10 Reasons to Develop a Culture of Prayer in Your Ministry
Over the last decade I’ve had the privilege to travel around the world visiting some extremely remote villages as well as some of the world’s largest metropolises. From China to Australia, Jordan to Germany, Israel to Australia, and Kenya to Hong Kong it is absolutely clear that God is raising up His house of prayer. It looks different depending on the culture and language but no matter where you go throughout the earth, you will find people whose hearts are burning with a desire to worship Jesus night and day.
This groundswell of prayer cannot be attributed to any individual organization or any concerted mobilization effort. It’s a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible gives us a clear picture of an end time prayer movement in passages like Malachi 1:11 and Isaiah 62:6-7. So it should be no surprise that we are seeing in our day the emergence of a prayer movement the likes of which the earth has never experienced.
Perhaps no other passage so clearly identifies the Lord’s desire for His people to live in a culture of prayer than Matthew 21:12 – 13. It’s here that Jesus overthrew the moneychanger’s tables and made the statement “My house shall be call a house of prayer”. Though there are many implications to this passage, In my opinion the most prominent is that it’s a declaration of the Lord’s expectation for the outstanding cultural behavior His people are to possess: Prayer. Jesus was clear, unrelenting, and zealous over this issue. He wants His people to practice prayer as the defining element of all our activity.
Even though the prayer movement is gaining ground worldwide and biblically speaking though Jesus’ zeal for a culture of prayer among His people is evident, the reasoning behind a culture of prayer may still seem out of reach for some leaders. The following list gives 10 reasons why we must give ourselves to establishing a culture of prayer in our churches and ministries. My prayer is that these points would form a basis for you as a leader to make the necessary shifts in your ministry to see a culture of prayer established.
10 Reasons to Establish a Culture of Prayer
1. Jesus prophesied it and thus prescribed it (Mat 21:12-13)
2. Jesus is extremely zealous and deeply desirous of it (Mat 21:12-13)
3. No kingdom work is established lest it’s first established through prayer (Psalm 2:8)
4. A culture of prayer is what the Father and Son practice (Psalm 2:8)
5. A culture of prayer centers the church around the person of Jesus instead of programs
6. A culture of prayer requires us to fast from our strength, slow down, and lean on the Lord’s ability (Prov 3:5, Eph 6:10, 18).
7. It’s the clear historic culture for the people of God (Tabernacle, Temple)
8. The church is the corporate temple, built together as a dwelling place of God (Eph 2:22)
9. We are firstly called to be priests, ministering to the heart of God (Rev 5:10)
10. Jesus’ worth demands that His Bride be firstly and primarily preoccupied with Him (Rev 5:10-14)