I Have To Admit, I Don’t Get It–Part Two
I Have To Admit, I Don’t Get It–Part Two
October 1, 2010 by Jeff Dunn
Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth. (Psalm 54:2, ESV)You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it. (Matthew 21:22, NLT)
They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. (Acts 2:42, The Message)
Hold a square dance night at church and prepare to have to push back more tables to make room for everyone. Having a chili cook-off? Set up twenty more tables than you were counting on. The guest preacher with a bestselling self-help book coming to your church this Sunday? Expect a packed house.
Announce a time of prayer, and all you’ll need is the toddler Sunday school room. And you’ll still have room for a couple of overflow tables of chili-eaters.
Are we not commanded to pray without ceasing? Is our Bible not filled with verses exhorting us to pray? Do we not see Jesus taking time away–often–to pray? Then why is prayer such an afterthought in American churches and for American Christians? I add the qualifier “American” because of the stories I hear firsthand of Korean Christians packing churches nationwide every morning for 5 am prayers. What is that they know that we don’t know? Or, more to the point, do they believe something we don’t believe?
If we American Christians really believed God hears and answers our prayers, we would be praying. We would be spending our time and energy in a much different manner if we thought Jesus meant it when he said anything we pray for we will receive. Why wouldn’t we? Annie Dillard laments the lack of belief in her essay, An Expedition To The Pole. “On the whole I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it?”
We must not believe. Or, if we believe, we must not care. Because if we believe and we care, we would pray. Right?
Is prayer emphasized in your church, or is it an afterthought? You know, after the last song is sung and everyone is gathering their stuff and ready to head to lunch, someone announces, “If you need prayer for anything, one of our elders will be up front to meet with you.” Maybe someone goes up for prayer, usually not.
Does your church have a regularly scheduled time of prayer separate from a regular worship service? If so, how many participate?
Has your church ever had a time of 24/7 prayer for a week or more? Were all of the time slots filled?
How often does your teaching pastor speak on prayer?
Am I the only one who wonders why we are not a praying people?
I just don’t get it.
Posted in Jeff Dunn, Prayers · 93 Comments
The closest I have ever felt to God was after praying for hours with my prayer partner. It has been years. This is something I hope to change.
We can do nothing without prayer. All things can be done by importunate prayer. It surmounts or removes all obstacles, overcomes every resisting force and gains its ends in the face of invincible hindrances. - E. M. Bounds.
