Have you ever thought about why prayer is difficult? Today a few thoughts about how churches struggle when it comes to gathering for prayer.
1. Prayer is not exciting.
Well, it is, but it's not. How's that for talking out of both sides of my mouth? Prayer, communication and connection with God, can bring about great results over time. Prayer can also bring immediate benefits of increased calm for believers under fire in any manner of challenge or crisis. But prayer as an entertainment draw? Not so much. Nothing flashy about a group of people with their heads bowed talking out loud and waiting for something to happen.
2. Nothing happens.
This is one of the challenges of ministry! Often we don't know what happened. When God stirs, communicates, moves, convicts, sometimes we know it right away. Sometimes we don't. With prayer, we may not see results for days, months, years - if ever. Sometimes God won't answer in the way we want.
3. We don't get what we want.
When you go to the store, you get what you want. When you watch entertainment, you get what you want. On and on I could go. We in the West have incredible access for almost every preference we could have. And, we have platforms to scream and shout when marketers or entertainers fail to meet our preferences. Prayer sometimes means accepting an answer different than the one we seek.
4. Now...
Don't get me wrong. I value prayer. I wrote the first three of these to challenge how limited and how selfish we can be. Let me tell you how prayer can unite you with other believers, give you peace inside, remind you of God's authority, and bring about results you never saw coming. Prayer can bring forgiveness and justice.
Pray! Without ceasing...
In Christ,
Pastor Kevin