GOD-ward Church

What is Worship Awakening about? It's about God's Church being GOD-ward. Were I to try and narrow down the one major problem within the Church today, I would have to land on the issue of prayer. We have ceased to be praying people. Prayer is the absolute necessity for the Church to be the Church and not just a group of people who hang out together, build buildings, and argue.

Prayer is the chief action of GOD-WORSHIPERS. Prayer is a natural part of the WORSHIP-LIFE. Where prayer is lacking, everything else in the Church and the believer’s life is lacking. Prayer is to the GOD-WORSHIPER what breathing is to all living creatures. Where there is no breathing, the creature has no life—where there is no prayer, the GOD-WORSHIPER has no life. There is no such thing as a GOD-WORSHIPER who is not a pray-er. Likewise for the Church—where there is no prayer, the Church has no life, no power, and no impact.

Imagine you and God were in a house with two rooms. You live in one room of the house, and God lives in the other. Between the two rooms is a door that separates the two rooms. This door is called prayer. Prayer is the means by which you and God can communicate and be engaged with one another. If the door is closed, there is no relationship or communion between you and God. If the door is opened, there is relationship.

Because God is a spiritual being and we are mortal, our only connection between our two worlds—the physical and the spiritual—is the door of prayer. We will never have or know all that God desires for us if the door of prayer is closed. There are far too many believers and churches that have kept the door closed, trying to function as God’s ambassadors in the world without being connected to God through prayer.

As we join together seeking God for WORSHIP AWAKENING in our lives and in our churches, we must be committed to prayer. Prayer is the path we must take in order to see God move in our lives and in our churches. Without a strong and continual commitment to prayer, we won’t see an awakening because only God can bring an awakening. Revival and awakening never happen without prayer. Just as we are saved by grace through faith—we are revived and awakened by God through prayer. There is no work or effort we can give to grow God’s Church that will work without prayer. Prayer must be the starting point for anything of significance in the Kingdom of God.

HOUSE OF PRAYER
In the book of Isaiah, God says about the temple: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7b). During Jesus ministry, He refers back to this scripture as He drives the money changers out of the temple. He says, “Is it not written: ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers’ “ (Mark 11:17). There is a great deal to these passages of scripture which deserves attention, but for our purpose here, let me focus on God’s desire for His house to be a house of prayer.

This term “house of prayer” is in reference to the temple in Jerusalem where the Israelites came to worship. In the New Testament, the word temple takes on a whole new meaning. No longer does temple refer to a building made by hands, but now the temple is believers. We are the temple. Whereas the Spirit of God rested upon the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies in the temple in the Old Testament, now the Spirit of God dwells in each individual believer. We are the temple of God. Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”

There are two specific things we learn from this. First, God has called us to be people of prayer. Second, prayer is not something we do but it is about something we are. We are the temple of God, God’s temple will be a house of prayer. Our church families are also called to be a house of prayer. It is very easy to make our churches be about doing church things and making prayer only a small part of that doing. But God is calling our church families to be people of prayer. With this in mind, we should approach our time together as community with a God-ward focus, seeking Him on behalf of our church family and Kingdom purposes in our communities in the world.

I think that Jim Cymbala’s book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, should be required reading for every Christian, especially pastors and church leaders. He is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and in this book he tells the story of how God blessed the ministry of his church in an enormous way. In reading the book, it does not take long to realize the major factor in God’s blessing upon the Brooklyn Tabernacle—namely, prayer. God moved him to make prayer a major part of his church, and when that happened God started to move in a great way. In his book he made this statement:

Does the Bible ever say anywhere from Genesis to Revelation, “My house shall be called a house of preaching?” Does it ever say, “My house shall be called a house of music?” Of course not. The Bible does say, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Preaching, music, the reading of the Word—these things are fine; I believe in and practice all of them. But they must never override prayer as the defining mark of God’s dwelling. The honest truth is that I have seen God do more in people’s lives during ten minutes of real prayer than in ten of my sermons.

If God’s people will make prayer a part of who they are, and if God’s churches will make prayer a part of who they are, our minds cannot conceive or imagine the great things that God will do in our world. How do we do this? Pray, and ask God to do it—He is our power source, for we can do nothing on our own.

PRAYER IS DEPENDENCE ON GOD
When we aren’t praying we are depending more on ourselves than on God. If our lives are not full of prayer we are depending more on our own power and smarts than we are God. Churches that spend their leadership meetings talking only about details and technical aspects of church and don’t make prayer a priority, are depending more on their own abilities, creativity, and power than on God.

Prayer is dependence on God. Where prayer is lacking, our dependence on God is lacking. In other words, we are trusting more in ourselves than in God. As God’s temple we are called to be a house of prayer. We can no longer trust in our own ability and wisdom. We must be fully dependant upon God.

After Paul speaks of our being the temple of God, he continues by saying,

18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; 20and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." 21So then, no more boasting about men! (1 Corinthians 3:18-21a)

The secret to churches being all God desires them to be is prayer. If we will return to being a house of prayer, then we are sure to see a great move of God. Prayer should become second nature to the flow and operation of every church body.

PRAYER IS ASKING
Prayer is asking. Prayer is also communing, praising, interceding, and etc…. But asking is a major part of prayer. If we ask God for an awakening, He will bring it. If we ask God for renewal, He will bring it. If we ask God for healing and restoration, He will bring it. The Bible promises much for those who will ask:

7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7)

God is faithful to all of His promises. He has promised that if we will turn to Him and seek Him fully, He will move on our behalf. One of the greatest passages in scripture, which I’ve referred to numerous times in this book, is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Only God can bring an awakening! He is our power source, and only He can accomplish anything of significance in His Church. I am convinced that the greatest strategy for reaching the world for Christ is found in the Church experiencing a WORSHIP AWAKENING. Prayer is the beginning point for that to happen. This promise from 2 Chronicles is a cry for the Church today. It’s as easy as turning back to God and seeking Him wholeheartedly. If we will invest ourselves in this direction, we are sure to see a great move of God in our world.

-from the Epilogue of Worship Awakening.