The Measure Of A Church - A Praying Church

The Measure Of A Church - A Praying Church

If you could choose a word to describe your church, what would it be? There are churches known for their outreach, their buildings, their music, their preaching, their meals, their youth programs … there are quite a few descriptors that would fit many churches. Those are all pretty good things but let me tell you what I would want my church to be known for: praying.

It is unimaginable the power that prayer brings to a body of believers. A friend once told me about a time when he visited a church with a very powerful preacher. That church was incredibly impactful in their community. During the service, my friend left the sanctuary and found his way downstairs where he heard a voice coming from a small, unused room. As he walked by, he caught a sight of the preachers’ father. He was on his knees praying. This man prayed every Sunday while his son preached!

What a powerful ministry. He used his gift of prayer to strengthen his son and the results were immeasurable. That’s what prayer can do.

Years ago, I found myself under attack in my own church. Two men wanted me out and they started a campaign against me. My natural response was to fight back so I countered them in a fleshly way and things started to escalate.

Another leader in the church sat down with me and told me that I was not handling things the right way. He challenged me to stop trying to manage the conflict and let God do that. I’ll never forget his words. He said, “You and I can’t beat them at their game but we can out-pray them.”

Those words hit me right in the heart. We began to pray together with another family and God went to work. He used that time to strengthen us, to reveal to me who the true leaders in our church were and to establish a core group that would take our church through the coming church split and pandemic.

Tomorrow: what does a praying church look like?