When Jesus stated in Luke 19:46 that “my House will be a House of Prayer”, I have found myself asking how Jesus would describe His Houses or churches today.   Would He label the majority of our churches as “Houses of Prayer”, “Houses of Praise”, “Houses of  Biblical Teaching”?  I wonder what a House of Prayer looks like.  

When I look at Jesus’ prayer to His Father before His crucifixion and the New Testament churches we read about in Acts, it appears that prayer should be an integral part of our gathering as believers because it appears that UNITY with the Father is important to Him.  Here are the Scripture passages that come to mind (underlining is my emphasis):

John 17:11, 20-23- 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.  20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me–so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 

Acts 2:42 -They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 

Acts 6:1-4 – 1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 

There is no doubt in my mind that churches have prayer warriors among them and that many of our leaders who are pastoring or leading ministries have strong prayer ministries.  I have the privilege of being a part of dynamic prayer teams behind the scenes.  I am just wondering how all members come together as ONE through prayer.  How do we obtain UNITY as an end result if we don’t know what our pastors are praying for, or our neighbors in the pew?  Matthew 18:19-20 says: 19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth AGREE about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”  It seems that in order get traction on becoming ONE, we need to intentionally pray in agreement  as a body of believers on the things that matter to God.  Are we really engaging in “corporate prayer” in order to become a “House of Prayer”?  Do we really believe His promise in Matthew 18? 

I couldn’t sleep last night because this topic of achieving UNITY in the body of Christ through prayer wouldn’t shut off!  In fact, a quote from “Servant Leadership” kept floating across my radar screen: “A team cannot succeed if they don’t share the same goal.”  Shouldn’t we be praying for the same things as a body?  So I just want to share the ideas that I hope were from the Spirit that I just feel I need to share: 

1. For churches who have multiple services, what if we considered converting one of the services into strictly a prayer service?  This would allow anyone in the body of Christ who wants to pray in agreement with the pastor and their staff to join together and pray with a holy boldness to become the House of Prayer He has called us to be.  This service should not require “preparation” by the pastor, nor an order of worship, etc.  It is just a group of believers who want to achieve unity in the Spirit and let it build.  It also allows the pastor and their teams to communicate with the body of Christ what they are actually praying for and let us join them!  I picture this as a time for conversational prayer.  I think it would also lead us to be much more other-centered in our prayer life.  I envision this as a weekly opportunity just like a worship service is a weekly opportunity.
2. For churches who have only one service, what if you considered having a Friday evening, or a mid-week meeting that allows the members of your church to come strictly for the purposes of prayer?  There may only be two or more at first, but the Lord will honor it and grow it.
3. For any of us who are leading any ministry, what if we made prayer time as the entree instead of a side dish?  For example, I have a teaching ministry and most people come to my study expecting the bulk of the time to be a bible study.  But what if it was a devotional with the bulk of the time being spent in prayer?  Or what if I offered another time for the sole purpose of praying in addition to the bible study?  I totally believe that supernatural results start to happen when His people pray!!
4. I think it would be most interesting if we would journal what we are praying for as a church body and record when and how He answers the prayer and then PRAISE Him for the result!  What a powerful testimony we would have to share with others.
5. I think it would be powerful to pray for God-sized requests that absolutely, positively cannot be achieved in our strength or abilities.  Let’s come together in agreement before the Lord with bold, specific requests.   Remember, nothing is impossible for God! (Matt 17:20) 

What would be some goals we could be praying about as a body of believers?  These are just ideas:

• Perhaps we seek that His kingdom would come and that His will would be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  (Jesus taught his disciples to pray this specifically.)
• Perhaps we should pray for obedience to the Great Commission.  Jesus gave us a mandate, not a suggestion.
• Perhaps we should pray for obedience in the area of giving.  It is saddening to read the statistics among conservative evangelicals who aren’t even close to tithing 10% of their income. 
• Perhaps we pray for a strong urgency to become the House of Prayer that He called us to be in the first place. 
• Perhaps we pray for God to create an intense desire within every member of the church to serve in and through the church so that all spiritual gifts represented in the body of Christ are activated for His purposes.
• Perhaps we pray against all forms of pride and personal agendas in the church such that humility becomes the attribute of our churches.
• Perhaps we pray on the full spiritual armor of God so that we are most effective partners with God in His kingdom.
• Perhaps we come together for the sole purpose of listening to God’s voice and share what thoughts came to mind and test them with the body of believers to see if a theme emerges. 

Corporate prayer is heavy on my heart.  I have come to a place in my spiritual walk where it has really struck me that there is way more to the Christian walk than my participation at the individual level.  God has called us to pray together  because united prayer yields increased power and authority in His kingdom.  Because God has really grown me in the area of intercessory prayer over the last two years and has shown me how much more is possible through prayer, I have not only felt so much closer to Him, but I am really hungering to see the larger body of Christ come together on bended knee.  I just believe that the power of the Holy Spirit resides in all of His believers, and He is waiting to be UNLEASHED if we would just believe that we could move mountains in His name as ONE in the Spirit who will be brought to complete unity with the help of our Triune God through prayer!  I want to partner with a church body who is not afraid to come together and make corporate prayer one of the most regular, central things we do.  The natural byproduct will be supernatural results that will only cause us to praise His name even more.  

As you contemplate this writing, if you find yourself desiring to ask the Lord to help you be an integral part of a prayer ministry with the right heart, then meditate on the following hymn “Breathe on Me, Breath of God” to get yourself in the right frame of mind: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/ttl/ttl-b.htm and click the title of the song.  For those of you who resonate with this writing, let’s have the courage to contact our pastors and staff to see if there is an openness to cultivate corporate prayer and offer to help launch such a prayer time.  I would love to hear your thoughts.  May God’s blessings abound to you in 2011. 

Blessings,

Lee Ann

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