Where Is The Praying Church?

One of the most disheartening aspects of church life is the disinterest and lack of the gathered believers of Jesus praying together.  Sadly in most Western Churches the least attended meeting is the prayer meeting.  Yet, to get people to a church dinner or give them platform time requires not much effort at all.  Why is this?  What is it about prayer that we can’t rise up and unite together?  Why can we make every excuse under the sun when called to speak with God, yet when hearing the latest gossip we perk up and join in?  This is very, very troubling.

Lou Engle writes a Forward in Banning Liebscher’s new book titled “Jesus Culture”.  In it Lou writes some thought provoking words in relation to this topic.  Read this and weep, “A culture of prayer is what is needed, not a prayer meeting.  The Muslims have a prayer culture but the Christian church has a prayer meeting.  How will a nice little prayer meeting contend with the Muslim prayer culture?”  Isn’t that convicting?

While there is a rise in the desire for prayer in various pockets of the world, such as the 24/7 prayer groups that gather around the clock praying and interceeding, the majority of the church is sleeping.  Have we been so blinded by satan that we are dead when it comes to communicating with Jesus?  Have we been lulled into an apathetic attitude where we think we don’t need prayer and now see it as a hinderance to what we really want to do?  Has the prayer gathering become so boring that if we’re not jumping around and being entertained in the rock-concert church service we don’t want anything to do with it?  Church, please listen…we are in trouble!

From a Pastor’s perspective this is serious.  It was Charles Finney who said, “Every Pastor should know that if prayer meetings are neglected, his labors are in vain. Unless he gets Christians to attend prayer meetings, all his efforts won’t bring about spiritual renewal.”  I can preach until I am blue in the face; I can promote and try and get people to pray as much as I like, but if we have no desire to pray together we will remain void of power and will be fruitless.  The success of all of our efforts hinge on our eagerness to pray.  No prayer, no power -  BUT, know prayer, know power!

Rob Cartledge in his upcoming book Taking Up Your Cross writes, “The prayer team of the Church is the heart of the Church. The smaller the team, the smaller the heart. There is nothing wrong with a small heart as long as it is strong. But if the small heart is weak, then we have a problem.”  Are you beginning to see how serious this is?

God has put into place rules that govern the spiritual part of our lives.  One such rule is one that so many Christians forget and neglect.  The rule is this…great things for God and from God can only be attained through wholehearted prayer and intercession.  We are stupid if we think that we can be all that God wants us to be if we don’t pray.  Likewise, a church cannot rise up in it’s divine calling unless the people gather regularly in prayer.

Only those who travail in prayer will prevail in prayer.  Only those that see prayer as a lifestyle or culture and not a meeting will see breakthrough in Biblical proportions.  King David was a great example of a praying man.  Many of his heartfelt prayers can be read in the Psalms.  Reading his words you can sense his deep groaning and desperation to speak with God.  David’s strength, wisdom, courage, forgiveness, restoration and direction were all found through relentless prayer to God.

Proverbs 15:29 (ESV) tell us that, “The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” Notice, it is prayer that gets God’s attention.  Not our efforts of striving.  Not our performance in ministry.  Not our spectacular examples of “humility”.  No, God is attracted to the praying person.  The one that humbles him/herself before His Holiness and realizes how desperately they need Him.  The one that repentantly comes searching for grace and mercy.  The one that prays knowing that it all depends on God.  These are the ones that God will honour with His presence and power.

In Matthew 14:23 we are told that Jesus went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.  Why?  Because Jesus understood that to sustain Himself and keep on track he had to remain in vital communication with His Father.  During these moments of prayer He was strengthened, He was empowered, He was ministered to and loved.  It was His food and His source of life.  Why can’t we be like that?

Again we are told in Mark 1:35 (ESV) that, “…rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he [Jesus] departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” What a hunger!  What an example.  How much more do we need to pray if Jesus needed it so much?

The purpose of this blog post is to encourage you to ask God to fire you up for prayer, both privately and together with your church.  Pray this prayer with me, “Lord Jesus, You are the example I want to follow.  Please help me to see prayer like you do.  Kindle a passion for prayer within me so that I am eager to pray alone and together with my church family.  I am sorry for making excuses and showing that I was not interested in praying to you.  Awaken within me the deep desire to be a mighty prayer warrior and to see the powerful effects of what prayer can do.  Make me clean before You so that I can approach You with confidence and assurance that You hear me.  Enlarge my faith to pray God-sized prayers and help me to believe for the ‘impossible’.  I need you Jesus to break the apathy and laziness off my life so that I can be useful for Your Kingdom’s cause.  In Jesus’ name, Amen”