00:02 Emcee:
Welcome to the Strategic Intercession Podcast, where we share powerful prayer techniques, inspiring stories, and tools to help you lead with wisdom and confidence. Hosted by Melanie Boudreau, a seasoned leader in focused prayer. Whether you're leading in church, government, or business shaping your industry, this podcast is for you. Now, here's your host, Melanie Boudreau.

00:30 Melanie Boudreau:
Hey friends, today I want to share something that grew out of a really beautiful conversation I had with a fellow kingdom leader.

00:37 Melanie Boudreau:
It opened my eyes again to how many of us, even those seasoned in ministry, still struggle to establish and sustain a prayer shield. My friend owns consecrated property set apart for a greater ministry purpose. She's a deep woman of God, full of experience, faith, and anointing, yet she hasn't formed a formal prayer shield. And yes, she listens to this podcast faithfully. That got me thinking, how many of you listening right now are in the same place?

01:08 Melanie Boudreau:
Maybe you lead a creative team or run a business or serve in your local church. You know the spiritual warfare is real. You feel it. But inviting people to pray for you regularly? That feels presumptuous.

01:22 Melanie Boudreau:
Who are you to ask people to commit to covering you in prayer? Or maybe you've thought about it, but then you start worrying. What if people say yes out of obligation? What if they think you're being needy? What if you think your work isn't important enough to deserve that kind of support?

01:41 Melanie Boudreau:
If this is you, I'm on your side. I want you resourced, strengthened, and surrounded because the things God's asked you to carry are not light. I've watched too many leaders, kingdom-minded, sincere, gifted leaders, serve without proper covering. Your union with Jesus is actually far more important than any assignment you've been given. And not having adequate prayer support assaults how close you feel to God.

02:11 Melanie Boudreau:
Constant Warfare takes a toll. But I've also seen what happens when this changes.

02:21 Melanie Boudreau:
I've seen what happens when believers are properly covered, when strategic intercession is in place. Their emotional and spiritual health stabilizes. The atmosphere around their lives shifts. Joy slips in. Opposition that once felt relentless suddenly loses its grip.

02:42 Melanie Boudreau:
Here's a recent example from my own life. A few months ago, my back went out for three days. I was scheduled to leave for a ministry retreat where I'd agreed to serve with the intercessory team. The Wednesday morning I was supposed to drive four hours to this event. I couldn't stand up straight.

03:01 Melanie Boudreau:
The pain was intense and I honestly didn't see how I could serve well in this condition. My husband, who's a member of my prayer shield, placed his hand on my back and commanded the pain to go. In Jesus' name. I stood up straight, pain-free, and served through to Sunday. Without prayer, I could have served exhausted through pain for those five days, hobbling and immobilized.

03:31 Melanie Boudreau:
But I didn't have to. We suffer so much unnecessarily because we forget about God's provision. And I know for some of you, the reason you haven't built a prayer shield is because you don't want to burden anyone. You've been protecting those closest to you from the heaviness of your battles or the tedium of the details. You tell yourself, I'll ask for prayer when it's an emergency.

03:59 Melanie Boudreau:
But here's the thing. If prayer is only reserved for crises, you never experience what it's meant to provide: prevention, protection, and peace. It opens the way before you and secures the provision of heaven. Regular intercession works like preventative medicine. It keeps you in spiritual shape so you're not constantly recovering from the last hit.

04:26 Melanie Boudreau:
Strategic intercession looks forward. It removes obstacles before they form, cancels demonic schemes before they manifest, and draws down everything in God's storehouses with your name written on it. You're not asking people to do you a favor. You're inviting them to partner with God in what he's doing through you. But there's a mistake most leaders make right at the start.

04:59 Melanie Boudreau:
The single biggest mistake I see leaders make when trying to build a prayer shield? It's so subtle you might not even realize you're doing it. Don't draft potential prayer shield members into service. Invite them. This advice could easily get lost in a sea of best practices, but I don't want you to miss it.

05:21 Melanie Boudreau:
Drafting someone onto your prayer shield, whether for an event or your assignment in general, goes like this. I'm doing such and so, and I would really like you to pray for me. And then you paste in the next two pages of your schedule or particulars. That's a draft, not an ask. This has happened to me so many times, the assumptive close.

05:45 Melanie Boudreau:
Typically, I receive the draft notice through a group text or an email. I may care deeply about that person or their work, but caring doesn't equal calling. When you draft people in this way, you're making the decision for them. You're assuming they should want to be part of your prayer shield. You're not giving them space to check with God about whether this is something He's inviting them into.

06:11 Melanie Boudreau:
And here's what happens. Some people will say yes because they feel obligated. They don't want to disappoint you. But inside they're thinking, oh no, now I'm stuck. It's awkward.

06:24 Melanie Boudreau:
It creates pressure. It creates exactly the burden you are trying to avoid placing on anyone. So instead of drafting them, invite them. Make the invitation clear, make it specific, and give them freedom to say yes or no without guilt. So let me show you what that actually looks like.

06:51 Melanie Boudreau:
When you're inviting someone onto your prayer shield, take time to define what that means. Be specific about the boundaries, and be sure to give them freedom. I usually do this in person, but if you're sending an email, the same principles apply. Make it clear they don't need to answer right away. Tell them to pray about it and text or email you their response.

07:16 Melanie Boudreau:
That removes the pressure of having to say yes on the spot. By the way, don't worry about taking notes on all of this. I've included sample invitation letters in the Prayer Shield Starter Kit, check the show notes for the link. So here's what a face-to-face invitation might sound like in real life. I'd sit down with my friend and say, Gertrude, I want to invite you into something God's highlighting for this season, building a more intentional prayer shield around my work.

