Why Do We Value Prayer So Much?

Why do we pray before church on Sunday? Why do we offer prayer each week afterward? Why are we spending 40 days praying for the new building on Hanover Street? We value prayer. It’s a BIG deal to us.

Some think we have a passion for prayer. To be honest, that’s really not it. The better answer is that we are painfully aware of our own inability to accomplish anything for God of eternal value with our own strength, wisdom and abilities.

Jesus said, “apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We like to think He said this for a reason. The truth is, it may even be a bit counter-cultural to have this kind of heavy reliance on prayer. So be a rebel, pray with us.

Jesus also said, “My house will be a house of prayer…” (Luke 19:46). We also like to think He said this for a reason as well. So, it only makes sense that a church that’s going to be serious about prayer should be planted and founded on prayer. Your prayers. Our prayers.

“Lord, teach us to pray…” was the request made to Jesus (Luke 11:1). Not “teach us how to give a sermon”, “prepare a good Bible Study” or “worship with a sincere heart.” Even the disciples (who were sometimes quite confused and maybe even at time a little clueless) saw the value in prayer.

Prayer is a forgotten basic of the faith. Prayer is foundational. Without a strong foundation, a building will have issues. The problem is foundations are hidden, out of sight, taken for granted and not given much attention. Not our foundation.

Prayer is the currency of the supernatural. If we want to see God do amazing, life changing things we need to deal in God’s currency – not ours.

“Prayer in and of itself possesses no power. Prayer is powerful because God is powerful, and prayer is the means through which that divine power is released and channeled into our lives. In other words, all the power in prayer is really God’s power activated in prayer.” – Sam Storms

This is why we are so very serious about prayer.