WHEN THE CHURCH PRAYS, A NATION CAN CHANGE
A Call to the Australian Church to Return to Prayer
By Reverend Gary Hoban
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face…” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)
Prayer has never been a secondary activity of the Church. It is one of the great spiritual responsibilities entrusted to the people of God. When the Church prays, heaven moves, hearts change, strongholds are confronted and nations can be redirected toward the purposes of God.
AUSTRALIA DOES NOT NEED A PRAYERLESS CHURCH
Our nation faces spiritual confusion, fractured families, cultural pressure and growing resistance to biblical truth. Yet the answer is not fear, anger or retreat. The Church must return to the place where spiritual battles are truly fought – on our knees before God.
PRAYER MUST BECOME A PRIORITY AGAIN
Prayer cannot remain the small meeting attended by a faithful few while the rest of the Church carries on without it. Jesus said His house would be called a house of prayer. If we desire awakening, prayer must move from the margins back to the centre of church life.
Pastors need prayer. Families need prayer. Schools need prayer. Governments need prayer. Communities need prayer. The lost need prayer. Australia needs a praying Church.
REPENTANCE PREPARES THE GROUND FOR REVIVAL
Second Chronicles 7:14 begins with God’s people. Humility comes before healing. Prayer comes before restoration. Seeking God’s face comes before national transformation. We cannot call the nation to repentance while refusing to allow the Holy Spirit to search us.
INTERCESSORS: TAKE YOUR PLACE
God continues to look for those who will stand in the gap. Australia needs watchmen who will pray with perseverance, discern the times and refuse to surrender the nation to spiritual darkness. The assignment is not to complain about the darkness, but to carry the light of Christ into it through prayer, truth and obedience.
WHEN THE CHURCH PRAYS TOGETHER
Issue 2 called the Church to unity. Unity must now lead us into corporate prayer. Imagine churches across Australia setting aside rivalry and gathering to seek God. Imagine pastors praying for other pastors, generations praying together, and intercessors joining across denominational lines. A united praying Church becomes a powerful witness to a divided nation. Lord, teach us to pray again.
PRAYER CHANGES THE ATMOSPHERE
Throughout Scripture, prayer precedes breakthrough. The early Church prayed and the place was shaken. Peter was imprisoned and the Church prayed without ceasing. Paul and Silas prayed in prison and doors opened. Prayer is not passive; it is active participation with the purposes of God.
WE MUST PRAY BEYOND OUR OWN NEEDS
There is a place for personal prayer, but intercession takes us beyond ourselves. We pray for those who cannot or will not pray for themselves. We carry families, communities, leaders and nations before God. This is part of the priestly calling of the Church.
PRAY FOR THOSE IN AUTHORITY
Scripture commands us to pray for kings and all who are in authority. Our responsibility is greater than political opinion. We must pray that leaders govern with wisdom, justice and restraint, and that doors remain open for the Gospel.
PRAYER AND THE WORD MUST STAND TOGETHER
Prayer without biblical truth can become directionless, while knowledge without prayer can become powerless. The Church needs both the Word and the Spirit – believers who know Scripture and know how to seek the face of God.
THE HOUR IS NOW
We cannot wait for a crisis before learning to pray. The hour to strengthen the prayer altar is now. Let every church, every family and every intercessor ask: what would change if we truly made prayer a priority again? Australia needs a Church that will watch, pray, discern and stand. Let us take our place.
THIS MONTH: AWAKENING THE AUSTRALIAN CHURCH
Revival is born in hearts that hunger for God and in churches that return to prayer, repentance, holiness and the Word. This month we are praying for a fresh awakening across the Australian Church – from pulpits and prayer rooms to homes, workplaces and communities.
10 PRAYER POINTS FOR A PRAYING CHURCH
• Pray for pastors to be strengthened in prayer – Acts 6:4
• Pray for churches to become houses of prayer – Isaiah 56:7
• Pray for humility and repentance – 2 Chronicles 7:14
• Pray for families to establish prayer in the home – Joshua 24:15
• Pray for young people to encounter God – Joel 2:28
• Pray for intercessors to persevere – Luke 18:1
• Pray for boldness to proclaim the Gospel – Acts 4:29-31
• Pray for unity in corporate prayer – Acts 1:14
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to awaken the Church – Romans 13:11
• Pray for revival and transformation across Australia – Psalm 85:6
PRAYER FOCUS
Pastors, churches and intercessors – a fresh hunger for prayer. Pray for renewed prayer meetings, stronger personal prayer lives, unity in intercession and courage to stand in the gap.
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face…” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)
A PRAYER FOR A PRAYING CHURCH
Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the name of Jesus Christ.
Forgive us where prayer has become secondary, hurried or neglected.
Awaken in us a fresh hunger for Your presence.
Teach Your Church to pray again.
Strengthen pastors and leaders. Raise up intercessors. Restore prayer in Christian homes.
Bring believers together across denominational and generational lines to seek Your face.
Give us compassion for the lost, courage to proclaim the Gospel and perseverance to stand in the gap.
Pour out Your Holy Spirit upon the Australian Church.
Let repentance lead to revival and revival lead to transformation.
Lord, awaken Your Church and revive Australia again.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
OUR MISSION
To equip, encourage and mobilise Spirit-filled believers to pray, proclaim God’s Word and contend for revival, reformation and the advancement of God’s Kingdom in Australia.
CONNECT WITH US
Telegram: t.me/IntercessorsforAustralia
Zoom Prayer Meeting: Wednesdays — 6:30 PM AEST
Email: info@refinerylife.org
Website: www.refinerylife.org
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
— Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
NEXT WEEK
Issue 4 – Continuing the call to watch, pray, discern and stand for Australia.
LET US STAND TOGETHER IN PRAYER. GOD IS NOT DONE WITH AUSTRALIA!
WATCH • PRAY • DISCERN • STAND
