Bring Back Prayer in Our Churches

Public prayer, especially at government sponsored events, is a hot issue these days. Even at Associated Content the debate rages on. The purpose of this article is not to comment either way on the appropriateness of public prayer. Rather, it is to draw attention to a disturbing trend. Private (be it corporate or individual) prayer is down, and has been for some time.

One of the least attended events in a church's schedule is the prayer meeting. Most do not take prayer seriously. Try this, have a prayer and fasting month at your church. Have there be an emphasis on prayer and have some meetings devoted to nothing but prayer. I would be willing to bet money that attendance would drop. I don't know about you but I get ashamed sometimes when I hear how much people in other countries pray. What is our cultural aversion to prayer?

If we cannot get people to pray in church then how can we expect them to pray in school? Nothing is preventing us from praying in our homes or churches. Isn't that what churches are for? I know they serve other functions (both the building and the gathering of believers), but one of the main reasons for having a church is so a group of believers can gather together and pray at a place designated for spiritual purposes. Prayer even has this going for it: it is free. How many programs can you say that about in your church?

Perhaps the purpose of prayer is missed by most out there. Prayer is not merely asking God for stuff or to do stuff; prayer is communing with God. True part of being with someone is making requests, but this is a small part. Prayer is talking to God, but it can be more. It can be singing; it can be reciting scripture. It can be a letter written to God, or even silence. When was the last time you said "thank you" to God, or "you are awesome"?

While I am not against public prayer, I wonder how much people who push for it do so in private. I am sure some do. However, there seems something a bit wrong when prayer comes off as being a badge. It seems that prayer is often used as a proclamation of one's faith, or as the battle ground for a culture war. I think of China and how, with zero public prayer, Chinese Christians still pray far more.

This is not some liberal, subversive attempt at putting down Christianity via a guilt-trip on steroids. I really do want to see more prayer, be it public or private. I know far more prayers are (and always will be) offered in private, so I choose to put the emphasis there.

This piece was obviously aimed at a Christian audience, as usually, Christians are the one's advocating prayer at public events/state institutions. It just seems ridiculous (and hypocritical) to fight for public prayers, prayer in public schools, etc. if we are not praying in our churches.