Churches that lack prayer...

Hello everyone, today being my day off, I was here at home and finally opened up youtube for the first time in a long time and saw a message that was in a list as I guess I watched a video before that was similar to that, so it was in my recommended list of videos to watch. Now I may have seen some videos similar to this in the past – but I don't recall watching this exact one. You may feel free to watch it, or continue on and read the remainder of this blog post.

Now – there was one part of that video that really caught my attention, and this is a part of the video where Paul Washer summarizes a teaching of Jesus and adds on to that as he states:

“Depart from me, those of you who considered yourselves my disciples, and even infatically declared me to be Lord, but you did not commune with me and you lived as though I never gave you a law to obey – I just described American Christianity – the 60 or 70 percent of the people in this country who believe that they are converted because one time in their life they prayed a prayer.”

This was shocking when I heard this, this is even more breathtaking as I read it over and over. Now, in a recent post – I finished it off with:

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Yet...... “60 or 70 percent of the people in this country who believe that they are converted because one time in their life they prayed a prayer.”

Now – when it comes to prayer and Jesus, what can we see?

Matthew 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

Matthew 14:23 And when [Jesus] had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

Here we have 3 separate verses(there are many many more) – and Jesus is seen praying. We are taught to take up the cross and follow Him. Just to go a step further – didn't Jesus teach us to pray?

The problem we have – many churches in America(and perhaps the rest of the World) teach to pray a prayer once and you're now disciple as you've confessed Jesus as Lord. Now this in itself leads to another problem. You end up with “Christians” who talk like the World, walk like the World, and look like the World – yet Christians are called to be different. Christians are called to live in a way that Jesus lived and that way is totally different from the World. Oh and just wait – you end up with a bunch of “Christians” who don't pray.

I dare you – start going up to some of your Christian friends and ask them how often they pray. There may be many answers – but I'm willing to bet that the people who don't pray much, will say something like “well my relationship with God is personal”. Now, I agree that a relationship with God is personal, and that relationship is built through prayer, so if one isn't willing to confess such an answer, it's most likely due to the fact that they either don't pray, or they pray very little.

The Bible teaches to pray continually. Many Churches teach – did you ever pray once upon a time in your life and ask Jesus to come into your heart?

If people aren't praying, we as a Church need to step up and pray that people would pray. If people aren't praying because they don't know how, we should teach them. If people aren't praying simply because they don't want to, well we should be praying that they would get a desire to pray.

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

My question to you – how can God be with your church, if you don't pray?