Prayer and Preaching

There is a great and mystical connection between prayer and preaching. I learned at First Church that once we started having times of intercessory prayer during the services that the worship became more powerful—music, preaching, the feel of the service, because God’s people were praying, and people knew there was always a team back there praying. But it goes deeper than that. It reaches down into the life of the people from the lives of the worshipping congregation in heaven. And it does more than impact preaching. But preaching is on my mind right now.

When the angel Gabriel announces to the priest Zechariah that he will have a son, John (to be called the Baptist, although he sure seems like a Methodist to me…), it comes at the time of prayer, the time of burning incense (Luke 1:8-10). So, the proclamation of the birth of the one who will lead the way for the Messiah comes at the time of prayer. The task of the preacher is much like John’s, to prepare the way by convincing people of sin and showing them the way to Jesus, so should it not come at the time of, at the cost of, prayer?

A few years back, Melissa shared something powerful with the prayer meeting at Dunaway. In Revelation 5:8, there are golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. She shared with us that she visualizes her prayers as being in those golden bowls of incense, and how the prayers of all the saints around the world, perhaps from all eternity, are in those bowls.

I have noticed a connection between the bowls of incense and prayer in Revelation and the incense and time of prayer in Luke. That is, in Luke, the incense and prayer come at the time that announces the coming of the one who will prepare the way. The incense-as-prayers of the saints in Revelation come as the Lamb whose blood has cleansed believers of sin, is declared worthy because His blood has saved us from sin. And indeed, John the Baptist cried out, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”

Prayer must surround the word of proclamation if it is to have any effect at all, if it is to be more than just words, however fine, however well-put together, however full of Scripture. If there is no prayer, there will be no power. And it must be more than the preacher’s own prayer and study time, which anyway if most people are honest is more study and less prayer. No, there must be thick prayer rising up to God from the many people.