When the people of God pray together, God makes his presence felt.
There are a number of examples in the Bible - some of them quite spectacular. For example, the glory of God filled the temple when Solomon dedicated the building in 1 Chronicles 7. The temple was packed with worshipers as Solomon made promises to the Lord on behalf of the people and God responded.
And there are similar stories today.
Cheryl Sacks, author of The Prayer-saturated Church, writes:
"The greatest distinguishing characteristic of a house of prayer is the tangible presence of God. As we draw near to him, he draws near to us. We can sense and feel his presence."
I have read similar comments by Daniel Henderson when he was describing Arcade Church, the church he pastored in Sacramento, California years ago.
In his book Fresh Encounters, he says visitors to his church often said to him: "The presence of God is in this place." That, he says, meant more to him than any compliment about his sermons or the worship service or anything else in the church program.
Henderson, a key figure in the prayer movement in the United States, has written several books about the power and wonder of people praying together in worship and praise of God.
He and Sacks and a growing number of church leaders are calling on people in the Western world to return to praying together so that churches are truly "houses of prayer". Jesus used that term to describe what the house of God should be - a house of prayer.
But group prayer is still low on the totem pole of priorities in modern church life. And I would argue that lack of praying together yields bitter fruit - declining attendance, church infighting, broken marriages, acceptance of sin.
When we pray together, our faith grows and we join together in resisting the attacks of Satan on the body of believers.
Sacks suggests several ways praying together can help clear the way for God to make his presence felt in our churches. Here are some:
Taking these steps, we can come together as believers and draw close to the Lord. And he will make his presence felt.There are a number of examples in the Bible - some of them quite spectacular. For example, the glory of God filled the temple when Solomon dedicated the building in 1 Chronicles 7. The temple was packed with worshipers as Solomon made promises to the Lord on behalf of the people and God responded.
And there are similar stories today.
Cheryl Sacks, author of The Prayer-saturated Church, writes:
"The greatest distinguishing characteristic of a house of prayer is the tangible presence of God. As we draw near to him, he draws near to us. We can sense and feel his presence."
I have read similar comments by Daniel Henderson when he was describing Arcade Church, the church he pastored in Sacramento, California years ago.
In his book Fresh Encounters, he says visitors to his church often said to him: "The presence of God is in this place." That, he says, meant more to him than any compliment about his sermons or the worship service or anything else in the church program.
Henderson, a key figure in the prayer movement in the United States, has written several books about the power and wonder of people praying together in worship and praise of God.
He and Sacks and a growing number of church leaders are calling on people in the Western world to return to praying together so that churches are truly "houses of prayer". Jesus used that term to describe what the house of God should be - a house of prayer.
But group prayer is still low on the totem pole of priorities in modern church life. And I would argue that lack of praying together yields bitter fruit - declining attendance, church infighting, broken marriages, acceptance of sin.
When we pray together, our faith grows and we join together in resisting the attacks of Satan on the body of believers.
Sacks suggests several ways praying together can help clear the way for God to make his presence felt in our churches. Here are some:
- As we pray together, God will reveal areas of sin which need to be dealt with - and we must act on these revelations;
- Any major effort to evangelize should be covered in prayer. Prayer is a weapon to clear the way for the Holy Spirit and a shield against Satan's attacks;
- It is often important to concentrate our prayer efforts on a single target. We can seek God through prayer and fasting and then focus our prayers on what he is asking us to do as a church; and
- Church leaders should pray together to determine how Satan is trying to disrupt what we are doing for the kingdom of God. Then, we can pray fervently together, renouncing any efforts by the evil one to foil God's work and praising God for Jesus' victory.
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