Prayer Cohorts

Prayer Cohorts are specialized groups of intercessors who intentionally engage in prayer against demonic strongholds and for the advancement of the Kingdom of God around the world. PRMI provides specialized training for those who are called to engage in this type of prayer.

Specialized Prayer

What makes a cohort different from any other prayer group?

To begin with, it is important to realize that all prayer is important, but there are different spheres and areas of prayer.

I have a couple of friends who are doctors. They are general practitioners who meet with their patients to diagnose and treat a whole range symptoms and illnesses. But there are times when these doctors will refer a patient to a specialist.

The specialist has chosen to study and specialize in a specific area of medicine. A cardiac specialist focuses on the heart and is better equipped to diagnose and treat heart issues. Specialists are important, but they are only a part of the whole picture of health care.

In a similar way, prayer cohorts are one part of the larger work of prayer which the Lord is calling all believers to be a part of.

The focus of these prayer cohorts is to understand how God is moving through the work of the Spirit and at the same time recognize the ways Satan is seeking to block or hinder Kingdom advancement.

As a result, the prayer cohorts seek to engage, through high-level spiritual warfare, the strongholds which the enemy has, and is, constructing.

A Balance of Corporate and Individual Prayer

Prayer cohorts will be equipped to understand how enemy strongholds are formed and the strategies and tactics which can be used to dismantle these strongholds.

But the cohorts are only a part of the work of prayer.

The ongoing work of individual prayer coupled with corporate prayer groups is also needed.

For example, at the Community of the Cross on Friday mornings, a corporate prayer group gathers in the PRMI Log House on our campus.

This is an opportunity for those in the neighbourhood of the Community of the Cross to gather and pray for the needs of the PRMI ministry, the needs of the churches represented, and for what God wants to do in the area around Black Mountain, North Carolina.

This group (“Prayer around the Table”) is not a prayer cohort, but a prayer group.

Nevertheless, their prayers are important and vital for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

“Prayer for the World”- A Cohort

On Wednesday mornings at the Community for the Cross, the “Prayer for the World” group meets.

This is a prayer cohort. They focus on praying for what God is doing around the world.

They specifically pray about some of the Islamic terrorist organizations which are bringing persecution to Christians. One such group is Boko Haram in Nigeria. Over the past few months the cohort has prayed for demonic cloaking to be pierced, for Satan’s Kingdom to be divided and for God’s truth and power to be made manifest.

News stories have emerged which reported that the territory held by the group has been reduced and that there have been changes within leadership due to disagreements.

These are small indications that the prayers of this cohort along with the intercession of others around the world are being effective in countering this stronghold.

Are you Called to Join a Cohort?

We are all called to the ongoing work of prayer, but not everyone is called to be a part of a prayer cohort. In the same way that not all doctors are called to be heart specialists.

But for those who feel that this is an area the Lord is calling them to PRMI offers online training at various times.

Cohorts Basics Online Class

PRMI occasionally offers a moderated online course: Cohort Basics.

Subjects covered include:

Spheres of prayer
Cohort model
Cohort preparation
The “ins” and “outs” of intercession and strongholds
The 3 battle spaces

Participation in the course includes:

watching video teaching online at your own time,
downloading the teaching materials, 
then meeting with others over the internet and/or by phone each week for review of the teaching, discussion, discernment, and prayer.

To help you decide if you want to participate in this online class, we will announce an “Introduction to Prayer Cohorts” Conference Call” where you can learn more about prayer cohorts and decide if you’d like to be part of the training and formation.

On these calls, PRMI will provide an overview of the Cohorts Basics course:

What are cohorts and how are they different from other prayer groups?
The model of a cohort (Moses, Aaron and Hur)
Preparation for a cohort
Watching what God is doing and seeing what the enemy is doing
How strongholds work
The three battle spaces

Mountain Top Equipping Camps

For those who want to attend an intensive 5 day retreat, PRMI offers Mountain Top Equipping Camps: a time of worship, prayer, teaching, and fellowship where you will receive practical instruction on how to apply strategies and tactics for cooperating with the Holy Spirit, who is defeating the demonic strongholds that are blocking the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

At these events, prayer cohorts are often formed and step into actual prayer engagements. The areas you may be called into will depend on the circumstances and the areas of advancing the Kingdom of God that are taking place at the time of the Mountain Top Equipping Camp.