Finding the Missing Link
Not so very long ago, Covid 19 forced churches to close for the first time in American history. Most pastors, if they had equipment and a good internet connection, stood center stage in empty sanctuaries under house lights with a worship leader and praise band (if they had one) separated six feet apart. Quick learners, preached Livestream to an empty church.
The CDC called churches “non-essential,” but bars, liquor stores, and casinos were essential. My own church locked its doors for 11 weeks. Tragically, some churches never reopened. And when they did, attendance has never been the same.
It’s hard to sing
with a mask on!
Eventually, the faithful returned. Pews/ chairs were cordoned off at six foot intervals (social distancing). Masked members sat in their section, while the unmasked congregated in the “free-to-choose” zone–almost the last straw for already some fractured congregations.
Have you ever tried to sing with a mask on? Do you wear glasses? I had to get anti-fog solution or sit out the singing.
Under these precipitous conditions, something went missing that I believe can be recovered: the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit.
“Only one thing can
kill a church…!” And it wasn’t Covid 19.
One thing can kill a church. One thing is essential for the life of any congregation: “Christ’s special presence.”
Congregations die when the Spirit of Jesus departs. Unfortunately, if the Holy Spirit left the church, no one would notice because it runs so smoothly without Him.
The missing mandate is not without life-threatening consequences. Believers are to “devote themselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart” (Col.4:2). Much has been lost since the pandemic. I’m asking the same question David asked and answered in Psalm 121:1-2 — “Where does our help come from?” We know: ”Our help comes from the Lord…!”
The way to recover what’s missing is to become a ”A House of Prayer.” Somebody has to be willing to pray the price!
I recall sitting in room with Lead Pastors from Miami at their annual Prayer Summit. I noticed an enlarged map of Greater Miami-Dade County. Spiritual mapping had been done to identify houses of prostitution, homosexuality, and places dedicated to the worship of satan. Interestingly, the places dedicated to satanic worship literally encircled the entire area. The challenge we prayed into was to have Houses of Prayer on the perimeter encircling everything and everyone.
In 2011 at our District Assembly, I challenged the pastors and churches of the Southern Florida District to make our churches what Isaiah prophesied in 56:8 and Jesus embraced in Matthew 21:13. He cleared His House of the moneychangers and announced what His Church should be, “A HOUSE OF PRAYER for the people of all nations.”
Buildings don’t pray;
only people pray!
Most pastors are eager to lead their congregations to become what Jesus said they should be–true Houses of Prayer.
If you do not know how to begin, NavPress published a simple guide called “HOUSE OF PRAYER,” which we furnished to every pastor. Honestly, in all my university and seminary training, no class ever offered to teach me how to pray or how to have a praying church. Nor leadership for that matter (But I digress!) This probably explains why there is so little evangelistic fervor and fruitfulness! Simply put
And yet, who is the most likely person to be called upon to pray at church gatherings ? Will “the professional pray-er” please stand. It’s gotten so bad in some finely-tuned worship sequences that there is no time for prayer. It might be nice to invite God back to church at a thing called “Pastoral Prayer.”
The truth is you can’t have a praying church with praying people, lead by a praying pastor, because as Bishop Small says, “buildings don’t pray?”
In a praying church, everybody prays, not
just a select few.
R.A. Torrey says the New Testament Church was “a praying church” … they “prayed not merely occasionally, but “continued steadfastly…in prayer” (Acts 2:42). They all prayed, not a select few, but the whole membership of the church. And the result is predictable.
“And the place was shaken…!” Acts 4:31.The power of God breathed on them, in them, and through them. I don’t need the Spirit to knock my socks off every time I go to church, but should we not expect frequent movings of the Spirit? Do you long for atmospheric change in your home and church? It starts with…
A Dynamic Personal Prayer Life
A praying church requires at-home daily prayer in your secret prayer space. But as I hope to show you, prayer cannot stop at the threshold of our homes. Prayer must be outwardly focused. Paul exhorted the Colossians to “Devote themselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart” (4:2). Those who embrace Paul’s challenge in a church, help move it toward becoming a praying church.
A praying church
doesn’t just pray
in times of crisis.
If your church only prays together in times of crisis. If this were the case, Covid 19 certainly gave us plenty of prayer fodder. During the pandemic I was urging followers not to waste the crisis by refusing to become a praying church. Prayer must saturate everything we do. But what I want to show you is that it should be coupled with…
Fellow Believers Who Purposely Pray Together
Your church can become a Power House of prayer. What might happen if every church adopted the Moravian principle: “No one works until somebody prays?” Being devoted to prayer requires strong, at-home daily or continual prayer, as well as, at church all-together praying. If leaders refuse, a conscious choice is made to be a prayerless church. And here is the result:
“Prayerless leaders = prayerless church.”
Refuse to say,
“We don’t need more prayer.”
