What is most unfortunate is that the Church has all kinds of meetings, meetings for church leaders (pastors, deacons, assoc. minister, etc.), choir meetings, usher meetings, meetings for church business, meetings of the many ministries, community meetings, and yes Bible study meetings; all necessary but one meeting that has become extinct in the Church is prayer meeting. The praying church is an endangered species! I'm not talking about superficial, closing, opening, and ceremonial event prayers; I'm not even talking about some social media/zoom prayer meetings. I'm talking about the kind of prayer meeting that took place in the book of Acts, particularly in Acts 1:12-15 and Acts 2:42-47. I'm talking about that Mother Elizabeth Juanita Dabney kind of prayer, known as the Prayer Queen, because of her fervency and commitment in and to prayer. After all, Jesus even said, "... 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations'..." But in this society, God's house has become a place, a product to be marketed or peddled for personal gain, a place where ministers enrich themselves and the gospel and teachings of Christ have been replaced with a gospel of self-indulgence and prosperity preaching. So we sit in a house called the "house of prayer," where there's no real powerful prayer happening, no fervency and commitment to prayer, only superficial, closing, opening, and ceremonial event-type prayers. If the Church/God's house is to be called the house of prayer, it should be serving up prayers; it should have a time(s) where believers physically come together and pray in the Spirit, where parishioners, preachers, and pastors come together and see what it means to pray through. A church that doesn't have prayer meet(s) is a church where you won't meet God. Individual prayers are great, but there is something significantly greater and more powerful when believers come together and pray and seek God's face. Prayer meeting, seeing what it means to get a prayer through as a body is the most vital and significant part of RECONSTRUCTION. As I write these words, they also speak to my heart.
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