DAY 4 / BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

If you were given money to build a house, you would select your plans with an architect and price it out. But you might discover that the cost was too high. And so, you would begin the process of scaling down the plans. You might resize a room or eliminate one altogether. You would thoughtfully select what you thought was essential for your home.

But there is one thing on the plans that you couldn’t eliminate. You must have the right foundation. It’s not seen and it’s costly, but without the proper foundation, a beautiful home could become a disastrous loss.

Our American churches have lots of ministries. We have our worship ministry, preaching, Next Generation, missions, recreation, outreach … and on and on. Many churches have a small ministry they call the “prayer ministry.” A few faithful intercessors usually man it, and it doesn’t get a lot of publicity. When a prayer meeting is called, it is often the lowest priority in the minds of most members.

But Jesus had a different view as He entered Jerusalem.

They came to Jerusalem, and he went into the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. He was teaching them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!” (Mark 11:15-17)

Jesus did not see prayer as a side room, but as the foundation. He wanted prayer to be so prominent that it would be the first description when people spoke of the people of God. “What is that place and who are those people?” someone might ask about the church. “Oh, we all know that. It’s a house of prayer for all the nations.”

PRAY

God has made this clear at The Summit Church. We have recognized this priority since our inception, because we know that prayer brings God into the equation. Would you join others in prayer today, praying that the foundation of prayer would be deeply, solidly, fully built in the life of our church? Take this Scripture above and pray it in, specifically for The Summit.

But remember: this foundation is built one life at a time. Would you pray that the foundation of your life would be unceasing prayer?