Prayer Meeting

Do you still have Prayer Meeting at your church? What does it mean to you; another night out, AWANA, boring, or maybe even ministry time off?
Growing up, Prayer Meeting was a part of my schedule. It wasn't that I was super spiritual, nor did I necessarily look forward to it. It was just what my family did on Wednesday nights. We went to prayer meeting. It was a part of our routine. It was normal.
Back in those days (late 50s early 60s) I can remember setting, with my dad and twenty or so other men in the dank basement of the church in a large circle of wooden folding chairs, and praying. There was nothing fancy about it; painted cement floor with no carpet, bare-bulb lighting, no music, just a group of men willing to spend time, some on their knees, in prayer.
Men like: Neil soper, Bill Ludwig, Loyd Bartley, Finn Kennedy, Gordon Burnham, Perry Hathaway, Mel Johnston, Mark Brett, Larry Alcorn, Newt Irish, John McDonald, Eldon Powley, Bob Turner, Ken Sinkler, and Clyde Jewell, have you ever heard of them? Not many have.
I didn't know it then but these men were very special. It wasn't because they were graduates from seminary or college. It wasn't because they were especially gifted or extraordinarily talented. They weren't theologians. They were: auto workers, mailmen, shoe repair men, janitors, auto mechanics, farmers, and bus drivers. They were ordinary men but to me they were heros.
I now know why. It is because they were the core of our Prayer Meeting group. They and their families were the heart and soul of the ministry of our church. They were dedicated to prayer and to Prayer Meeting; that service that to us so often seems to be a waste of time in the middle of the week.
What made them heros? For sure they didn't consider themselves heros. Why were they willing to gather and spend time on their knees to pray? I believe it was because they realized, in some small way, the power of God that is unleashed when families pray.
- Most of them had come through the Great Depression, World War Two, and Korea.
- They had seen God protect and move in response to prayer.
- They knew that God was able to deliver them from tremendous difficulties and life threatening situations.
- They knew that God answered prayer.
- They knew that there was an inexplainable power discharged when men and women dedicate themselves to prayer.
- They had personally experienced His response to prayer in their own lives and in their family's lives.
These men were not perfect. As mentioned before, they were ordinary and in fact most were very humble men. But, they were willing to sacrifice their time to see God's power unleashed on the ministry of our church.
It was in those days that our little church in the center of a town of 2000 was at times reaching the unheard of number of 1000 on a Sunday morning! We were regularly running in the 500s.
"Unbelievable!" you say. It doesn't seem possible! But it happened. I was there! I saw it.
What methods did they use? How did they attract so many? Can what they accomplished be repeated? These questions beg an answer.
I believe that answer lies with us. As you and I, men and women dedicated and bolstered by our own daily prayer time, are willing to consecrate ourselves on Wednesday night to Prayer Meeting, we too can see God work. Our God is the same as their God. He never changes. He is ready to bless in unimaginable ways as men and women like you and me willingly sacrifice our "precious" time in offering of prayers to His Almighty will and purpose. He so desperately wants to do His effectual work in and through us. Do you believe that? Are you up to that mighty task? Will you dedicate yourself to it? We missionaries need your prayers and so do you! Pray!