Home  January 2006 Prayer Rooms, The Temple Rebuilt
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Prayer Rooms, The Temple Rebuilt |
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By Terry Teykl
Ever since I visited Korea many years ago, and witnessed the daily devotion to prayer of the Christians there, I’ve been convinced that many of our American churches, with their fine buildings and well-trained leaders, are missing out on something alarmingly essential—places of prayer. In our numbers-driven, success-oriented American culture, too many choose planning over prayer, work over worship, the entrepreneurial over the ethereal. After seeing a culture steeped in prayer, I realized that we, as bearers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, don’t much resemble our New Testament ancestors.
Today more than any other time in history, we need to be “clothed with
power from on high” (Lk. 24:49) to be God’s agents. We need an Upper
Room where we can connect with God in a supernatural way so that He can
equip us, transform us, and send us. God turns His face toward those
who seek Him, and a prayer room is one way a local church can
intentionally and consistently invite His presence. In the prayer room,
we can wait on God, welcome Him and worship Him.
Waiting
The Levites in the Old Testament, keepers of the flame and the sacred
artifacts of the Temple, waited on God around the clock. In eager
anticipation and expectation, they positioned themselves in front of
the Ark—His “seat.” They waited for a sound, a light, a movement of
air—any evidence of His presence in their midst. They waited in
absolute awe and wonder. But they also waited on God as a servant, or
one who delivers food in the finest restaurant. They attended to every
need and detail of the Master, bringing the sacrifices and offering
themselves in prayer.
When we spend time waiting on the Lord in a prayer room, He draws
closer to us, reveals Himself in our midst, and delights in our
humility.
Welcoming
When we pray, we welcome the Holy Spirit, a principle illustrated in
Lk. 3:21: “And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit
descended on him.” Many times throughout his letter, Luke notes that
Jesus Himself was anointed in a special way following times of prayer
with His Father. Many times throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus
Himself empowered for ministry in a special way following times of
prayer with His Father (Mk 1:35-41; Lk 6:12-13; Jn 6:15-20).
Prayer is an outward, physical expression of inward dependence on God.
It is synonymous with humility, the antibiotic for pride and
self-sufficiency. A well-used prayer room has about it an element of
healthy desperation. It is an open invitation for the Spirit to
accomplish a kingdom agenda in our lives, churches and cities.
Worshiping
I believe we are seeing God raise up a new generation of Levites with
hearts to worship God as a way of life. These are men and women,
teenagers and children, who believe that one hour of worship each
week—actually about 20 minutes in many church services—on Sunday
morning is not an adequate offering befitting God. He is worthy of so
much more; He deserves our adoration and praise 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. These modern day Levites want to lift up the name of Jesus
around the clock and they don’t need an order of worship or a bulletin.
A prayer room can be a place of continual worship, where we sing,
dance, or simply kneel silently before the Lord in worship. As we
worship Him, His presence becomes our preoccupation.
Twenty years ago, when I first started teaching on prayer rooms, I saw
them primarily as staging areas for strategic, organized intercession.
This is still true, but I now see them as so much more. They can be and
are becoming more and more places where the Temple is rebuilt. They are
sacred ground, where we come reverently to bow, submit, listen and
honor.
Terry Teykl is the president of Renewal Ministries . A longtime pastor
and prayer leader, Terry is also the author of multiple books on
prayer. Terry recently launched the World Methodist Prayer Team, an
online, real-time prayer site.
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