Pondering the question, "How do we create and sustain a sacred community in a secular world?" inevitably takes us to the discipline of prayer. The record in the book of Acts makes it clear that much prayer preceded the power of Pentecost. Acts 1:14 tells us, "All these (the disciples, Acts 1:13) were constantly devoting themselves to prayer,..." Later the first verse of Acts 2 says, "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place." The implication is that they were together in one place to pray just as they had been doing for so many days of waiting on the promise of Jesus to be fulfilled.
A sacred community not built on prayer is probably going to spend its short live on life support. Most of us who are in churches have a hard time accepting this reality. We build big expensive sanctuaries with additional space dedicated to everything from bathrooms to kitchens to music rooms to fellowship halls to offices. Name it and it likely has a room. But, the truth is places dedicated to prayer are usually afterthoughts. Prayer Rooms are converted closets, emptied storage areas, and that space which seems unusable for anything of importance. Sad, but true. And even more true is the fact that everyone is interested in every ministry of the church except the praying ministry.
And, just maybe it is true that space dedicated to prayer is not going to be the savior of the church. What is an even greater spiritual deficit is the lack of people who are praying for the church, its leaders, its ministry, its spiritual life. Our actions and commitments seem to indicate a belief that a church with enough money, people, and buildings can do anything it sets out to do. It is no wonder that mediocrity is so common in the life of the church. The one thing which can be said about the church that shows up on Pentecost and beyond is that it is empty of mediocrity and filled with exceptional spiritual power. Who would ever think prayer could be the thing which makes the difference?
A sacred community not built on prayer is probably going to spend its short live on life support. Most of us who are in churches have a hard time accepting this reality. We build big expensive sanctuaries with additional space dedicated to everything from bathrooms to kitchens to music rooms to fellowship halls to offices. Name it and it likely has a room. But, the truth is places dedicated to prayer are usually afterthoughts. Prayer Rooms are converted closets, emptied storage areas, and that space which seems unusable for anything of importance. Sad, but true. And even more true is the fact that everyone is interested in every ministry of the church except the praying ministry.
And, just maybe it is true that space dedicated to prayer is not going to be the savior of the church. What is an even greater spiritual deficit is the lack of people who are praying for the church, its leaders, its ministry, its spiritual life. Our actions and commitments seem to indicate a belief that a church with enough money, people, and buildings can do anything it sets out to do. It is no wonder that mediocrity is so common in the life of the church. The one thing which can be said about the church that shows up on Pentecost and beyond is that it is empty of mediocrity and filled with exceptional spiritual power. Who would ever think prayer could be the thing which makes the difference?
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