To grow in your spiritual relationship in Christ, you need to associate with a solid, healthy church. How can you identify a healthy church? One of the best ways is to find one that is firmly planted in prayer. This is a critical indicator of a healthy church because the Christian church actually began though a prayer meeting. After Christ’s resurrection, He spent 40 days with His disciples explaining what the mission of the church should be. Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus told them to go to Jerusalem and wait in the upper room. They were in the upper room for ten days – in a ten-day prayer meeting asking for God’s guidance and waiting for God to lead them. God responded powerfully with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The church actually originated from a prayer meeting of waiting on God.

Throughout scripture, we see that Jesus was quite clear that His house was to be a house of prayer. Throughout His mission on earth, Jesus regularly immersed Himself with prayer, setting the example for His followers. Jesus taught us how to pray. And His church was founded on prayer. So, you can find a healthy church by seeing how they follow the example of Jesus. A starting point of a healthy church always begins with prayer.