The Prayer Driven Church

“And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13).

Every church is “called”. Jesus came to his home church and found a church that was killing its calling. The calling is to be a house of prayer. The killing of that calling happens when we remove and refuse the priority and practice of prayer.

The church that prays is keeping the calling! Please be clear, Jesus showed up that day in order to give the church back to God. “My house” means that a church can only be God’s through prayer.

Transformative leaders support and strengthen prayer in the church. The culture of prayer has to be cultivated by prayer leaders. Prayer must be a constant and contagion in the congregation.

What makes a church a “den of thieves”?  – the failure of prayer! What do you know about a den? It is only for the pack. A den is not welcoming to those who are not in the pack. What do you know about thieves? They are takers and not givers. They don’t and won’t add value to your life.

Churches that don’t pray become closed to others. They never grow beyond the “den”. Churches that move away from prayer begin to exist for their own comfort and convenience. Notice the “seats and tables”. What ever happened to the altar?

Jesus quoted one verse and had one vision for His church – Isaiah 56:7. When Jesus says, “It is written”, He’s quoting Isaiah 56:7. The house of prayer is called by God, endorsed by Jesus and filled with the Spirit.