For nearly 25 years, prayer has served as the backbone of our church. The phrase we often use, "We can do a lot of things other than pray, but we can't do anything until we pray," forms the foundation for how we approach life, ministry, and our role in heaven's plan according to Scripture. We firmly believe that when we pray, Heaven moves.

Every year for the past 25 years, we've taken a break from our regular church schedule to reestablish our rhythm and dependence on prayer. We halt everything to return to our place of prayer, reminding ourselves that without prayer, nothing will happen.

This January, we embark on this journey into a deeper sense of prayer once again.

The theme for this year's month of prayer is "Amen." Many of us have uttered this word repeatedly over meals, in our cars, during church services, and elsewhere. However, in some ways, we may have lost our understanding of this word, or perhaps we never fully grasped it in the first place. "Amen" literally means "do it again" or "let it be so." When we say this word after prayers and in the context of worship services, we are essentially expressing a desire for all the promises of God that we hold dear to be fulfilled in our lives.

We say "Amen" with confidence, in moments of desperation, in tearful thanksgiving, and with childlike expectation. Regardless of the circumstances, each time we utter "Amen," we are tapping into Heaven's desire for us.

The goal of the month of prayer is to rekindle our dependence on prayer, rediscover the wonder of our gathered church and prayer meetings, and reignite our personal prayer moments. The logistics for this month are straightforward: a weekly podcast discussing elements of prayer, a daily blog starting on January 8th, weekly prayer gatherings at our campuses and in small groups, prayer resources for adults and families, and churchwide prayer gatherings at the beginning, middle, and end of the month.

We kicked off this month of prayer on December 31 alongside Big House Church with a night of corporate prayer and worship, marking the transition into the new year with a fresh spiritual consecration. We will conclude our month of prayer on February 3 with a five-hour prayer summit.

However you choose to engage with this month, we pray that something in your soul encounters the Lord in a place of prayer. Let's contend together and witness every promise He has for us manifest as a season of fulfillment. May we all shout, "Amen!"