"All around the world God is calling His people to prayer," said author Peter Greig as he spoke at the Sunday morning service at MadCity Church. Greig, through his book, Red Moon Rising: How 24-7 Prayer is Awakening a Generation, has emerged as a spokesman for an international 24-7 prayer movement that is reviving the church around the world.
Greig said he was in Phoenix just a week ago, talking with Christian students at Arizona State Universitiy who had prayed for 56 days leading up to Christmas.
Greig said his experience with 24-7 prayer started in England in September 1999. "We knew we were rubbish at praying but God asked us to pray," he said. "And God turned up in amazing ways. Miracles started to happen. People who weren’t believers said they could feel God’s presence in the room."
The prayer movement then took on a life of its own and by the third month it had spread around the world. "It’s been the most amazing 5-6 years," he said. "Wherever we look we are seeing this explosion of prayer." He recognizes that what is happening now is the result of the prayers of others who preceded him. To those people he said, "Thank you for sowing for so many years and allowing us to reap."
Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer and at parties, Greig noted, suggesting that might not seem the most efficient time management for someone who just had a short time on earth to get his message across. "If he needed to do it, we need to make time to pray," he said.
He also noted that prayer can happen anytime and anywhere and that people should find a way to pray that works best for them. "I find when I kneel by my bedside I fall asleep," he said. So he likes to pray while walking his dog, riding in the car with the radio off, or exercising at the gym.
Taking his cue from the opening of the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11:1-2, Greig suggested that prayers should be simple, and focused on the Father, God.
Grieg talked about miraculous answers to prayer. He also talked about some prayers that seem to go unanswered, such as prayers for healing for his wife Sam who has a tumor that causes seizures. Even though she would like to be healed, he said, she doesn’t doubt the answers that have come to other prayers.
"There’s power in prayer," he said, "power no sociologist can explain. God is calling this church to be a house of prayer for this city, this nation."
"Something is stirring here in Madison," he concluded. The city has experienced several 24-7 prayer events in the last few years, and is home to several thriving prayer ministries, including the Madison House of Prayer for All Nations, at 1714 Eagan Road.