The Prayer Factor

In many areas of the world, the church has become complacent in its prayer life.  Many churches have resigned themselves to busyness and have forsaken their priority for prayer, both corporate and individual.  In most western churches today the Wednesday night prayer services are gone as is the priority of prayer in worship on Sunday mornings.  Prayer is a neglected topic from the pulpits in many of our churches today.  Many of us have little time for “a night on the mountain with our God.”  The consequence of this lack of prayer is a loss of the evangelistic zeal in our churches. 

In many ways the western church has become numb to prayer.  It has been relegated to a token of our services and in many circles it is a ritual of church and of life.  The Bible instructs us to pray without ceasing.  The Bible also says that mountains can be moved with prayer.   God hears prayer and He answers.  But we must pray with urgency, perseverance, and purpose.

Most of us don’t pray for our lost friends and neighbors.  We are not burdened by their lostness.  As a result, we neglect the Great Command of Jesus to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Additionally, many Christians suffer from disobedience to God because they don’t take time to listen to His voice and follow His commands.  Not only does our relationship with God suffer, but so does our relationship with our neighbor.