Many churches call their Wednesday night gathering “prayer meeting.” I supposed the name described the evening’s activities at one time in history.
We church folks talk a big talk about believing in the power of prayer. We make bold statements like, “Prayer changes things.” We promise to pray for others we know who face great life challenges. But the service that bears the name “prayer meeting” remains the least attended service on the church calendar. Prayer meeting has become the church’s Great Omission.
Many churches experience the largest Wednesday attendance when the church is having a congregational meeting to vote on “business.” Conversely, the Wednesday night meeting called “prayer meeting” usually involves very little group prayer. Bible study, prayer requests, and family supper usually occupy more time on the agenda than prayer.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon pastored London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle. He led thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ during the mid to late 19th century. The church was great because this great pastor led them to be great in PRAYER. He realized that there existed no shortcuts to the mighty power of God, only the hard work of prayer.
Many Christians today would rather gamble on the shortcuts. They believe that the secret to a successful church involves one of or a combination of the right programming. They look for success in the right kind of music, preaching, children’s ministry, facility, or some other tool of programming. Sadly, the real source of power remains the most neglected time on the church’s calendar – prayer meeting.
Most churches can amass a crowd for a “fun” event but can hardly scare up a handful for prayer meeting. People will move heaven and earth to arrange their schedules for kids’ ballgames, concerts, and any other self-satisfying activity. Yet, they offer the lamest of excuses to justify their absence from church prayer meetings.
Without prayer, all programming amounts to nothing more than skilled human endeavors devoid of the power of the Holy Spirit or eternal spiritual significance. Therefore, when the church fails to succeed, we blame the preaching, music, children’s ministry, facility, or some other perceived culprit. Yet the blame lies in the empty seats at prayer meeting.
A Biblical Example
In Mark 9, Jesus, Peter, James, and John returned from a prayer retreat. Upon their return, they found the rest of the disciples embroiled in a chaotic brouhaha. A man brought his demon-possessed child to them hoping they could cast out the tormenting spirit. But alas, in spite of their skilled technique and knowhow, they failed epically. Jesus, of course, commanded the spirit to leave the boy alone forever, and it did. He made it look easy.
When the disciples questioned Jesus as to the reason for their failure, He reminded them of a truth we need to remember in our churches this day and age:
“This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” – Mark 9:29
Our will not see the miraculous move of God until we get serious about prayer meeting.
From the Pen of Spurgeon
Let me leave you with a convicting quote from Spurgeon.
The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be slothfulness in prayer.
If a church is to be what it ought to be for the purposes of God, we must train it in the holy art of prayer… In many churches the prayer-meeting is only the skeleton of a gathering: the form is kept up, but the people do not come. There is no interest, no power, in connection with the meeting. Oh, my brothers, let it not be so with you.
Believe me, if a church does not pray, it is dead. Instead of putting united prayer last, put it first. Everything will hinge upon the power of prayer in the church.