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Re-Imagining

Why you should start a prayer room

By Terry Teykl

Jesus said, "My Father' s house shall be a house of prayer." In other words, one of the primary activities in the local church should be to seek God and ask that his will be accomplished in our congregations and communities. Today we build "houses" for preaching and fellowship. Our churches have rooms for offices, music practice, youth events and meetings. We even have a place for the bride, and one for the janitor. Yet when it comes to prayer, we have no room. The very thing Jesus told us to house, we make no provision for.

Many churches today, however, are correcting this oversight. Local churches all over the land are making room to pray. In fact, one of the fastest growing spiritual movements in the country is prayer room intercession. Why is this?

We know cities are becoming more and more wicked. We also realize that God is raising up prayer in the land as never before. Prayer concerts, prayer marches, prayer at city hall, prayer at high school flag poles—all kinds of prayerful expressions are coming forth. Many Christians are finding a room in the local church designed especially for prayer to be a tremendous aid in focused intercession. In this manner, local churches are becoming houses of prayer.

This prayer room phenomenon is not without precedent. In Acts 1:14 we find the early church praying continually in the Upper Room. Around the clock, they came to seek God. They met there again in Acts 4. Later, in Acts 16:13, we see the apostles going to "the place of prayer." Evidently the early church had special sites for frequent and intense prayer. Today, we see many such prayer centers in Korea.

Thankfully, churches all over America are also providing such places. There are over 1,500 Southern Baptist churches with intercessory prayer room ministries. Many of these are 24-hour prayer rooms with telephone numbers to call for personal needs. The Kansas City Fellowship Vineyard Churches have rooms where prayer is conducted at 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m. daily. The Hillcrest Church in Dallas, Texas has a "house of prayer" where someone is available to pray personally for anybody in need who stops by. Church on The Rock in Rockwall, Texas has a prayer room for large numbers of intercessors who come early in the morning. The list could go on and on.

In these unique places of prayer, people are crying out to God day and night on behalf of their communities for spiritual awakening. Jesus said, "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly" (Luke 18:7-8).

Churches are simply taking closets or infrequently used rooms, and turning them into attractive and inviting places for prayer. Here are some of the advantages to setting up a special room at your church.

• Prayer rooms give the church the ability to schedule prayer. In Acts 2:15 they prayed at 9:00 in the morning. In Acts 10:30 it was 3:00 in the afternoon, and in Acts 10:9 it was noon. Quite often, if we don't schedule prayer it just won't happen. Usually, members sign up for one hour in the prayer room weekly.

• A prayer room may provide information for intercessory focus, including maps, lists of civic leaders, pictures of government officials, hospital lists, and the pastor's vision. As people come and pray, agreement is promoted with regard to the church's mission (Matthew 18:18).

• Prayer rooms are ideal for recording the deeds of God in the local church. The Titusville Baptist Church has an ongoing journal in their room to record the answers to prayer. They've kept this since 1972. Prayer journals provide excellent feedback to inspire continued prayer.

• A prayer room makes an ongoing statement to the church and community about the importance of communicating with God. The rooms cast an image of loving concern to people when they call with special needs. It's exciting to drive by a church with a prayer room, see a car parked out front and know they are seeking God.

• It is important that churches set aside a place dedicated to the practice of praying. Prayer is learned more by doing than by reading about it. In our prayer room, young mothers bring their children when they pray. These children get to see prayer in action, and they are taught by example.

• Prayer rooms are inclusive, meaning everybody can sign up to pray. In Acts 1:14 a wide assortment of people came to pray. We find apostles, new Christians, women and men, and Jesus' relatives there. Prayer rooms provide a sense of awe where people of various spiritual levels can feel comfortable and not be intimidated.

• Prayer rooms give pastors a new source of hearing from God. As people come to sit quietly and pray, God speaks with Scriptures and visions that can be written down and passed on to church leadership, providing an extra opportunity for all to hear from God. Recently, a woman in our prayer room had a vision that confirmed the direction our church had begun to take. Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to hear from his Father (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16). We can do no less.

• Prayer rooms provide a setting where major concerns can be " soaked" in much prayer. As a pastor, I receive many heart-felt requests weekly. Plus, I am aware of major concerns in schools and in certain sections of our city. Therefore, I welcome the help of those praying with me in the prayer room. We have 150 signed up to pray, and they come on the scene to see and feel the burden of prayer requests with me. Ownership of our ministry and vision is facilitated by this corporate prayer team.

• Prayer rooms also enable people to meet God in a new and exciting way. One woman exclaimed, "This must be what the Holy of Holies was like!" In a society full of noise and telephones, a prayer room provides an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit can minister to people in special ways. Couples grow spiritually when they pray together.

• A prayer room is a war room where we can do spiritual warfare for our communities and churches. As we come regularly to pray in Jesus' name and repent on behalf of our cities, a holy God is honored, and he can send the Holy Spirit or dispatch angels of light to drive out the enemy. Therefore, this battle is not left to a few or the pastor alone. Corporate repentance in a place of prayer will invite revival and spiritual awakening.

• Prayer rooms allow us to pray regularly for the lost as we sense God's burden for them, encouraging evangelism in the local church. They are "re-birthing rooms." We have never studied a church with an ongoing prayer room that was not growing. The Holy Spirit honors churches that spend much time in prayer for the unchurched.

As you can see, wonderful ministry can be accomplished through a church that is committed to seeking God, and setting aside a room designated only for prayer. Christians everywhere are feeling a greater call to intercede, and prayer rooms in their local churches help to provide a setting and focus in this new urgency.

Perhaps you would like to make room to pray in your church. Can you imagine people coming to your church on Saturday to pray for the Sunday morning service? If you are a pastor making hospital calls, you could tell a troubled parishioner, "I'll call the prayer room at the church and we'll pray for you." Do you have a group of intercessors in your church who would pray regularly if they had a place? With some cleaning up and little paint, can you picture that junk room off the sanctuary with people coming to pray eight-to-five? Jesus said, "My Father's house is a house of prayer." Is your house a house of prayer? If not-make room to pray.

Terry Teykl is pastor of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in College Station, Texas. If you're interested in creating a prayer room you can order a group workbook entitled Making Room To Pray from Bristol House Ltd. (800) 451 -READ.