I recently had a dream that really shines the light on the coming battle in the church. As I’ve said, the church is to be a House of Prayer. Any other dominant defining attributes than intercession dilute and compromise the church’s mission.
The church isn’t to be a house of teaching, a house of friendships or a house of evangelism. It’s a House of Prayer, a place that facilitates a lifestyle of night and day intercession. We are all called to pray at that level, not just some mystical, elite group of prayer warriors. The coming church will be a church on fire. No longer will we gather around a fire to warm our flesh, but rather we’ll lay across it as burning ones who allow the Consuming Fire to do just that—consume us.
As we pray and live on fire, much trouble will come. We will threaten those who don’t choose to pray, those who don’t see the need. There are already strategies and theologies that are opposing and assaulting the prayer movement, and my dream brings clarity to that reality.
“And He taught them, and said, ‘Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”? But you have made it a “den of thieves.”‘” (Mark 11:17).
Assisted Suicide—The Dream
In the dream, I was walking up a dirt hill where my dad was. In the dream, my dad represented the prayer movement. In the Branson, Missouri area he gave leadership to a significant regional prayer effort called the Uninterrupted Prayer Team (the UP Team).
My dad was on the top of that dry, dirty hill for a very specific reason. He was going to be executed. It was a public execution. I was shocked at how passive my dad was. He was on a bed, like a hospital bed, and he was submitted to the demand that he die.
I sensed that the forces were too strong for me to fight against them. He was to be executed, and there seemed to be nothing I could do about it.
I asked my dad what in the world was going on. He was pleasant in his demeanor, and in fact, most of the people around him who were helping facilitate the public execution were casually going about their day, and they were good friends of my dad. They were “good Christians” who were focused on having a great day and did what they could to eradicate anything that would threaten that.
My dad said, “John, this is going to be an assisted suicide.”
I couldn’t believe it! The pressure of the church as it opposes the prayer movement will be so great, that many will be overwhelmed and will lose hope that their mandate to pray will have impact. The prayer movement is at risk of agreeing with its own death!
The church today is threatened by the prayer movement, and it will do much to embrace the spirit of the age and execute the spirit of intercession.
As the dream continued, I then left his side and walked down the dirt road in deep, troubling thought. I looked down and saw a lighter, that looked like it was broken. I picked it up and I understood that if I could only get it to light, the execution would be called off.
If we pray, the fire of God will burn, and the opposing spirits will lose their strength.
Believe me, this is a very real situation. Someone actually contacted me online recently and arrogantly told me that they and others in a local church were actually praying for a local house of prayer to close down—and it did close down.
It’s absolutely stunning that supposed Christians can oppose prayer with such zeal that they actually pray against the prayer movement!
We can’t even call people to prayer today due to the fear that they will leave our churches! My God! How can we presume revival is near?
I met with a House of Prayer network leader the other day who said that people leave churches when leaders shift time, energy and attention from them to God. I’ve watched that happen myself, and it rips me up!
The coming church will be marked by constant prayer, and there will be a divide along this line. If we don’t pray, I do believe it’s a serious issue with eternity hanging in the balance. If we truly know God, we will understand the desire and need to connect with Him in prayer.
A CHURCH ON FIRE
Where are the ones who aren’t looking first for human friends, personal affirmation or a sense of belonging but who are seeking after every available minute to minister to God in prayer? The prayer rooms must be full—and the main prayer room in the American church is the Sunday morning sanctuary!
And don’t you even think of using the excuse that you need to create a non-threatening environment for the new believer! Every person, young or old, immature or seasoned must be in the prayer room—and it must be their primary focus! What if the Upper Room were toned down in the hopes of drawing a bigger crowd and interested seekers?
We must absolutely refuse to tone down the activity of the Holy Spirit out of respect of those less hungry! God is a consuming fire, and He is about to consume what is unholy and compromised. Who are we to presume we know better how to facilitate a service? Is inviting the Holy Spirit to step aside as we give preference to human wisdom the way to go? I’ve heard it said that the main Sunday service should be a toned-down meeting so as not to freak out visitors and seekers. Apparently the meeting where the Holy Spirit has liberty to move in freedom should be reserved for a night when there’s little risk of the unconverted showing up.
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