🚨 THE CHURCH HAS A PRAYER PROBLEM
We Say We Believe in Prayer. But Do Our Lives Prove It?
Prayer has been a mainstay in my life for as far back as I can remember.
I cannot separate my journey with God from prayer. Through military service, marriage, raising a family, ministry, preaching, writing, missionary work, disappointments, victories, unanswered questions, closed doors, open doors, sickness, uncertainty, and seasons when I simply did not know what to do—
I PRAYED.
Not always eloquently.
Not always for hours.
Not always understanding what God was doing.
But I prayed.
And after more than 50 years of serving the Lord, I can say without hesitation:
WE WOULD NOT HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR WITHOUT PRAYER.
That is why what I see happening among Christians concerns me deeply.
We talk about prayer.
Preach about prayer.
Write books about prayer.
Ask others to pray for us.
Post prayer requests online.
Tell hurting people, “I'll be praying for you.”
But somewhere between believing in prayer and actually praying, something has gone terribly wrong.
📊 BEFORE WE DISCUSS THE NUMBERS, A WORD OF CAUTION
Various Christian surveys, ministries, and writers have reported dramatically different numbers concerning how long Christians pray, how frequently families pray together, and whether believers have been taught how to pray.
You may have encountered statistics claiming that the average Christian prays only a few minutes each day, that relatively few Christians maintain a consistent daily prayer life, that many people primarily pray during crises, or that family prayer has declined.
Rather than treating every percentage circulating online as a universally established fact, I believe the larger question is considerably more important:
WHAT DOES YOUR OWN PRAYER LIFE LOOK LIKE?
Forget everybody else's statistics for a moment.
How much did you pray yesterday?
When did you last pray with your spouse?
When did your children last hear you pray for them?
When did your family last gather for prayer outside of church?
When was the last time you prayed when nothing was wrong?
When was the last time you turned off the television, silenced the telephone, closed the laptop, and simply spent time with God?
Those answers tell us more about our spiritual condition than any national poll ever could.
⚠️ WE HAVE BECOME VERY GOOD AT EMERGENCY PRAYER
Something happens—
“Lord, help me!”
The doctor calls—
“Lord, please!”
The money runs short—
“Jesus, make a way!”
The marriage gets into trouble—
“God, save my family!”
Our child gets into difficulty—
“Lord, protect my baby!”
War threatens.
A hurricane approaches.
The economy collapses.
A loved one becomes ill.
Suddenly—
EVERYBODY KNOWS HOW TO PRAY.
There is nothing wrong with crying out to God during emergencies.
Scripture repeatedly tells us to do exactly that.
The problem is when emergencies become the only time God hears from us.
Prayer was never intended to function like a spiritual 911 system.
PRAYER IS RELATIONSHIP.
🙏 BILLY GRAHAM UNDERSTOOD SOMETHING WE NEED TO RECOVER
Billy Graham consistently emphasized prayer as essential to Christian life and ministry. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association preserves his teaching that Christians should make prayer a regular part of everyday life rather than something reserved for emergencies.
He also famously emphasized three necessities for evangelistic work:
“PRAYER, PRAYER, PRAYER.”
Why?
Because prayer acknowledges something modern humanity desperately dislikes admitting:
WE NEED GOD.
Not occasionally.
Not when medicine fails.
Not when the bank account reaches zero.
Not when every human solution has been exhausted.
Every day.
Jesus said:
“Without me ye can do nothing.” — John 15:5
We quote it.
But do we believe it?
Because if we truly believed that without Christ we can do nothing, wouldn't we spend considerably more time asking Him what we should do?
1. OUR VIEW OF GOD HAS BECOME TOO SMALL
One reason our prayer lives shrink is that our vision of God shrinks.
If God becomes little more than a theological concept, prayer becomes an obligation.
If God is distant, why talk to Him?
If He is uninterested, why bother?
If He cannot change anything, why ask?
If we believe we know better than He does, why listen?
But Scripture reveals God as holy, sovereign, loving, powerful, merciful, present, wise, and intimately concerned with His creation.
The problem isn't that God has become smaller.
OUR PERCEPTION OF HIM HAS.
We have enormous problems and, functionally, a tiny God.
The Bible presents the opposite:
AN ENORMOUS GOD AND PROBLEMS THAT MUST BOW BEFORE HIS SOVEREIGNTY.
When we rediscover who God is, prayer stops looking like wasted time.
It becomes one of the most important things we can possibly do.
2. WE THINK TOO MUCH OF OURSELVES
This one hurts.
Prayerlessness can become a quiet declaration of independence from God.
We don't say:
“God, I don't need You.”
We would never dare.
We simply live that way.
We wake up.
Check the phone.
Check the news.
