You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Prayer Room

What is A Biblical Metric for a Successful Life and Ministry?

Last month, I had the privilege of being at Gatecity Church in Lawrenceville, GA as they celebrated 20 years of non-stop, day-and-night worship and prayer. I am amazed at their team’s diligent leadership in building and sustaining a place of 24/7 prayer with live worship. It’s one of only three places I’m aware of that sustain 24/7 prayer with live worship here in America. Just a few weeks later, our family visited David’s Tent DC, a 24/7 worship tent on the National Mall, to help lead a set during their North Carolina week.

These larger day-and-night prayer ministries are not just the result of top-notch human leadership. They are a sign and a wonder in our generation. The leaders at Gatecity and David’s Tent DC have not established 24/7 prayer rooms (or tents) in their own strength. No leadership strategies or marketing plans are brilliant enough. Because it’s not just about building an organization, it’s about building a house for the Lord. And Psalm 127 makes clear that unless the Lord builds His house, we labor in vain. We do not build houses of prayer, but God is building His house of prayer! And He empowers His people on the earth to build with Him in accomplishing his purposes. Labor is required, but we must labor in the grace of God, empowered by the Spirit, to avoid wasting our energy on fruitless efforts.

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6

Comparison and Covetousness

I admire my friends like Billy Humphrey at Gatecity and Jason Hershey at David’s Tent DC, who have sacrificed tremendously to obey God in their ministry assignments. In my good moments, I celebrate their successes. But can I be honest? In my bad moments, I get envious.

I visit Gatecity and experience this at the conference:

Then I come home to our prayer room at The Greenhouse, and our prayer room sometimes looks like this:

The contrast is stark. At times, it causes me to question what we’re doing. Isn’t God’s grace with us? Isn’t His Spirit also here in eastern North Carolina? Am I a horrible leader? Why does our ministry feel so small and weak? Why are things “working better” at other churches and ministries? Sometimes, it’s hard not to feel like a failure.

I recognize that it’s my pride and ego at the root of these questions, but I thought I should be transparent with you about my struggle. No one wants to admit their insecurities, even though we all have them, even pastors and leaders.

But it’s not just pastors. Everyone is tempted by comparison. Nowadays, it’s easy to scroll social media and get sucked into the trap. We can see what others are doing across town or even across the globe, and we may feel discouraged. Why don’t I look as good as that person? Why isn’t my business as successful as that one? Why isn’t my house as tidy and trendy as theirs? Why isn’t my family as happy as the one I see online?

Of course, this interconnectedness can also be a source of inspiration and encouragement. We can instantly hear testimonies of revival breaking out at SEU. We can watch hours of YouTube videos from the world’s greatest preachers. You can watch interesting podcasts and read articles (like this one) from people who live miles away.

Online media can be a tool that God uses for His purposes, but it comes with unique challenges. Despite the blessings of the digital age, we must be aware of the temptations posed by our instant access to what’s happening around the world. One of these temptations is what the Bible calls “covetousness.”

To covet is to want something that belongs to someone else. “Do not covet” is an often overlooked Ten Commandment.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Exodus 20:17

The Holy Spirit has been putting his finger on this issue of covetousness in my own heart. I felt convicted while visiting Atlanta. I keep comparing myself to others and wanting what they have. I keep confessing and repenting, realizing that this sin is more common in me than I realized. And recently, the Holy Spirit brought the following phrase to mind: “You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Prayer Room.” Ouch. As a ministry leader, this is my temptation. You can insert whatever object of envy is applicable to your life in place of “prayer room.” Who has what you want? Who are you comparing yourself to? God tells us not to covet.

A Different Metric of Success

While I was in Atlanta, someone asked me how The Greenhouse, our local community, was going. I said, “It’s going great as long as I keep my ego out of the way.” When I keep my eyes on the Lord and don’t get self-focused, I feel content and joyful. When I stop comparing myself to others or trying to impress them, I’m grateful for the beautiful community we have here. It’s when pride, comparison, and covetousness start to take hold that I find myself struggling and discontent.

