Student Alpha

“Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscles of omnipotence”

The success of every Alpha course depends on two vital ingredients: one seen and one unseen. The seen involves us using our human capabilities in a number of capacities: extending invitations to our mates, asking those on our courses and campuses to come and explore the big questions of life on an Alpha Course, organising Alpha Courses, choosing venues, cooking meals, preparing to lead discussion groups.

Accompanying this ‘seen work’ should also be the unseen work namely PRAYER. Prayer is the power behind the success of any Alpha Course. The intentional and regular prayer offered up by those who are alert to the fact that behind every Alpha course is God’s battle to win hearts and minds. Alpha is ultimately about bringing people into an encounter with God, replacing captivity with liberty. It also represents a major conflict zone; prayer is our smart weapon which we need to use to win the battle.

Paul in his letter to the Ephesians reminds us that as Christians we are working in two worlds since “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world” (Ephesians 6:12). It is therefore imperative that we use not only our human capabilities to get things done but also on our spiritual capabilities. The passage ends with a command to “pray continuously”, highlighting the relevance, power and importance of regular prayer.

How best can we use prayer to ensure our Alpha course is a success? Prayer can be hard, it can appear fruitless and often gets pushed to the bottom of our to do list. Here are some practical suggestions that might work for you to encourage prayer whilst participating on an Alpha Course:

• Create an email-list of people who will commit to pray for your Alpha course and the people attending on a weekly basis. Provide this group with regular updates / specific prayer requests for each week. You could use special prayer alerts by text message or set up a Facebook Group or even Twitter as a means for this group to keep updated.
• Organise a prayer intercession group that meets on the same evening as the course to pray alongside each session.
• Alpha Leaders and Helpers Meetings…it is really important to meet up beforehand and vital to spend some time in prayer – not just for the guests but also to equip you for the night ahead. A good habit is also to spend some time listening / asking for insight for the night / guests coming.
• Profile your Alpha in your church, CU and cell groups.
• Allocate members of your church student group / CU / cell to cover particular weeks of the course in prayer.
• Ensure that people are praying for you and that you are regularly praying through Ephesians 6:13-18.

If prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscles of omnipotence, then the more we pray, the more we will see the role our prayers play in winning the battle for hearts and minds.