Following Judah's Lion

In Search of Prayer

The signs are all around us. There are Satanic cults; there are wars and rumors of wars: there are spreading diseases; there are earthquakes in various places; there are all kinds of evils; and the church is lukewarm at best and apostate at worst. The love of many has waxed cold.

Before Christ was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he commanded his disciples to watch and pray with Him. On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were in an upper room praying. After Pentecost, the elders of the church delegated responsibility and proclaimed,

“But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”

Before Peter was shown the vision of the unclean meats being made clean, he was praying. God sent Peter to the house of Cornelius because his prayers were heard. Paul and Barnabas were sent out after fasting and prayers. Paul saw a Macedonian man praying for help. Paul and Silas were praying when the prison doors were opened.

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer
Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer (husbands and wives)
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving
Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith
Pray without ceasing.
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.

And these are but a small sampling of the New Testament mentions and exhortations concerning prayer. But where is the passion, or even the practice, of such prayers today? The church is relying on its own ingenuity and cleverness and has found precious little time for prayer. In fact, many churches observe the “National Day of Prayer” which incorporates all religions and faiths and is both an abomination to God and an indictment to the church of Jesus Christ. Prayer is considered an ancient custom and by its token practice the church has openly manifested its scorn for seeking God.

For every prayer meeting there are a thousand Bible studies and sermons, whether they be in a book, Cd, Mp3, or other mediums. Prayer was central to the early church and was a core element in the life of our Savior. The disciples approached Jesus and they did not ask how to perform miracles or how to preach. They said, “Master, teach us to pray”. How many churches have a Sunday School class on how to pray? The family altar is an outdated fragment of days gone by. The television is now the modern day Dagon.

The obvious and tragic conclusion of our prayerlessness is that we can do things without God, and that the church no longer believes in prayer. The average pastor spends more time golfing than in the prayer closet. And the brief, mundane, emotionless, and redundant prayers offered in Sunday morning services are an affront to God and to the gracious gift of prayer. And like Sampson, we don’t even realize that God’s power and presence are gone.

Most churches “experience” the presence of God through wonderful music, but without a foundation of searching and sacrificial prayer that is nothing more than manipulated emotion. I love worship music and am demonstrative in worship, however God desires more than just emotion. God honors prayer: And not just “God give me this” prayers, but “God break me and mold me” prayers. The kind of prayer that reaches God and invites the molding ministry of the Spirit takes time. This kind of prayer is more than a five minute model recited over coffee before rushing off to work. This kind of prayer takes time and as Paul said is a labor of love.

One Chinese pastor got to visit America. He was the guest at many evangelical churches. He saw the crowds and the buildings and the technology. Upon his return to China the believers were anxious to hear of his observations. He said, “I was amazed at many things. But mostly I was amazed at how much the western church can accomplish without God.” How tragic, how sad, but how true.

I have no faith that the church as a whole will awaken to a prayer revival, but there is only one thing standing in the way of a personal revival of prayer.

You and me.