Check the weather.
Check email.
Check social media.
Make decisions.
Handle business.
Solve problems.
Plan tomorrow.
And somewhere near bedtime, if we're still awake:
“Oh, Lord...”
What have we communicated?
“I'VE GOT THIS.”
But Jesus said:
“Without me ye can do nothing.” — John 15:5
Prayer says:
“Father, I don't have this—but You do.”
Prayer is one of the greatest antidotes to self-reliance because every sincere prayer begins with an admission:
I NEED SOMEBODY GREATER THAN ME.
3. GUILT HAS DRIVEN TOO MANY PEOPLE AWAY FROM GOD
Some people aren't prayerless because they don't believe in God.
They're ashamed.
They sinned.
Failed.
Fell again.
Promised God they would never do something again—
and did it again.
So they hide.
Adam did something remarkably similar in Genesis.
Sin makes us want to run from the very One we need most.
But Scripture says:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins...” — 1 John 1:9
The answer to sin isn't avoiding God.
IT IS RUNNING TO GOD IN REPENTANCE.
Psalm 34:18 tells us the Lord is near to the brokenhearted.
Psalm 51:17 tells us God will not despise a broken and contrite heart.
You don't have to clean yourself up before praying.
Come honestly.
Come broken.
Come ashamed if necessary.
Come crying.
Come with three words if three words are all you have:
“LORD, HELP ME.”
But come.
4. WE DON'T PLAN TO PRAY
Here is an extraordinarily practical problem.
We intend to pray.
Eventually.
After breakfast.
After work.
After answering this message.
After watching this video.
After finishing this project.
After the children settle down.
After the house gets quiet.
And suddenly it's midnight.
Tomorrow arrives.
Repeat.
Anything important in our lives usually gets scheduled.
Doctors' appointments.
Meetings.
Work.
School.
Vacations.
Haircuts.
Dinner reservations.
Yet somehow we imagine the most important relationship in our lives will flourish on leftover time.
IT WON'T.
Schedule prayer if necessary.
Set the alarm.
Get up earlier.
Use the lunch break.
Turn off the radio during the commute.
Pray before meals.
Pray before bed.
Pray with your spouse.
Pray with your children.
Take ten minutes and walk while talking with God.
A schedule doesn't make prayer artificial.
IT MAKES PRAYER INTENTIONAL.
5. SOMETIMES WE ARE SIMPLY SPIRITUALLY DRY
And this deserves compassion.
There are seasons when prayer is difficult.
Grief can do it.
Exhaustion can do it.
Disappointment can do it.
Depression and emotional distress can make concentration difficult.
Long-term suffering can wear us down.
Unanswered prayer can leave us wondering:
“What's the point?”
Sometimes we kneel and nothing comes.
No beautiful words.
No overwhelming emotion.
No spiritual fireworks.
Just silence.
What should we do?
PRAY ANYWAY.
Psalm 62:8 says:
“Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”
Tell God:
“Lord, I don't feel like praying.”
That's prayer.
“Lord, I'm disappointed.”
That's prayer.
“Lord, I'm angry and don't understand.”
That's prayer.
“Lord, I don't even know what to say.”
That's prayer.
God isn't impressed by vocabulary.
He desires honesty.
👨👩👧👦 WHAT HAPPENED TO FAMILY PRAYER?
This concerns me greatly.
Children should hear their parents pray.
Not merely the pastor.
THEIR PARENTS.
They should hear Daddy call their name before God.
They should hear Mama thank God for provision.
They should learn that when trouble comes, the family doesn't only panic—
the family prays.
When children see prayer only at church, they may conclude prayer belongs to church.
When they see prayer at home, they learn:
PRAYER BELONGS TO LIFE.
Pray over meals.
Pray before school.
Pray before trips.
Pray when someone is sick.
Pray when someone receives good news.
Pray when there is bad news.
Pray when there is no news whatsoever.
Let your children grow up remembering the sound of somebody in their house calling upon God.
That memory may follow them farther than you will ever know.
📱 WE SAY WE DON'T HAVE TIME
Really?
That argument becomes increasingly difficult to defend.
Many of us somehow find time for:
Scrolling.
Streaming.
Sports.
News.
Texting.
Shopping.
Gaming.
Politics.
Entertainment.
Social media.
We can spend thirty minutes reading strangers argue in a comment section and then say:
“I DON'T HAVE TEN MINUTES TO PRAY.”
Perhaps the issue isn't time.
Perhaps it is priority.
We make time for what we believe matters.
That's uncomfortable.
But it is true.
🇺🇸 AND THEN WE ASK WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR NATION
Look around.
Division.
Anger.
Violence.
Broken families.
Political hatred.
Addiction.
Loneliness.
