The Price of Prayer

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:15-18 ESV)

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.] (Mark 16:15-20 ESV)

“Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,  and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,  and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.  And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.  While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” (Luke 24:44-53 ESV)

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 ESV)

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Perhaps the most notable thing that marked the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ and also the early church were the signs, wonders and miracles. The sick healed, the lame walking, devils cast out and people raised from the dead. It drew massive crowds of people to see what He was going to do next. Jesus passed this anointing onto His church, His people…you and me.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit entered the earth realm to help Jesus’ followers do the same signs, wonders and miracles that He did and even more according to what Jesus said. Because of the power of the Holy Spirit, we too can raise the dead, heal the sick and cast out devils. We can be the hands and feet of Jesus at any time. So why aren’t we seeing this considering how many Christians are in the world today? Shouldn’t we be turning the world upside down like they did? Why are we so weak compared to them? One word: unbelief. We simply don’t think we can do that. Even some denominations say all that died out with the Apostles. It’s only died out because WE won’t do it because we don’t believe we can.

The big buzz going around Christendom these days is “the great awakening” and “the outpouring.” That all sounds very exciting except that God has already poured out the Holy Spirit back on Pentecost two thousand years ago. He’s already here without measure. Jesus said “It is finished” and that means that He has provided EVERYTHING we need to turn the world upside down. In reality, it’s NOT us waiting on the Holy Spirit to pour out, but HE is waiting on us to pay the price in prayer for Him to bust out.

Moves of God only come through one thing: PRAYER. One accord, as touching prayer of believers who are desperate for Him. Think about the day of Pentecost. One hundred and twenty people were gathered together (without masks or social distancing) in one room crying out for the power of God to come. What marked them was their unity of purpose in their prayers. They were all praying in UNITY. The Bible says that “when two or more agree as TOUCHING anything they ask I will do.” What a promise!

Yet here we are in America, the land of the free, and people are afraid to go to the House of God and cry out for the power to move in their church. Their churches aren’t even opened. But let’s get real. Even when churches were opened, the least attended meeting in any church, large or small, is the prayer meeting. Out of a church of one hundred people, maybe ten or twenty would show up for the prayer meeting. Why? People just don’t value prayer. They have life to deal with. Family, kids, work and the list goes on. Why are we surprised then when we don’t see the power of God move in our churches?

You get out what you put into anything in life. That is the law of reciprocity. You reap what you sow. If a church sows one-accord unified prayer for God to move and the Holy Spirit to bust out in their church, then He WILL. But who is willing to pay the price of prayer? Everyone is looking up for Holy Spirit to come down when He is already here waiting on people to PRAY.

Every great move of God was birthed through prayer. It always started with just a few people who were willing to pay the price of prayer and God was faithful to grow it until Holy Spirit exploded in power in their midst. The Brownsville revival was birthed after nine months of focused prayer for God to move in their church. Boom! He did when people paid the price of prayer. The Asuza street revival began with three people praying in someone’s house. Crying out for God to move in their midst. Boom! He did when people paid the price of prayer. The Hebrides island revival happened when two old ladies (Donald Trump’s great aunts) cried out for God to move in their midst. Boom! He did when people paid the price of prayer.

All over the world there are just a few people praying; paying the price of prayer and one day, boom! He will move. What about you? Does your church have a prayer meeting? Is your church even opened? If not, you can begin to pay the price of prayer with other people at your house. If your church is opened and has a prayer meeting then start attending it. Gather to pray for God to move in your church; that signs, wonders and miracles can flow from you just as Jesus commanded us to do. How else is the world going to see the power of God if we don’t demonstrate it?

As important as it is to meet for one accord prayer, it’s not enough to just show up. We must show up ready to pray in one accord for God to move, NOT just show up as a religious duty. We must all show up in faith, expecting God to hear us and receive our unified prayers.

One critical component of a prayer meeting is that people must come together physically. In the world of virtual reality, it’s just not the same. Call God old fashioned, but He moves when people agree as touching. Gathering together in a room and praying is what He is looking for. But who is willing to pay the price of prayer to see God move in their midst? Make no mistake about it, we aren’t waiting on God, He is waiting on US to pray, to cry out for more of Him! God is ready, willing and able to explode in power in any church who is willing to pay the price of prayer.

Blessings everyone…

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