The Korean Church — A Praying Church

Prayer.  If I were given one word to describe my trip to Korea, it would be "prayer."  The people of Korea are a praying people.  Take their early morning prayer meetings as an example.  Every church I visited had early morning prayer services.  And most have multiple early morning prayer services.  

What do I mean by early?  One church has a 5am, 6am, 7am, and 8:30amprayer meeting with thousands of people in attendance at each one.  At a6am prayer service I attended, my guess is that 2,000-3,000 people were already present and praying silently to God before the service began.  A women's choir led us in singing, couples led us in prayer, and the pastor led us in a sermon.  Their prayers are saturated with the Word of God as are their songs and sermons.

Another church also had a 5am prayer service every day of the week (except Sunday).  But not to be outdone, they also held prayer evening services beginning at 11pm, which went until the start of the 5am prayer service.  Six hours of prayer every evening with thousands of Koreans participating.  The people of Korea are a praying people.

This has challenged me personally.  As I reflect on the "ordinariness" in Korea of what would be considered a radical commitment to prayer in the US, I wonder what God would do in our country if we committed ourselves to prayer like our brothers and sisters have in Korea.  May this passion and commitment for prayer in Korea cross the Pacific and enter into our churches in the US.