The Biblical Examples of Prayer

IMG_1230Did you know that the first prayer meeting started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8)? The priests in Exodus and Leviticus had to keep the lamps in the temple burning day and night (Leviticus 6:13). They worked in shifts with non-stop prayer, worship, and singing because the fire on the altar was never allowed to go out.

Did you know that Israel began as a nation at a prayer meeting when called to rule as priests after leaving Egypt (Exodus 19:6; Revelation 5:10)? The first project given to Israel was to build a worship sanctuary (House of Prayer, Exodus 25:2). When King David became king over Jerusalem, he established day and night worship (1 Chronicles 15-16).

In the New Testament, we see that Jesus Himself began His public ministry in the wilderness where He fasted and prayed for forty days (Matthew 4), and He ended His life in a prayer meeting in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26). During His time the Essenes, one of the four branches of Judaism, believed in praying for 24 hours. The early Church began in a prayer meeting (Acts 1-2) and will end in a global prayer movement (Isaiah 62:6-7; Luke 18:7-8; and Revelation 5:8; 8:4).

The very end of the age will be a huge battle over two Houses of Prayer—the Holy Spirit’s prayer movement and the antichrist’s end-time worship (Revelation 13:8). In Revelation 4-5 we will worship around God’s Throne in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 4:8). The fact is clear—God’s plan in the Bible was to make intercession central.

And something on a huge scale is presently developing.

The prayer movement is quickly spreading around the world, but it is not without persistent prayer and hard work. As you read about the establishing of Houses of Prayer in cities and see the largeness of the task, you may be tempted to ask yourself several questions:

  • Is 24/7 prayer possible for my city?
  • Has this ever been done before?
  • Can we have faith for such a big venture as day and night prayer
    where we live?
  • What is the value of such intensity in prayer hour after hour and day after day?

These questions are legitimate because we need to really believe in prayer in order to pay the price. It will cost each one of us time and effort. We can’t begin and then quit. We are in this for the long haul. These questions have an answer that should motivate each one of us.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOP-KC

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