us anytime in any way, He’s made a promise that when two or more gather in His name, He blesses us with His presence (Matthew 18:20).

When we wait on Him together, we can confidently expect Him to reveal Himself and, as our hearts are tender and open to Him, we can trust He will guide us into truth (John 16:13).

Steps in the Process:

1. Submit a Freedom Prayer session request form.

2. Once the form is received, you will receive a confirmation email with further details.

3. Please feel free to contact the Wintonbury Freedom Prayer team at freedomprayer@wintonbury.org if you have any questions, or concerns, or would like to discuss anything prior to scheduling.

4. Learn more about Freedom Prayer.

Collected Prayer

This category of prayer includes intercessory prayer that comes in via digital communication (i.e., email / phone, Signal and Facebook) and prayer requests that come in via completed prayer request cards from the Sunday services.

Sunday Morning Prayer

This leg of the prayer ministry consists of the following sub-categories:

1)    Pre-service Prayer – People come ~30 minutes prior to the start of the Sunday services and pray for the Sunday services in general, those in servant roles during the service, any visitors that might be coming and over the sanctuary/café. This would culminate with joint prayer with the connections team.

2)    Prayer ministry that takes place during and/or after the service. This team consists of trained prayer warriors and can include the elders and pastors as needed. They are identified as authorized prayer ministers through the wearing of badges/lanyards. These prayer warriors are trained in how to lead people in the basics of salvation, forgiveness, confession of sins, repentance, healing, deliverance, etc. They would also be able to lead those needing more to the Freedom Prayer ministry via a handout that has all the pertinent information.

3)    Connections prayer that takes place before, in between and after the services. It is basically the same team identified in section 2 above.

Prodigal Prayer

This ministry provides a monthly safe place where those who have prodigals or burdens for them can pray together. It is not a support group where counselling is provided but a place where strategic prayers are offered unto the Lord for the prodigals that the participants have a burden for.

It also promotes encouragement and perseverance in prayer corporately (In the midst of the battle that our hearts and hope do not become disillusioned or despair overwhelm our faith.)

The term Prodigal is taken from the well-known parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15:11-32.

Our own sons and daughters are recklessly and wastefully spending their " inheritance”. In the same way, choosing a worldly lifestyle, indulging in every desire, and wasting their purpose and destiny.

Many are praying for the return of their loved ones to His embrace. We acknowledge that our 

hearts are hurting and broken and prayer together can bring great consolation as well as breakthrough.

We know also through this parable; the power and great love God has for all and how He longs to welcome His sheep home. While we recognize that we are dependent on the Lord to bring breakthroughs; we also feel confident that we are joining the Lord’s heart in drawing them back “home” to Him.

Pastoral Intercessory Team

The intention of this ministry is to raise up a band of committed intercessors who pray daily for the ministry of the Word of God through our lead Pastor. We acknowledge that the enemy’s intentions are to distract and hinder the Pastor from effectiveness in this God-given task. Also, we see in Scripture, Satan knows that if he strikes the Shepherd, the sheep will scatter. Though the enemy takes aim at our Pastor, God has a plan of defense- intercessory prayer.

We also recognize that Pastors are in the “spotlight” and are subjected to unreasonable expectations, scrutiny and criticism from the flock. Also, it is a very demanding task to lead a church, and this assignment has a high level of responsibility and accountability. When the congregation is invited to pray for the Pastor, they are reminded that this is a team effort. As EM Bounds said, “It takes prayer in the pulpit and prayer in the pew to make preaching arresting, life-changing and soul-saving.” Not only that, the flock is reminded to take aim at our common enemy (the accuser of the brethren), and not at the Pastor!!

We believe that prayer makes a dynamic difference and that results of these prayers can be quantified. One survey reported that 89% of the Pastors who responded saw a measurable difference in ministry effectiveness when even one Intercessors prayed 15 minutes a day for one year.

Intercessors are initially personally recruited by the leading of the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer for direction. Once the core is established, the congregation is invited to join in. The vision is to start with at least 5-6 Intercessors who pray daily and meet weekly between services (on a rotating basis) to at least 30 (a tenth of the congregation) who pray daily for the Pastor in their own personal prayer time.

The PIT Crew is directed to pray according to the leading of the Holy Spirit and is also equipped with an expansive list of 18 prayer point areas to cover a spiritual leader, as written in our source book, The Prayer Saturated Church by Cheryl Sacks.

Overview of prayer points:

- We pray for family and staff relationships- for unity, clear communication and conflict resolution

- We pray for bodily health and strength- protection from distraction, exhaustion and weakness

- We pray for spiritual connection with the Lord and revelation from the Holy Spirit.

- We pray Scriptures such as Eph 1:17-19, Phil 1:9-10 and Col 1:9-11 We pray for receptivity of the listeners to the message- for alertness, openness and engagement.

- We pray for the congregation’s response to the Lord- for the lost to be saved and for believers to draw closer to Him.

- We pray for protection from enemy retaliation- for shielding from accusatory thoughts that bring discouragement.