My Journey Toward Becoming a Praying Pastor

?Greetings Pastors,

For all spiritual leaders growing deeper in prayer, both personal and Church related, is a process. It doesn't immediately happen because we make a resolution. It takes a steady, grow-over-time effort.

Today's Praying Pastor blog, "My Journey toward Becoming a Praying Pastor" is written by a mentor of pastors, Rev. Phil Miglioratti. Phil is a networker who connects pastor prayer groups and prayer leaders. Read about and learn from his journey into becoming a praying pastor.

Blessings,

Jon Graf Church Prayer Leaders Network

P.S. Also below is a link to a unique prayer guide that was written by an Ethiopian pastor. It is from the launch of another new blog we are doing:?Prayer Connect.?This blog is the reformatting of our award-winning magazine that we published for 14 years.

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My Journey Toward Becoming a Praying Pastor

by Phil Miglioratti

(Originally posted @ praying pastor? ?on. February 18, 2025)

“Every pastor prays . . . but not every pastor is a praying pastor.” Several years into my first role as the lead pastor of a congregation, that statement came alive in my life. I had a healthy background i

n prayer. A praying grandmother when I was a young boy. Wednesday evening prayer meetings throughout my teenage years introduced me to congregational praying. Church ministry team planning meetings opened my eyes (ears, actually) to conversational prayer. “Day of Prayer” experiences with believers whose prayers were inspiringly different during my seminary years. One of the first sermons I preached was on prayer: “Effective Listening” from James 1:19.

Each experience was discipling me into prayer. But I was not yet aspiring to be a praying pastor. Years later, after ministry roles with children and youth, the Lord used a challenge to my pastoral leadership to help me see that being a pastor who prays (and even leads others to pray) did not automatically mature me into a praying pastor. “While all pastors may engage in prayer to some degree, not all pastors dedicate themselves to a deep and consistent prayer life, signifying a difference between simply performing the act of prayer and making prayer a central part of their spiritual practice and leadership.”? {AI description} The crisis sent me on a search for a prayer life that not only sustains through difficult circumstances, but would enlighten and empower my ministry. A life-long, as-I-go, conversation the Lord would use to expand my worldview and extend the faith of my prayers toward people, places and things I had never considered.

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My Journey

As I look back, I went through a Spirit-led discipling process of six stages I now label “The 6 Spheres of Praying.” More than individual segments of prayer, each sphere fuels and feeds from the others. Not merely a sequential or chronological ritual but “an area of activity, interest, or expertise; a section of society or an aspect of life distinguished and unified by a particular characteristic.” Spheres of a prayerful life.

Sphere #1 - In My Closet

The initial work of the Spirit was to strengthen my personal prayer life. Prayer retreats became opportunities to be alone with the Lord (even while in the midst of a group) and focus on myself; not my prayer habits or style but my soul. Reflection led to repentance, producing a revived, refreshed, and renewed spirit within me.

Sphere #2 - With My Cohorts

Soon into the journey I called a few pastor friends to pray together. Those weekly times of fellowship with one another as we shared our lives in unhindered prayer became oxygen both for me personally and for my ministry.

Sphere #3 - Throughout My Congregation

My newfound joy in prayer infected our congregation and caused us to pray responsively (from and toward the promises of God) rather than reactively (prompted by troublesome circumstances). As our faith increased, my vision recalibrated from adding a prayer team to our list of ministries, to equipping ministry leaders to lead with a prayer-first mind-set. I began to speak of, teach about, and lead into building a praying congregation with prayer as the DNA of every family, ministry, and activity.

Sphere #4 - Across My City

That first prayer group of pastors quickly expanded to several dozen that I was privileged to coordinate across my city. Thanks to a then new technology, (email) I began the National Pastors’ Prayer Network which connected me to nearly one thousand pastors’ prayer groups in scores of cities; large and small, across the nation. My vision was expanding beyond what cohort prayer could do for me into a desire to convene pastors and ministry leaders so that they too would begin to pray beyond their building toward building the Kingdom of God in their diverse community; an expression of the unity of the Spirit Jesus prayed for.

Sphere #5 - Penetrating My Culture

Invariably, our prayers went beyond our personal lives and our church congregation to the needs of our community . . . which led us to be cognizant of and concerned about the issues and ideas that perpetuated those deficiencies. God gave us a heart for our rapidly and radically changing society. Righteousness. Justice. Love. Mercy.

Sphere #6 - For Other Countries

Missions, which had been primarily evangelism-driven, now became equally prayer-driven. We began to learn how to pray towards transformation; not merely for ourselves but for others, and not merely for those who were like us. Mission-focused praying resulted in missional giving and going.

The Destination

The goal of this journey is to pursue Spirit-led, Scripture-fed prayer in each of the 6 Spheres. Being a pastor who preaches or teaches on prayer is not to be equated with being a praying pastor. Equip others to pray effectively by praying for them and then modeling praying with them, then releasing them to lead others to praise and petition God in Spirit-filled praying. A brief ”pastoral prayer” at a church gathering is inadequate training for members of your congregation. Pray before-during-after planning, counseling, and decision-making. Learn how to “pray without ceasing.” You can’t go back to pray for a past opportunity you ignored or missed, nor can you pray in the future. You only have the present, the moments you are prompted to think about praying. A ministry colleague paraphrases 1 Thessalonians 5:17 as “Pray. Now!” Turn your inner monologue into a dialogue; ask (questions), seek (listen), knock (pray for that door to open). Become hungry to unlearn weak habits and eager to pray filled-by (yielded-to; listening-for) the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit” is a continuous command to the congregation, not just the individual believers). Jesus we ask You to enable us to give our full attention to prayer and preaching-teaching-proclaiming the word of God?(Acts 6:4).

About the Pastor

Phil Miglioratti has pursued prayer as a pastor, a city-state-national prayer catalyst and networker, and is now asking-seeking-knocking for Spirit-led, Scripture-fed insights toward a reimagined prayer mindset.?Reimagine.network.com

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Phil Miglioratti

Phil Miglioratti has pursued prayer as a pastor, a city-state-national prayer catalyst and networker, and is now asking-seeking-knocking for Spirit-led, Scripture-fed insights toward a reimagined prayer mindset.

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Extra Resource

"Praying Open the Doors of Revelation"

A Prayer Guide By?Ethiopian Pastor?Hizkias Fako

This prayer guide, which focuses on the 3 doors in Revelation 3-4, is taken from our other new blog, Prayer Connect.

Read more . . .