It amazes me how loud the conversation about God is in America…”We love him!”, “We hate him!”, “I don’t know what to think of him”, “There’s no him!”, etc. And in the middle of all the dialog, the preaching, and the debate, there is still so little dialog to Him. As a pastor I strongly believe in the proclamation and declaration of who God is, what He’s done, and what He’s going to do. I also believe that the local church around the earth was created by God to be the primary vehicle for this declaration of God to every tribe and every tongue around the earth. However, there cannot be a clear and accurate declaration about a person that we are having minimal conversation with. It is the conviction of my heart that conversation (prayer) from God’s people to God has to be at the center of the church and the center of our lifestyle with Jesus so that our declaration stays true and on course.

It amazes me how many believers see prayer as a “means to an end”? In other words, “I pray to get what I want”. Local churches pray so that “the declaration” will work better and gain more raving fans than it currently is. It’s a simple progression really:
- I can’t get what I want on my own.
- God can get me what I want.
- I’ve seen God give people what they want when they pray.
- Hmmm, prayer must work.
- I’m praying to get what I want.
- If I get what I want, I like God. if I don’t get what I want my heart struggles with God.
- PS…if I’ve exhausted every other option to get what I want, and I’m bothered with God because He hasn’t given me what I want, I’ll still give prayer a whirl as a final attempt to get what I want even if I don’t believe it works, and I’ll get even more mad at God for not moving mountains on my behalf.

But seriously, when we begin to see Jesus as the most valuable and important thing in our world than our progression shifts also:
- Jesus is who I want
- I can have as much of Jesus as I desire, He is not withholding Himself from me
- I want to know Him more, I’m tire of withholding myself from Him
- I pray to know Jesus
- I can’t stop talking about Him, my “declaration” is on my lips and full of life

A prayer-centered life and a prayer-centered church believes that life begins and ends at the relational conversation with the Divine, a vibrant life of prayer between the Savior and the saved. This relationship provokes the declaration of Jesus from our daily lives because the relationship with Jesus and the revelation of Jesus are alive in our hearts.

“Jesus, we want be Your people, and we want you to be our God.”