All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
-Acts 1:14
When Peter realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
-Acts 12:12
…These I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
-Isaiah 56:7
Does the Bible ever say anywhere from Genesis to Revelation, “My house shall be called a house of preaching”? Does it ever say, “My house shall be called a house of music”? Of course not. The Bible does say, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”. Preaching, music, the reading of the Word – these things are fine; I believe in and practice all of them. But they must never override prayer as the defining mark of God’s dwelling. The honest truth is that I have seen God do more in people’s lives during ten minutes of real prayer than in ten of my sermons.
-Jim Cymbala, senior pastor, Brooklyn Tabernacle
As you read the book of Acts, it’s clear that church meetings were never meant to be performance-driven events where everyone sits and watches the worship band and a sermon, then goes home. We are meant to be on our knees, storming the throne of Heaven. Don’t just give me a sermon on prayer, let’s do it.
One reason we’ve lost our country is because many of our churches aren’t the powerhouses of prayer they’re called to be. There is no spiritual power without prayer.
Today, let’s ask God to move in His pastor’s hearts everywhere to make their churches houses of prayer. We desperately need this. There’s no reason one-third of every service can’t be devoted to prayer. With where we are today we should devote an entire service to prayer at least once a month—just as the early church did.
Watch the video above for more, or click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0AG2H2CUF4
I want to continue to challenge you to get others involved in the 30 days of prayer.
Thank you for going to war with us
