What happened to corporate prayer?

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. – Acts 12:12

Churches in Korea customarily open for prayer at 5 a.m. in the winter, 4 a.m. in summer. The practice of early morning prayer began when the North Korean Army overran Korea and Christians met together early before heading for the fields or the factories where they worked, and it’s never stopped.

“Whatever happened to corporate prayer elsewhere?” my wife asked. While I know of no other national church anywhere in the world that so recognizes the power of corporate or group prayer as does the Korean church, the practice of praying together as a church body has been sorely neglected.

We can excuse it and say that the schedules of people today and our lifestyles just don’t lend themselves to this sort of thing anymore. But could the deeper reason be that we are so self-sufficient, so secure, not lacking anything that we no longer feel any compulsion or need to prostrate ourselves before God and ask for His help?

Have we forgotten that ordinary men and women who humbled themselves before God, asking Him to do what they could not do, generated the power of the early church? If we can tweak the interest that brings thousands of people to church on weekends, is it not possible to convince people that joining hearts and hands in prayer can change the world? Or do we really believe that?

The example of the early church as well as the practice of healthy churches says that prayer produces a spiritual power and vigor that makes them strong enough to withstand difficulty and challenges without losing vast numbers of people who become spiritual drop-outs. It’s a sure thing that the example of the New Testament church convicts our prayerlessness. With the disciples may our hearts cry out, “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

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Used with permission from Guidelines International Ministries. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, send an e-mail to [email protected]. You may also visit www.guidelines.org.