Some of the best rebukes or reminders I receive come from books. Sometimes the rebukes are just easier to receive because no one sees you wince and there is no alter call – just a lingering conviction that you have begun to forget the most important things. Its easy to be busy doing good things but not the most important things. The most critical thing in good relationships is communication. Our relationship with God is no different. The people I know who spend the most time in intimate prayer are also the ones who hear God most clearly and who are anointed with the most power. Have you noticed that most of the great intercessors you know are probably women? I think it is because women are more relational by nature than men, Thy know the value of communication. It’s harder for men. When it comes to Christian men, God probably feels like a frustrated wife wanting her husband to talk to her rather than working on projects or watching football. Men love to work for God but it’s harder for them to spend extended time in prayer with him. Jesus was a man but he spent hours in prayer on many occasions. It made all the difference for him and it can make all the difference for us.
In speaking about Jesus and the “money changers” in the temple, Jim Cymbala writes, “The first century money-changers were in the temple, but they didn’t have the spirit of the temple. They may have played a legitimate role in assisting people to worship, but they were out of sync with the whole purpose of the Lord’s house. ‘The atmosphere of my Father’s house,’ Jesus seemed to say, ‘is to be prayer. The aroma around my Father must be that of people opening their hearts in worship and supplication. This is not just to make a buck. This is a house for calling on the Lord.’… The feature that is supposed to distinguish Christian churches, Christian people, and Christian gatherings is the aroma of prayer. It doesn’t matter what your tradition of my tradition is. The house is not ours anyway; it is the Father’s. Does the Bible ever say anywhere…’My house shall be called a house of preaching? Does it ever say, ‘My house shall be called a house of music?’ Of course not. The Bible does say, ‘My house shall be called a house of pray for all nations.’ These things (preaching and music) are fine … but they must never override prayer as the defining mark of God’s dwelling. The honest truth is that I have seen God do more in people’s lives during ten minutes of real prayer than in ten of my sermons” (Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, p.71).
It’s true. The Biblical record is that Pentecost was launched by a prayer meeting. Jesus walked on water after a night alone speaking to the Father. When his disciples failed at casting out a demon, Jesus told them that prayer and fasting were necessary to cast out that kind of spirit. Paul calls on us to pray without ceasing. When Paul tried to preach without ceasing a young man fell out of an upper story window and had to be brought back to life by prayer. Peter received a vision that opened up the gospel to the Gentiles when he was on a roof praying. When believers gathered to pray in Acts 4, the place where they were meeting was shaken, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word boldly.
Biblically, prayer moves heaven not great sermons or wonderful worship unless the worship is lifted up as prayer. All of those are essential to the life of the church put to be anointed with life changing power; they must be bathed in prayer. Very few churches truly have prayer meetings any more. We have conferences, worship nights, sports ministries, support groups, and even community service events but rarely do we gather to pray fervently. Perhaps, that is the primary reason we lack power in the American church and even in our individual lives. “My house shall be called a house of prayer!” How amazing would it be if every believer could say that about their own home as well as their church. Just a reminder from pastor Cymbala, but a very important one. May we ramp up our prayer life today and be blessed.