When my perspective is clear, I realize that things are going great. My wife and I find deep joy in it. There are many things to celebrate. A key woman in our community was struggling with infertility when The Greenhouse launched. We had been praying for her in this regard, and she just had a baby a few weeks ago! The very first baby born in The Greenhouse was a bona fide miracle. I’ve seen folks who were scared to pray out loud start to pray out loud. Those who were scared to give away any of their money are starting to become generous. Our prayer room has grown from one hour to four hours of weekly worship. We have 12 people committed to the prayer room every week (we call them “Wallbuilders”). It’s all beautiful!

Here’s the issue with the original question about how things are going: we need the correct metric to measure our success. The most common ways to judge a successful ministry are numerical and financial growth. And the faster and bigger the better, right? Maybe those indicate God’s blessing and favor, but maybe not. Since God prunes fruitful lives and ministries (John 15:2), maybe nonstop, fast-paced growth is not the best indicator of success.

A better metric might be: what does God think of what we’re doing? Because whenever I talk to the Lord about it, He loves the Greenhouse. A lot. Our little community here pleases Him. And if we are a presence-centered community, isn’t that what really matters? If we are ministering first to Him, then shouldn’t our primary concern be what He thinks of what we’re doing?

And even if all the other good things I shared weren’t happening at The Greenhouse, if God is pleased, that’s all that matters. We’re following Jesus here. And at the end of our lives, we have to answer to Him.

Don’t mishear me. I am not saying that small ministries are necessarily better or more devoted to God. I’m not saying that large ministries can’t be presence-centered. That’s not the point. Covetousness and thanksgiving are issues of the heart. The point is to give thanks to God for what we do have and to seek His perspective on what we’re doing. And then we must accept and receive whatever He says to us about our lives, churches, and ministries.

When we do that, God will affirm us, but He will also correct us. Sometimes you may need to make a change. You may need to shut down the fledgling church. You may need to lose some weight. You may need to find a solution to make more money. But the issue is this: why are you doing (or not doing) those things? Is it because of the Lord’s leading? Or is it because you want to impress others? Is it because you want to be a good steward and love people well? Or is it because you want ot be able to brag about your success? Are you trying to prove yourself or obey Jesus? These are questions worth praying about.

Seeking God’s opinion of our life and ministry, plus focusing on what we do have, helps orient our hearts to avoid the traps of covetousness. This is exactly what we see in Paul’s instructions to the Church at Ephesus:

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. Ephesians 5:3-4

After warning against covetousness, immorality, and bad language, he gives one positive instruction: let there be thanksgiving. Why is Thanksgiving so powerful? Thanksgiving shifts our focus from what we don’t have to what we do have. Thanksgiving leads us into the presence of God, where He can guide and lead us. He can frame our experience in a way no one else can. He can shift our perspective, address our pride, lead us to repentance, and give us the wisdom we need. Thanksgiving helps us become content, humble, and present-centered people.

An Encouragement to Pastors & Leaders

With that said, I want to encourage those who are leading small prayer ministries. Most houses of prayer are small. Most prayer rooms are empty most of the time. Even Billy Humphrey said that Gatecity’s 24/7 prayer room usually has 4-5 people in it at any given time. If you’re leading or attending prayer meetings with a few people at a time, then you’re a part of a successful prayer ministry. Well done! That is very normal.

I believe a great awakening is coming. And when it does, day-and-night prayer gets much easier. Nearly every outpouring and revival births expressions of 24-hour prayer. We saw it at Asbury a few years ago, and it happened again recently at SEU. Azusa Street, the Welsh Revival, the Jesus People movement, the Latter Rain revival — all of these and other great moves of God stirred people to worship and pray constantly. In the meantime, as we await the next great revival, small remnant prayer groups like The Greenhouse are preparing the way.

Find joy and contentment in ministering to the Lord with a small community of like-hearted believers. If you have that in your city, it really is a gift. If you are in it for the crowds, then you might get frustrated. But if you’re in it for the Lord, then plant yourself in a house of prayer. Minister to the Lord. Linger. Take the time to make disciples. And be content with His presence and His affirmation. Celebrate what you have, and pray for more. But as you do, check the intentions of your heart. Repent of any selfish motivations. Watch out for the trap of envy and comparison. Do not covet your neighbor’s prayer room! Give thanks to God, and let His presence be enough.