Becoming a House of Prayer

Over the past several years, God has been doing a work of grace in me in the context of prayer. I am by no means a "prayer expert," but someone who is seeking a deep, intimate and personal relationship with the Living God, Jesus Christ. At the core of our relationship with God is prayer. Prayer is simply having a conversation with God Himself. In this conversation, we share are hearts, thoughts, desires, dreams and so on.

In addition, because a conversation is two-sided, we listen to the voice of our Heavenly Father. Jesus said we would recognize His voice (John 10:27). I believe this voice becomes clearer as we are intentional in deepening our relationship with the Triune God - Father God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

In my pursuit of Jesus, one of the most influential books (besides the Bible) is a book called, The Grace Outpouring: Becoming a People of Blessing by Roy Godwin and Dave Roberts. This books recounts the story of a Welsh revival that took place in the late 1990s and early 2000. Not only did this revival spread throughout Wales, but it spread to many parts of the world, turning the hearts of many to Jesus Christ.

For every revival (whether individual or corporate), there is always a beginning. There is always a journey leading up to the point of the "grace outpouring." For Roy Godwin and the revival that ensued, the journey all started at the Lord's clear leading that the retreat center (Ffald-y-Brenin), facilitated by Roy and his wife, was called to be a house of prayer. But before a retreat center or a church can become a house of prayer, the individuals themselves must first become a houses of prayer unto the Lord. As is written in The Grace Outpouring, "So we persisted in prayer and before long God began to unfold his wisdom: 'Roy, if Ffald-y-Brenin is going to become a house of prayer, first of all you must become a house of prayer yourself'" (pg. 53).

How many churches can be considered "houses of prayer" today? In my exploration of the Western church, many of the churches do not cultivate a house of prayer. Even more, what does this imply? It implies that the Christians of these churches themselves are not houses of prayer.

And this is the cry of my heart, that we, as God's people, His Church, would become houses of prayer. For in becoming a house of prayer, only by the grace of the Holy Spirit, have we then truly cultivated an intimate relationship with the Triune God. And for any of us that have read the Book of Acts or about the moves of God in church history, at the core of every move is a foundation of cultivated, sustained, Holy-Spirit authored prayer.

Jesus himself said, "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Matthew 21:13). Even more, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are called to be houses of prayer. But how?

The disciples laid the foundation for us in becoming houses of prayer when they asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). In the same way, our daily prayer should echo this verse, "Lord, teach us to pray." This reveals a key to becoming a house of prayer. We humble ourselves and learn how to pray. Overtime, we grow into a house of prayer, that then teaches others how to pray. We must not only submit to the School of Prayer by asking Jesus to teach us to pray, in addition, we must bring ourselves under those who themselves have become houses of prayer - these can be women and men of prayer who have written great works or have been written about in biographies; these can be your parents or grandparents who are women and men of prayer; or these can be those "under" you who have a spirit of prayer. The point is, we must learn to pray.

Please recognize that everything in our Christian Faith is by grace. Just as our salvation is by grace through faith, so is our prayer life or any other spiritual growth in our lives (Ephesians 2:8-10). Yet, prayer is a discipline that we must intentionally pursue. As Dallas Willard once said, "Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning." Thus, we must put effort into our prayer life to cultivate our communion and intimacy with the Triune God. 

I leave you with this. Pray daily, if not throughout the day, "Lord, teach me to pray and make me into a house of prayer." Then wait patiently. Yet, be intentional on creating those spaces where you can live into the practice of prayer and learn how to pray.

May the grace of Jesus Christ deepen your intimacy with Him. Amen.


Recommended readings to grow in prayer:

• Power Through Prayer, E.M. Bounds
• The Grace Outpouring, Roy Godwin & Dave Roberts
• Rees Howells Intercessor, Norman Grubb
• Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Jim Cymbala
• The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson