Prayer Mountain

Prayer Mountain, or more specifically, the Osanri Choi-Jashil Prayer and Fasting Mountain Facility, is a Christian retreat in South Korea, operated by the Yoido Full Gospel Church, Korea's largest church. It is located in Jori-myeon, Paju, in northern Gyeonggi province near the Demilitarized Zone. It has facilities for 10,000 people.

The facility is privately owned and dedicated for the purpose of intensified prayer and fasting by Christians. It is built on a piece of legally acquired private property on a naturally elevated land formation.

The inspiration for the use of such facilities can be found within the pages of the Holy Bible where people like Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ were all led to fast and pray, or as in the case of Moses, spend a prolonged period in the wilderness to wait on God and to seek His will.

In the case of Jesus Christ, prayer was a regular feature of his ministry.

And it was at this time that Jesus went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to GOD. - Luke 6:12

The Prayer Mountain Movement in Korea sprang from a practice of the pioneering Christians during the latter days of the Korean church in the 19th century. Faced with strong opposition from the home religions and philosophies, i.e. Buddhism and Confucianism, as well as the mandatory practice of Shinto imposed by the invading forces from Japan, many Christians who resisted these impositions on their freedom of worship were persecuted and even killed. In desperation, the Christians who could not practice their faith openly adopted the practice of waking up as early as four in the morning to ascend the nearby mountains where they could freely pray until the first ray of sunrise. At the end of the day, before going home, the Christians would again ascend the mountains to pray and fast and ask God to intervene on their behalf.

It is said that anyone who passed by those mountains would hear the cries and weeping of the men and women who were storming heaven with their sad plight and asking God to change their situation. From then on, prayer and fasting have been the hallmarks of the strong South Korean Church.

The Choi Ja-Sil Prayer Mountain facility in Osanri, Jorimyun Pajucity Kyunggido South Korea, is only one of the many Prayer Mountain facilities in the region. It was established to provide a secluded place of prayer for those who desire to be alone with God. It is owned and maintained by the Yoido Full Gospel Church. Choi Ja-Sil Prayer Mountain can accommodate 10,000guests at one time with both western and Korean-style sleeping facilities. It is open not only to Korean Christians but to other Christians from all parts of the world who wish to come and visit.

In the Philippines, Bread of Life Ministries International led by its senior pastor Butch Conde drew inspiration from his Korea Prayer Study Tour and the Prayer Mountain experiences in South Korea to acquire a piece of land in the mountains to build the country's and Southeast Asia's first Prayer Mountain facility located in Antipolo City, it was called "Touch of Glory Prayer Mountain", where many Protestant groups and Christian denomination attended to the Prayer Mountain every month.