I was recently reading an article about the Church in Korea. In 1907, there was a great revival among the Korean people after years of war in the region. I can imagine that the Korean people must have struggled with the loss of their homeland and feared for their futures.
During this revival, a new type of prayer emerged. It was coined “one voice” and was a communal approach to private prayer. It was the voice of the many praying at once on their own accord, together.
We started this “one voice” approach to prayer with our weekend service volunteers and staff before our worship services. After reviewing the service plan, expressing gratitude (a regular practice for our teams), and questions, we gather in the middle of the floor, arm-in-arm and we lift our voices to the Lord together.
We have been doing this before each service, every weekend for over a year now and it serves to accomplish several things.
- Unity- Coming together in a tight-knit group may intimidate some, but the closeness (as close as a group of 20 or more can get) serves to unify us as a team and prepares our hearts to seek His will in the service, not our own.
- Rest- We live in a break-neck speed culture. It’s not often that we can stop and be still and focus our thoughts upon the Lord, especially as a group. This moment, though brief, serves to be a moment of pause, of thanks, of hope and of faith.
- Preparedness- Praying as one voice gives us an opportunity to make ready our hearts to serve, to worship and to love.
- Inspiration- Our one-voice prayer time culminates in one of our pastors thanking the Lord, praying a blessing over the service and encouraging the servants of God. I have never experienced one of these times of prayer when the team members were not inspired, refreshed and ready to serve more effectively when we concluded.
The Wild West 