When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Acts 12:12

 

My wife and I had just had breakfast looking across the vast city of Seoul, Korea. The day was cloudy and dreary, but we commented on the number of churches which were visible, all of which had a cross silhouetted against the dark sky. I counted no less than a dozen crosses, many of which were outlined in red neon.

 

Beneath these crosses men and women meet at the beginning of the day, every day of the year, for prayer. Churches here are open for prayer at 5 A.M. in the winter. The practice of early morning prayer began when Korea was overrun by the North Korean Army and Christians met together early before heading for the fields or the factory where they worked, and it’s never stopped.

 

“Whatever happened to corporate prayer elsewhere?” my wife asked. While I know of no other national church anywhere in the world that so recognizes the power of corporate or group prayer as does the Korean church, the practice of praying together as a church body has been sorely neglected.

 

In fact in most places it has almost ceased to exist in the church of the 21st century. Sure, I know, we can excuse it, saying that the schedules of people today and our lifestyles just doesn’t lend themselves to this sort of thing any more, but could the deeper reason be that we are so self-sufficient, so secure, so lacking anything that we no longer feel any compulsion or need to prostrate ourselves before God and ask for His help? To the church of Laodicea long ago, God said, “You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17, NLT).

 

There are times, of course, when we are driven to prayer. Abraham Lincoln, who presided over the terrible conflict known as the American Civil War, said he had been driven to his knees many times by the realization there was no where else to go. When Hurricane Katrina smashed the Louisiana coast, the governor immediately declared a day of prayer. When William Rehnquist, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, died, his body was on display in the entrance to the U.S. Supreme court building and public prayer was made. People pray when extreme difficulties challenge their security, their sense of well being or comfort.

 

With our massive buildings, our websites and podcasts, our specialization and our slick promotion, have we forgotten that the power of the early church was generated by ordinary men and women who humbled themselves before God, asking Him to do what they could not do? If we can tweak the interest that brings thousands of people to church on weekends, is it not possible to convince people that joining hearts and hands in prayer can help change the world?

 

Or do we really believe that? My great concern is that if the Holy Spirit were totally withdrawn today, in many places the church today would operate unchanged because program and production energize the show rather than the Spirit of God. Yes, individuals are told to pray, but the example of the early church as well as the practice of healthy churches says that prayer produces a spiritual power and vigor that makes it strong enough to withstand difficulty and challenges without losing vast numbers of people.

 

It’s a sure thing that the example of the ancient church should convict us of our lack of prayer. It’s a lesson we well need to take to heart. Learn to pray. Simply open your heart and let the words flow out. And, God will do the rest.

 

Resource reading: Acts 12