Prayer is essential to the success of your 10 Keys Study since only God can save the lost and open the eyes of the blind. For this reason, we must call upon the Lord to be present to empower our study.

STEP 1: APPOINT A PRAYER COORDINATOR (90 days in advance)

This person will be responsible for establishing the prayer network and for leading the prayer meetings. Look for a person with a heart for prayer and outreach. The prayer coordinator will also need some administrative skills or support.

STEP 2: ESTABLISH A LEADERS' PRAYER GROUP (90 days in advance)

1. Set up one or more extended prayer meetings with your key people well in advance of your study to seek the Lord and ask for His blessing and direction. Pray for all the volunteers and that seekers would come. The outreach team of our church got together for a 3-hour prayer meeting several months before our study began. We have since had several longer prayer meetings in place of our usual business meetings and can attest to the power of answered prayer. The prayer coordinator should be in regular communication with group leaders to ask for prayer requests and to pray for any specific needs they have. A separate prayer chain among the leaders may also be established for more coverage.
2. During the study, all key leaders should be present for a regular weekly prayer time before each study begins. You may also invite any volunteers working the study such as kitchen help, servers, greeters or set-up people, as well as any prayer partners who will be praying for the study — as their time permits.
3. Suggested prayer time would be from 15-30 minutes right before each meeting begins. If your meeting begins at 6 PM, ask your people to arrive for prayer by 5:15 or 5:30. End your meeting at least 15 minutes before the study begins so the leaders can meet attendees when they arrive. Longer prayer meetings of 45-60 minutes should be called on the days you will be giving the salvation message. These meetings will start an hour ahead and will involve more intensive intercession for the individuals at each leader's table. On these days, you may want to break the leaders into small groups so they can pray for more people.
4. During these meetings, the prayer coordinator can ask the leaders for prayer requests related to the study or prepare a general list of requests which is handed out upon their arrival. The coordinator may want to vary the format from week to week to keep things interesting. The best method we found was to break the meeting down to 4 or 5 categories. An example would be to spend 4-5 minutes praying for: the speaker, the table leaders, the seekers, the children and the volunteers.

STEP 3: ESTABLISH AN E-MAIL PRAYER CHAIN (60-90 days in advance)

1. Compile a list of the email addresses of the people interested in praying for your study and the outreach events of the church. You can publicize this by mail, announcements in the church bulletin or from the pulpit — preferably all three. If your church has an email newsletter, this is a perfect place to ask for signups. Be sure to include all of your table leaders and those volunteering in any capacity on this list.
2. Once your list is established, the prayer coordinator should send out a weekly email informing the group of your plans for the study. Provide them with the dates and times and ask that they be praying before and during the study. Also, give them a list of prayer requests for the week. Keep in contact with your list regularly to keep the momentum high. When your study begins, be sure to report the results of last week's meeting and give them specific prayer requests for the next meeting. When people accept Christ in the meetings, let your email network know who they are (by initials or first names) so they can be encouraged to keep praying. Also, give your network the initials of anyone in the group who is "on the fence" about making a decision and ask them to pray for them. We did this and most of the fence sitters made decisions before the study ended!

STEP 4: ESTABLISH AN ON-SITE INTERCESSORY PRAYER GROUP (45-60 days in advance

1. Once the study begins, it is essential that prayer cover the entire event. Using the email prayer chain you've established, as well as the other forms of publicity in your church (newsletter, announcements, mail and bulletin) ask people to join an on-site prayer group to pray for your study at the same time it is meeting. The most powerful evangelism occurs when prayer is happening at the same time! This group will meet in a separate room and be praying during the study. Very important — do not skip this step. Your group may only be 2-3 people, but it is essential. For those who cannot attend, ask that they be praying from their homes.
2. During the prayer time, start with general requests for the study, then move into a time of intercession for each person attending by name, and also each table leader by name. The prayer coordinator should acquire a list of the names of attendees prior to the first meeting and give a copy of the list to each prayer partner present. This is also an essential component and should not be skipped. If you prefer to keep the last names confidential, provide first names or initials only.

STEP 5: THE IMPORTANCE OF FASTING IN CONJUNCTION WITH PRAYER

Several times during the study on the days we were giving a salvation message and an invitation to accept Christ, we asked our email prayer network to fast along with us — liquids only until 12 noon — on the day of the study. It was encouraging to see how many people from our email network came forward to inform us that they were fasting for the study. They were so pleased to be involved. The fasting brought powerful results in that several people were saved and others came into a deeper relationship with the Lord.

Sample 10 Keys Prayer Lists

PRAYER LIST 1

Seekers
Protection and safe arrival
Free from fear
Comfort with surroundings
Open hearts and minds to the Gospel
Salvation
That they keep coming back and get connected to church

Table Leaders
Wisdom and discernment in leading discussion
Connect with those in their groups
Show the love of Christ
Boldness in witnessing
Ask the right questions
Give the right answers
Open to the Holy Spirit's leading
Protection and good health
Faithful and disciplined to pray for their group

Main Speaker (if applicable)
Protection and good health
Holy Spirit's empowerment and wisdom in presenting the material
Correct timing/ the Holy Spirit's leading
Message is clear and understandable

Other details
Sound system, microphones, PowerPoint, etc
Dinner goes smoothly, food timed well
Table set up and take down – adequate volunteers and good timing
For the children's program to go well and have enough volunteers
For parents to feel comfortable leaving their kids
For the salvation of children

PRAYER LIST 2

• Salvation of seekers at your table by name.
• Salvation of seekers in general
• That "fence-sitters" would make a decision
• For people to join follow up studies
• For new believers to get grounded in their faith and connected at church
• For good conversations at the tables; wisdom and discernment for leaders
• For the speaker to make a clear, understandable presentation of the plan of salvation
• That children would be saved during their program