07:48 Melanie Boudreau:
Over the past few months, I've sensed that the Lord is asking me to steward this assignment with greater wisdom. Part of that wisdom is recognizing I can't do it alone. I need strategic intercession, not just crisis prayer. I'm asking a small group of people if they'd be willing to cover me in prayer for the next year. This isn't about daily obligations or lengthy commitments.

08:14 Melanie Boudreau:
It's about being willing to listen when the Holy Spirit brings me to mind and then praying what He gives you. I'll send brief updates, maybe weekly, maybe monthly, depending on what's happening. You'd have complete freedom to pray as much or as little as God leads. No guilt, no pressure. And at the end of the year, we'd both reassess whether this is still a fit.

08:40 Melanie Boudreau:
Would you be willing to pray about whether God is inviting you into this role? I'd be honored to have you standing with me, but I also want you to feel complete freedom to decline if this isn't the right season reason for you. Just let me know what you sense. Okay. See what happens here.

09:00 Melanie Boudreau:
It honors them without flattering. It gives a clear time frame. One year, then reassess. It defines what you're asking. Listening, not daily obligation.

09:13 Melanie Boudreau:
And it gives them permission to check with God first. This is inviting, not drafting. And it changes everything. When people are invited rather than drafted, they pray from calling, not obligation. The intercession is completely different, and your prayer shield will have greater efficacy.

09:39 Melanie Boudreau:
So, who should you ask to be in your prayer shield? Scripture gives us a clue. In 2 Corinthians chapter 9, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth about generous giving. He tells them that by serving others, they'll not only meet needs but spark gratitude in prayer. He says, As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God, and they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.

10:10 Melanie Boudreau:
It's a beautiful picture. Paul is saying that when you serve people in love, those same people will lift you in prayer out of gratitude. So when you're asking the Lord who to include on your shield, look at those you've poured into. Look at the people you've served. Look at the relationships where there's already reciprocal love and honor.

10:34 Melanie Boudreau:
Those are often the people God will highlight. Now, not everyone on your prayer shield has to be someone you've served directly. God might also highlight intercessors you don't know well yet. He might bring people to mind who carry the gift of strategic intercession and would welcome a focused assignment. Start with God.

10:56 Melanie Boudreau:
Let Him show you who's meant to stand with you. Don't just default to family and friends. Don't assume everyone who loves you should be on your shield. And don't pressure yourself to invite people because you think you should. Wait.

11:12 Melanie Boudreau:
Listen. Pay attention to who God keeps bringing to your mind. Those are your people. You don't have to invite everyone at once. You can start small.

11:25 Melanie Boudreau:
Three people. Five people. However many God highlights. You can always expand your shield later as your assignment grows, or as God brings more people into your life. The goal isn't to build the biggest prayer team.

11:43 Melanie Boudreau:
The goal is to have the right people, the ones God has assigned to stand with you in this season.

11:53 Melanie Boudreau:
Now let's talk about what makes a good invitation. Every Prayer Shield invitation needs a few key things. First, you'll want to be clear about the commitment Tell them what you're asking for. Is it a year? Six months?

12:10 Melanie Boudreau:
Ongoing with periodic check-ins? Only for a particular event? Be specific. Second, give them freedom to say no. Make it crystal clear that no is completely acceptable.

12:25 Melanie Boudreau:
You're not guilting anyone. You're giving them a chance to partner with what God is doing through you. But only if he's calling them to it. Third, let them know how often you'll communicate. Will you send weekly updates?

12:41 Melanie Boudreau:
Monthly? Only during intense seasons? They need to know what to expect so they can decide if it's manageable. And finally, make it easy to respond. Don't make people wonder how to answer.

12:57 Melanie Boudreau:
Give them a simple way to say yes or no. Email, text, or whatever feels natural. One more thing about intercessors. The people who truly carry the gift of intercession don't see prayer as an obligation they have to fulfill. They see it as a weapon they get to wield.

13:18 Melanie Boudreau:
They see it as access to frontline kingdom work they might not otherwise experience. So when you invite someone to cover you in prayer, you're not asking them to carry something heavy for you. You're giving them access to share in the reward of Kingdom wins.

13:39 Melanie Boudreau:
Friend, if you've struggled to get your prayer shield off the ground, this is your moment to try again with understanding and grace. Ask God who belongs on your shield. Invite them with clarity and warmth. Make it easy for them to say yes or to say no. I know that first conversation can feel hard.

14:00 Melanie Boudreau:
That's why I put together a Prayer Shield Starter Kit. It includes three sample invitation letters you can adapt for your situation. You'll find language for ministry leaders, marketplace leaders, and temporary coverage for things like mission trips or major transitions. Download it for free at strategicintercession.com/starterkit In our next episode, we'll talk about what happens after people say yes. How do you actually structure your prayer shield?

14:34 Melanie Boudreau:
What do you communicate? How often? How do you keep people engaged without overwhelming them? We'll cover all that and more. Oh, and one more thing.

14:46 Melanie Boudreau:
Some of you are thinking, I already have people praying for me. That's great. In episode 22, we're going to talk about the three different types of prayer shields because there's a big difference between a primary shield and a secondary or tertiary one. If you're expecting primary results from one of the others, you're going to be disappointed. That's because consistent, personalized prayer coverage makes all the difference in how effectively your prayer shield supports you.

15:17 Melanie Boudreau:
But today, just get past this first gate. The fear of burdening people has kept too many good leaders isolated for too long. Now you know how to invite participation without the burden. You were never meant to fight alone.

15:37 Emcee:
Thank you for listening to the Strategic Intercession Podcast. We hope you found today's episode inspiring and helpful. Don't forget to subscribe, share this podcast and visit StrategicIntercession.com for more resources. We're grateful to have you as part of our community. Until next time, blessings.