SEOUL, South Korea—At the break of dawn, thousands inside the Myungsung Presbyterian Church cry out in unison “Ju-yeo! Ju-yeo! Ju-yeo!” or “Lord! Lord! Lord,” followed by a chorus of prayers.
This happens twice a year during the Early Morning Prayer Festival held at the church. It spans five days in March and September and daily attendance surges to about 25,000 as people seek God for breakthroughs, healing, and spiritual renewal.
Not only has it been a church tradition but for many it is a family tradition, as well. Children who have been attending the early morning prayer are now parents who are bringing their own children to the service.
“Since I was a child, I experienced the grace and the blessings from the early morning prayer,” church member Jinju Jung told CBN News. “He answered my prayers especially blessing me with good health. And this is why I bring my children so they too will make it part of their life.”
She adds that the prayer festival has been a lifestyle for her family.
Jung’s daughter, Sira Kim, also shared about the answer to her prayers.
“I was 4 years old when I first joined the early morning service. It was hard to wake up but I am happy because God answers my prayers,” she explained. “The most recent [prayer] is I prayed (to attend) a summer camp in the U.S. and God answered my prayer. I was able to join the camp.”
Dawn prayer meetings have been a meaningful part of Korean Christian life, dating back over 140 years. As urbanization swept the country, however, the tradition began to fade.
Reverend Sam-hwan Kim, founder of Myungsung Church, helped bring it back by launching the week-long early morning prayer festivals.
Soon, churches across the country followed, holding similar events to revive and carry on this powerful spiritual tradition.
Reverend Sam-Hwan Kim says there is biblical significance to praying early in the morning.
“There is a golden time when it comes to prayer and it is in the early morning,” he said. “Jericho, Exodus, the Resurrection, all of these happened in the early mornings. Early morning is when the darkness is cast away and resurrection happens. I believe many problems of the world can be solved through early morning prayer.”
Reverend Kim’s son, Pastor Hana Kim, now leads the church. He recalls coming to love early morning prayer, which was modeled faithfully by his parents. He believes this practice helped the church to grow from just 25 members in 1980 to more than 100,000 today.
One major answer to prayer is the Somang Correctional Institution — a Christian prison founded with the help of Rev. Kim and government partners.
It is now one of Asia’s finest, helping transform inmates by sharing the Gospel message.
Pastor Kim believes the church cannot be complacent and should pray even more with the challenges facing their country today.
“Korea is going through a very difficult time just like other countries,” he explained. “We have a threat right next to us from North Korea [and] our economy is not growing because our population is not growing.”
Society is challenged because we are extremely aging with 0.72 birth rate,” Pastor Kim added. “And only 5% Christian rate in our young generation.”
He is challenging everyone to make early morning prayer a lifestyle.
“Let’s give up our comfort zone. Let’s continue to keep our hearts fervent for Christ and for the prayers.” Pastor Kim said.
