The Global Mission Church in Korea, led by Senior Pastor Rev. Seong-Eun Choi, celebrated its 30th anniversary by hosting the "2024 Intercessory Prayer Conference" from May 20-22 with the theme "Heal the Nation and Change the World through Prayer."
Every year, the Global Mission Church has emphasized the importance of intercessory prayer ministry to Korean churches through the "Path of Intercession Conference." Through this special intercessory prayer conference commemorating the 30th anniversary, the church reinforced the mission and importance of biblical intercessory prayer with Korean church pastors and lay leaders.
Rev. Choi lectured on "The Importance of Church-Centered Intercessory Prayer." He emphasized that "the history of prayer (Matthew 18:19-20) is more powerful when it arises centered around the church, not just by an individual."
"The church is different from other communities. Size does not matter. The power of the church is revealed by how united we are in gathering in the name of Jesus Christ," he said.
He read Acts 12:1-12, highlighting verse 5, "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him." He stressed that the apostle Peter was eventually released from prison due to the church's earnest prayers.
"The miracle of the prison doors opening in Acts 12 was not because of individual prayer for an individual. It was because of the church's prayer for an individual, that is, the community's prayer," he said, adding: "God certainly answers individual prayers. However, He has promised in a special way to answer the community prayers when two or three gather in the name of the church."
He further elaborated, "In Matthew 18:19-20, Jesus promised that where two or three gather in His name, He would be there with them and would grant their requests. Here, two or three are not just a simple group but a gathering in the name of the church, as can be seen in the context (Matthew 18:17)."
Rev. Choi emphasized that "Jesus made believers part of the church community, His body, so they would not fight lonely battles on earth. He respects and accepts the prayers of such a church. Therefore, we should gladly share our prayer topics with the church, and the church should bear the burden of prayer for these topics."
He returned to the story of Peter's release from prison in Acts 12, emphasizing the importance of "earnest" prayer. Pastor Choi explained, "The word ‘fervent’ means to exhaust all our passion and energy. It is a prayer as if you are giving your life for it."
"The radical young people of the early church might have planned an underground prison raid for Peter's release. More practical-minded believers might have argued to ransom Peter's life from King Herod. Pessimistic believers might have resigned to fate. But leaders who trusted the Lord believed there was no other way but prayer and prayed earnestly. This prayer opened the prison doors," he said.
Additionally, he noted that "the Jerusalem church did not stop with a single prayer for Peter's release. The church continued to pray until Peter was freed. When Peter arrived at the prayer meeting in Mark’s upper room after being freed by an angel, the church was still praying for him."
Pastor Choi quoted Thomas Watson, "It was the angel's action that brought Peter out of prison, but it was the church's earnest and continuous prayer that moved the angel." He asserted that "until the Lord lifts the burden of that prayer topic, we must continue to pray for it. This continuous prayer is a sign of our trust in the Lord who will answer. It is this continuous prayer that opened the prison doors."
Meanwhile, the conference included various lectures, practical prayer sessions, and a program to visit an actual intercessory prayer room. A "Q&A on Intercessory Prayer Ministry" answered questions about intercessory prayer ministry.
After the conference, Global Mission Church plans to help establish intercessory prayer ministries in individual churches through consulting and coaching. The church stated, "We aim to create a continuous and systematic intercessory prayer ministry network to ignite a holy flame that will heal the nation and change the world."
Originally published by Christian Daily Korea. Translated and edited by Christian Daily International staff.
