Quietly Praying

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Matthew 6:5-7

There’s been a ton of talk recently about what is happening at Asbury University. It’s been called a “revival” by some. It’s been called an “awakening” by others. To be sure, something extraordinary happened. The last thing I want to do is take away from the wonder of what transpired. It is marvelous and has seemingly impacted tons of people. 

But, there is a revival going on in our church community (Immanuel Church, Spokane), as well. It is something that I have not seen in the 39 years I’ve been a pastor. What has been going on will not be written about in Christianity Today, going viral anytime soon, or be featured on TikTok.

During the Covid pandemic, because of the way I am wired, I tried to make the best of it. I pitched vision in terms of opportunities rather than impediments. Our church community did some wonderfully impactful things.

After scrambling around looking for those opportunities, we decided to take what we had and mobilize our church for what God would lead us to. So, we gathered a few to pray on Facebook. Fifteen minutes, following a daily liturgy provided at Commonprayer.net. That was March 3 years ago. 10 to 20 people have gathered every morning since then. We were praying and interceding. People from our church, people from other cities, and even friends worldwide have joined us in prayer during this time. We simply prayed the morning office, sang hymns, and interceded for the world, our friends, and our families. We prayed as the Holy Spirit led us.

Well, there’s not a line of cars trying to get to our chapel or interview us for the remarkable things happening, but it truly is a revival. I have tried to get churches I have led to pray like this for almost 40 years but have experienced nothing quite like it. It really is a revival of prayer. 

It has become the boiler room giving heat to our church community. A launch point for healing, for reconciliation, for movement.

It’s the kind of prayer Jesus mentions in his Sermon on the Mount. No flash, just faithfulness. Every day.

Go in your closet and pray…or, join us every weekday morning. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/immanuelspokane)