355. Drop by Weekday Zoom EMP
Our annual “10 Days EMP (Early Morning Prayer)” had a record number of 27 participants this year. We started it in 2021. Since then, the number grew from 15, 17, 21 and to 27 this year. Number isn’t everything, but it confirms the trend that we are slowly becoming a praying church, year by year.
One thing that most participants share is how refreshing it is to wake up early and start the day with prayer. The reason is not difficult to guess: In our busy life, it is difficult to secure a quiet time with God unless we do it as the first thing in the morning. It is also conducive to building a consistent habit because it rarely gets interrupted by other priorities.
10 Days EMP has ended, but you can still build a habit of praying as the first thing in the morning. Though it is written in the bulletin, many people are not aware we have a regular Weekday Zoom EMP (Except Monday), from 6-8 am, every week. You don’t have to come in at 6am. I just play background music, and have my prayer time from 6-8 am. So, within that duration, you can drop in at anytime to pray and leave any time.
Some may wonder, “What’s the point of doing prayer on Zoom when you could be praying on your own?” There are three reasons.
The first reason is accountability. I don’t have a strong willpower to keep a consistent prayer habit, especially early in the morning. So, turning on the Zoom makes my personal discipline into a public promise, as our members can come at any time to check whether I am praying or not. It gives me a sense of responsibility to do it consistently.
The second reason is visibility. I want our members to know that their lead pastor is prioritizing prayer. It would be best if I can physically be in the church building, but as we don’t have our building and KSC has their own EMP, I chose Zoom. Not only it keeps me accountable, but it helps members to feel secure that their pastor is a praying pastor.
The last reason is unity. Even though it is on zoom, when you notice other people joining to pray, it is encouraging for everyone that we are not praying alone but together. There is nothing that unites us as church than praying together.
