The Unseen Engine: How Prayer Fuels Every Great Spiritual Movement
If you look closely at the history of Christianity—from ancient revivals to modern, viral movements—you’ll find one constant, often unseen force driving them all: prayer.
Prayer isn’t just a side activity; it’s the indispensable engine that precedes, sustains, and propels every genuine spiritual awakening, disciple-making effort, and outpouring of faith. It’s the point where human desperation meets divine power.
Here is a breakdown of the crucial role prayer plays in the most powerful movements of faith:
1. The Precursor and Catalyst for Revival
Historically, you cannot find a great revival that wasn’t birthed out of dedicated, corporate prayer.
- Preparing the Ground: Prayer is often described as “preparing the altar.” It’s the act of confessing sin, humbling the heart, and creating a space—personally and corporately—where God’s presence is actively sought. It’s what transforms a stagnant religious tradition into a dynamic, life-changing experience.
- The Fulton Street Example: The legendary 1857-1858 Revival in the United States didn’t start with a dynamic preacher or a brilliant program; it began with a handful of laymen meeting for a noon-day prayer meeting. It proves that the greatest awakenings are often revivals of prayer first.
- A Kingdom Focus: Revival prayer is characterized by an unselfish desire to see God’s glory and kingdom advanced, rather than a focus on personal needs. This shift in focus is often what unlocks a new level of spiritual impact.
2. The Foundation for Disciple-Making Movements (DMMs)
For global missions and movements focused on the multiplication of disciples, prayer is the strategic key to breakthrough in hard-to-reach places.
- Source of Laborers: When Jesus looked at the crowds, He didn’t tell His disciples to form a new committee or launch a new seminar. He told them, “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Prayer is the primary recruitment strategy.
- Spiritual Warfare: DMM leaders view prayer as the essential weapon for spiritual warfare—the power that dismantles strongholds, opens “doors for the message,” and grants boldness to those sharing the Gospel. They pray for specific, seemingly impossible miracles to validate the message.
- The Lifestyle of Multiplication: In DMMs, prayer is not just a meeting; it’s a way of life. The personal, intense prayer rhythms of leaders are consistently cited as the reason for sustained, high-speed reproduction of new believers and churches.
3. The Sustaining Heart of Viral Outpourings
In recent times, spontaneous movements like the Asbury Outpouring in 2023 have captured global attention. At their core, these events were fueled by prayer.
- The Starting Point: The Asbury event began not with a formal call, but with a few students simply lingering in the auditorium for spontaneous worship and prayer after a routine chapel service.
- A Posture of Humility: Throughout its duration, the Outpouring was marked by an “unrushed willingness to linger” and fervent, student-led prayer. Those stewarding the movement emphasized that their main task was listening prayer—tuning in to what God was already doing and cooperating with it.
- Encounter and Repentance: The atmosphere was consistently described as one of profound love and grace that led directly to a powerful sense of conviction and repentance. This is the ultimate goal of much prayer: a genuine encounter with God that leads to life change.
The Takeaway
Whether you are praying for a personal breakthrough, a change in your community, or for the global spread of the Gospel, the lesson is clear: nothing truly meaningful happens without it.
Prayer is the active choice to rely on divine power instead of human effort. It is the invisible force that makes the impossible possible.
What is one specific, bold thing you could commit to praying for today to invite God to move in a new way?
Notes from Alex 