I have a bit of a fascination with old churches and cathedrals. I loved participating in a Celtic study tour a few years ago. We toured parts of Ireland and Scotland, ending on the Isle of Iona on Scotland’s west side. I loved sitting in the cathedrals: sitting in silence, participating in worship, looking at the magnificent architecture, paintings and artwork. I found it quite mesmerizing and still do. I see an old church and want to stop the car and go inside.
If you have taken any time to notice the evolution of church buildings—especially the front—you may have noticed a particular progression. During the first period of Christendom, the front of church buildings were very ornate, rather opulent—a feast for the artistic appetite, depending on your preferences. The front served as the altar, a place of worship and sacrifice, hence the sacramental nature of worship in this type of church. Celebration of the eucharist was the central focus of worship. Attendees watched, listened and were primed to receive the “host,” which had been transubstantiated into the body of Christ for the worshipper’s consumption.
The next period of Christendom was marked by a pulpit. The change happened through the Reformation when preaching became the bread and butter of worship. The sermons were often over an hour in length. The focus was on preaching the Scriptures—a focus which spilled over into my early years of preaching. I’m sure some of you have ministered behind ginormous pulpits, too. You could have preached with a pair of shorts on, and no one would know! But the point I want to make is the focus. Preachers would build their ministries and churches around the preaching of Scripture. For example, Charles Haddon Spurgeon was known as the prince of preachers. Our era is marked by renowned preachers as well. In my younger years, I was fortunate to be able to listen to the likes of Jack Counsell, Willie Fitch, Robert Taitinger and James MacKnight. These people could preach! And there in the centre was a pulpit to host the unction. 
The latest period of Christendom is marked by lights, camera—action! The pulpit is gone, replaced by a stage set for music and worship. Churches work extensively and spend money on designing the front stage. Proper lights, colours, backdrops, smoke machines, etc., are the order of the day.
Now, I don’t want to bemoan any of those periods; I am just trying to perceive what is happening and where the focus appears to be in our church services. We seem to have moved our focus from sacramentalism to preaching to worship—at least, that is what the fronts of our churches suggest. So, are you ready? Here’s my concern. Where is prayer? What does prayer look like? When and how do we pray? Do we even need to pray, or is prayer primarily a personal matter? I can pray by myself quite easily. I can’t really preach by myself. Is there a corporate dimension to prayer?
I am quite sure you are reading this article because you have a penchant for prayer. Allow me to share a couple of considerations for bringing prayer into a more central place in your church.
Intentionality
News flash: nothing is happening without intentionality. So here is the question that begs to be asked: “How are we intentionally bringing prayer into the central focus of our churches and ministries?” Or even this question: “Are we bringing prayer into focus?” I’ve sat in church meetings like all of you. Think about this for a moment. If you are in church for somewhere between one and two hours, how much time is designated for prayer? In most of the services I attend, perhaps five minutes. Now, I go back to a previous question—do we need to pray together publicly? Well, let’s see what the early church did.
Jesus ascends and tells the disciples to start a prayer meeting. Acts tells us: “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers,” (Acts 1:14, NIV). We know they did some business in electing Matthias to replace Judas, but other than that, it appears they “joined constantly in prayer.” Then, move to Acts 2, and they are again in “one accord” and seem to be praying. In Acts 3, Peter and John go to the temple to pray during the hour of prayer (3 p.m. evening sacrifice). I’m sure you get the idea. Prayer will not be birthed in our churches without intentionality. We must decide and determine to make our churches houses of prayer.
Passion
It has been said that most people don’t go to prayer meetings because they have been to a prayer meeting. I can recall my prayer life as a young teenager. My dad insisted on my brother and I being “the example” to the other wayward, prayerless teens in our church. So, we were to attend the weekly prayer gathering. I have fond memories of kneeling as a young teen, bored out of my mind, wondering if I would survive the hour. There are a couple of words and phrases that describe those events—boring and without passion! However, there were other times when the presence of God permeated our little church. I would sit, sensing electricity-like goosebumps all over my body as prayers, worship and tongues were going on all around me. Whatever we do in prayer, our prayer focus it must be passionate and presence-centred. Perhaps the first way to focus on prayer is by praying, “Restore my passion for prayer!”
Training
We are now in an era with of a plethora of prayer movements, prayer conferences, prayer books and resources. The PAOC has just connected with Ignite Prayer Canada (https://igniteprayer.ca). Numerous other resources and prayer foci are forthcoming from the national and district offices.
For instance, look at https://igniteprayer.ca/resources-and-training. One booklet that is well worth reading is Living in the Upper Room. This is a compilation of prayer training and prayer foci from several different churches. In this material, Fred Harley shares nine ways to build a prayer culture for a missional church. Another contributor, Fred Leonard, writes: “Prayer is not a ministry we do; it has become who we are.”1
The point I want to make is simply this: don’t go it alone. There are lots of materials and resources that can help you train your church to pray. I am halfway through By Name: How to Pray for People and Lead Them to Jesus by Brian Alarid. This is a fascinating and well written book that could revolutionize the way your church links prayer and mission.
Now, will this change the front of your church building? Probably not. Could it change your church? Absolutely!
“Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together. Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other’s hearts in prayer.”1 —Charles Finney
Peter Cusick is a certified spiritual director and founder of Beside Peaceful Streams—a ministry focused on prayer and spiritual direction (www.besidepeacefulstreams.com).
This article appeared in the October/November/December 2024 issue of testimony/Enrich, a quarterly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. © 2024 The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Photos © istockphoto.com.
- Prayer Connect, Living in the Upper Room (Terre Haute: PrayerShop Publishing, 2013), 27.
- Charles G. Finney, “Lecture VIII Meeting for Prayer,” Lectures on Revivals of Religion (London: Thomas Tegg, 1839), 107.