Don’t unfairly accuse pastors of intentionally leading a prayerless church. One board member told her pastor, “We don’t need more prayer around here!” after he let his leaders know he wanted a praying church. Her cold-water drenching caused him to abandon the attempt, but strengthened his resolve to remain a praying pastor, whether anyone joined him or not! And within six months he was forced to resign.
Remember, our culture actively rejects any historical connection to Christianity. An article by Chelsea Vicari alerted Christsendom to the fact that “The New Christian Left Is Twisting the Gospel,” and faces what she calls, “uphill cultural battle, mired by scare tactics and fear.”
“Traditional churches are in the cross hairs
of popular culture.”
Vicari concludes, “Faith leaders are encouraging young evangelicals to trade in their Christian convictions for a gospel filled with compromise. Their slow attempt to “update”evangelicalism is “not for the good.” In my opinion, we acquiesced to look, feel, and believe like the culture we’ve in marinating in for decades.
As a result, many pastors attempt to offer entertainment as worship, often in a sub-par attempt to look like and sound like a not so good rock concert, all in an attempt to be relevant, attractive, and progressive.
“When you don’t have the Holy Spirit, you buy a fog machine!” (Small)
Doug Small once opined, “We have houses of preaching and singing. Rarely, do we have houses of prayer.” And then came Covid 19 and the search for a New Normal began. The missing link is not the fog machine. It’s the supernatural Presence and Power of God! All things considered, you can find the missing link by answering the following:
“10 QUESTIONS THAT REVEAL WHETHER YOU ARE PRAYING CHURCH” (Project Pray)
(1) Do you value prayer? If so, do you feature prayer in your worship services? If not, why not? Do people pray before and during your services? Does anyone but the pastor walk the aisles and between the pews/chairs hosting God’s holy Presence where people will sit? Have you ever assumed the role of a gatekeeper and prayed at each entrance to your gathering place? Your answer can only be yes if you truly value prayer.
(2) Is prayer the central element of all ministry? If you’re not sure, ask David’s question in Ps. 121:1-2. If it’s one ministry among many, that’s better than no prayer, but it is not at the center where it rightly belongs.
(3) Are your people a praying people? Once you discover the benefits of prayer, you can never be satisfied to neglect it or settle for a prayerless church!
(4) Do you nurture at-home daily prayer, family prayer, husband-wife, parent-child prayer connections? Do you provide prayer resources, training and nudging new and old Christians to deepen their prayer lives? Have you ever hosted a Prayer Summit? Start by developing your own meaningful prayer routine. Of course, say grace at meals and allow your children to pray.
(5) Do you believe that the people of God are a kingdom of priests and that prayer and worship is our highest calling? You do if you consider believers a royal priesthood, recipients and conveyors of blessing. . Prayer is our way to God. We seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these other things will be added (Matt.6:33).
The most noble
use of prayer is intercession.
We don’t pray just to receive things; we pray for direction and for His will and His kingdom to come. God calls us to stand in the gap as intercessors for others . The highest calling of prayer is communion with God, but its most noble use is intercession (Small).
(6) Do you regularly pray for God’s favor and blessing, His protective care, upon your pastor, the church staff, your church family, your city, and our nation? When you pray for your pastor, you are not only ministering to your pastor but also partnering with him in ministry. You are sharing his sacred burdens as you intercede for him.
In other words, have you moved beyond “this-four-and-no-more” to intercede for your church (denomination), where you live, your neighbors, your nation (Revival in America), a lost world (the Unfinished Task)?
(7) Do you bless and not curse? Say good things about that person to God. It is hard to stay angry and hate the one you are praying for. I’ve said it before our war is not with culture; our war is with sin and evil consequences.
(8) Do you ask God not for what you deserve, but for blessing—for continued grace and mercy? How specific are you? Rick Warren advises, “Be very specific in what you ask for. Keep praying and asking God for wisdom. He will be faithful as you ‘trust in the Lord with all your heart’”!
(9) Do you value holiness and righteousness, as the mark of God upon a people, and do you recognize that the church desperately needs revival and our nation needs a great awakening? If so, do you regularly cry out to God for revival in the church and a great awakening of our nation? And finally…
(10) Do you believe in the power of petition, that God answers prayer? If so, do you faithfully take the needs of the church, one another, your city, and the world before the throne of God and ask for grace? Have you established a means whereby requests for prayer are taken seriously and held up in prayer persistently, beseeching God expectantly for an answer?
Bring prayer into the
heart of all you do.
Could the reason so many churches suffered through an epic pandemic pruning be that when CAWKI (church as we know it) resumed, we would strive for God’s ultimate goal: to bring prayer to the heart of all we do? It is the missing link. Never forget, there is a direct connection between prayer and Missio Dei (mission of God). “There are no, or few open doors, or orchestration by the Spirit, without prayer.”
