"...my house shall be called a house of prayer."

“Pray without ceasing.”

I Thessalonians 5:17

“And He said to them, ‘It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer’.”

Matthew 21:13

It could be said that prayer is one of those things that accomplishes the most but, is practiced the least. For sure, of all churches, Spirit-filled churches should be known as houses of prayer. How would the church change if it did the one thing of praying more?

The following statements were not made by a televangelist, conference speaker or denominational leader… although,… He does pastor a mega-church:

• “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)

• “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. …Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:7-11)

The question is, do we really believe what Jesus said and, if so, how would our church change if we did the one thing of praying more? No amount of campaigns, ministries of benevolence or outreach events can take the place of prayer—nor, is prayer to take the place of those very important things. A church can be a busy church yet, not be a praying church. A church can be well organized, have an amazing worship team, a great pastor that is a gifted speaker… yet, not be a praying church. The following statement was made by Mark Batterson, in his book, Draw The Circle:

“At some point in our lives, the best we can do isn’t good enough. Our best solutions, ideas, and efforts aren’t good enough. That’s when we need to hit our knees and trust God to do what only God can do. After all, prayer is the difference between the best you can do and the best God can do.”

A praying church is discerning of and resistant to dissension. A praying church carries a compassion for the unsaved and is intentional about loving and witnessing to the lost. A praying church is passionate in its praise and serious about serving. A praying church has an anointing that results in the Holy Spirit working in incredible ways in the hearts and lives of those who attend. If anything, this pandemic has caused many people to be very hunger for a move of God. God is stirring the hearts of His people to seek Him……..Revival can’t be far away!