The story is told about Charles Spurgeon that when he would show visitors around the Metropolitan Tabernacle he would take them to a basement prayer room someone from the church would always be in prayer. Spurgeon would point visitors to these praying saints and declare, “Here is the powerhouse of the church.”

If Manistique Bible Church is not a praying church, nothing we do will be of any value. I cannot stress strongly enough or frequently enough the infinite importance of prayer for this ministry. Without prayer people will not be saved, Christians will not grow, the Word will not conquer and this ministry will be powerless.

If we are yielded to the supremacy of Jesus over our lives and ministry, we will pray. How can we not pray? If Jesus is supreme, then we will naturally and urgently seek His will in all things. If Jesus is truly supreme then we will constantly confess our dependence on Him. When Jesus is evidently supreme in our lives, then the natural response of our lives will be to pray.

Prayer is indispensable to the Christian because our relationship with Jesus is one of complete dependence on Him. He says, “Without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5) The Christian who understands his dependence on Jesus will always seek His aid. If Jesus is supreme, the master of our lives and the only source of power for service then prayer is the most natural thing in the world.

This does not mean prayer will always be easy. Prayer is difficult work. Those who are especially faithful in prayer are known as prayer warriors because prayer is often a battle. Prayer is not a time to relax, a centering experience or an emptying of the mind. Prayer is an assault on the gates of heaven while fighting the forces of hell. Prayer is a bitter war of the spirit against the flesh. Prayer is the earnest, diligent observation of a faithful watchman. Prayer is the hungry child pleading for food. Prayer is the heart cry of the desperate soul that knows every good gift comes from God. Prayer is warfare, and the Christian who knows the supremacy of Jesus will pray.

Matthew Henry wrote about the importance of prayer to ministry, “The apostles were endued with extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, tongues and miracles; and yet that to which they gave themselves continually was preaching and praying, by which they might edify the church: and those ministers , without doubt, are the successors of the apostles who give themselves continually to prayer.” If the apostles who saw Jesus face to face and had miraculous gifting to do the work of the ministry had to rely on prayer, so must we.