“My house shall be called the house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13)

Jesus did not say that His house would be called a house of preaching. He did not say that His house would be called a house of music. He did not say that His house would be called a house of fellowship. Jesus said that His house would be called a house of prayer.

In light of this, isn’t it strange that in most churches today there is much more preaching, music and fellowship than prayer? In addition to this, how do we explain the fact that no service of the church is less supported and more poorly attended than the prayer service? While it’s no problem to get people to come out for a potluck supper or a church singing, it’s practically impossible to get people to come out for a prayer meeting.

The Bible teaches us to pray “always” and “without ceasing” (Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Why, then, do we do so little of that which the Bible commands us to do continuously? Do we see prayer in a lesser light that the Scripture shines upon it? Undoubtedly, we do; otherwise, we’d pray more.

If revival is to come to America it will come on the wings of prayer. But what chance is there of revival in America when its churches have so minimized prayer? Contrary to popular Christian opinion, the biggest obstacle to revival today is not the profaning of our culture, but the prayerlessness of our churches.

Pray that God will drive our churches to their knees, for it is only when we are on our knees that revival can rise in our land.