Moral confusion.
Fear.
Debt.
Distrust.
Corruption.
Children struggling.
Churches struggling.
Communities struggling.
And Christians often ask:
“WHAT CAN WE DO?”
God gave Israel an answer containing a principle the Church desperately needs to remember:
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face...” — 2 Chronicles 7:14
Notice where God begins.
Not:
If Washington...
Not:
If Hollywood...
Not:
If the media...
Not:
If unbelievers...
“IF MY PEOPLE...”
Before we demand national repentance, perhaps there needs to be church repentance.
Before asking God to change America, perhaps we should ask:
“LORD, WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE IN ME?”
🔥 REVIVAL WILL NEVER BE PRODUCED BY AN ALGORITHM
We cannot market ourselves into revival.
We cannot hashtag our way into revival.
We cannot livestream our way into revival.
Technology can spread the message.
Social media can distribute Scripture.
Church programs can organize people.
Books can teach.
Sermons can challenge.
But only God can transform hearts.
And historically, movements of genuine spiritual awakening have been inseparably associated with people seeking God earnestly.
WE NEED TO PRAY AGAIN.
Not perform prayer.
Not talk about prayer.
Not post about prayer.
PRAY.
🚨 HERE IS THE REAL CRISIS
Our greatest problem may not be that America doesn't pray.
America isn't the Church.
Our greater concern should be:
DO CHRISTIANS PRAY?
Does the Church pray?
Do pastors pray?
Do fathers pray?
Do mothers pray?
Do young people pray?
Do missionaries pray?
Do church leaders pray before making decisions?
Do we seek God's face before seeking everybody else's opinion?
If the answer is increasingly no, then we have identified something far deeper than a cultural problem.
WE HAVE A SPIRITUAL PROBLEM.
🛠️ SO WHAT DO WE DO?
We don't need another complicated program.
Begin tomorrow.
Better yet—
BEGIN TONIGHT.
Set aside a specific time every day.
Start with ten minutes if necessary.
Turn the phone over.
Open your Bible.
Thank God.
Confess your sins.
Pray for your family.
Pray for your church.
Pray for your pastor.
Pray for missionaries.
Pray for your community.
Pray for the hurting.
Pray for your enemies.
Pray for our leaders.
Pray for America.
Pray for the nations.
Pray for souls.
Then—
BE QUIET FOR A MOMENT.
Prayer isn't merely giving God His instructions for the day.
It is communion with Him.
🙏 WHAT IF MILLIONS OF CHRISTIANS DID THIS?
Think about it.
What if Christian families began praying together again?
What if children heard their names called before God every night?
What if husbands and wives prayed before arguments became wars?
What if pastors prayed longer than they planned programs?
What if churches spent as much energy seeking God as promoting events?
What if Christians prayed before posting angry responses online?
What if believers prayed for politicians they disliked?
What if we prayed for enemies?
What if we prayed for revival—
and genuinely meant:
“LORD, START WITH ME.”
Would every national problem disappear tomorrow?
No.
Prayer isn't magic.
But people would change.
And changed people change marriages.
Changed marriages change homes.
Changed homes affect children.
Changed children influence schools.
Changed churches influence communities.
Changed communities influence nations.
REAL NATIONAL CHANGE HAS TO REACH THE HUMAN HEART.
And God specializes in hearts.
❤️ DON'T WAIT UNTIL YOU NEED A MIRACLE TO LEARN HOW TO PRAY
Please hear this.
Don't wait until the doctor calls.
Don't wait until the marriage collapses.
Don't wait until your child disappears.
Don't wait until the bank account is empty.
Don't wait until war begins.
Don't wait until the hurricane is approaching.
Don't wait until somebody dies.
PRAY NOW.
Build the relationship before the emergency.
Walk with God when the sun is shining so that when darkness arrives, His voice isn't unfamiliar.
Prayer should not be the spare tire we pull from the trunk when life breaks down.
IT SHOULD BE THE STEERING WHEEL.
🙏 LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY
The disciples once came to Jesus with an extraordinary request:
“Lord, teach us to pray...” — Luke 11:1
They could have asked:
Teach us to preach.
Teach us to perform miracles.
Teach us to become famous.
Teach us to build organizations.
But they noticed something about Jesus.
HE PRAYED.
And they wanted what He had.
Perhaps that should become the prayer of the Church again:
“LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY.”
Teach our pastors.
Teach our fathers.
Teach our mothers.
Teach our children.
Teach our churches.
Teach our nation.
And Lord—
START WITH ME.
🙏 A PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH, OUR HOMES, AND OUR NATION
Heavenly Father, forgive us for every time we have treated prayer as a last resort instead of a daily privilege. Forgive our pride, self-reliance, distractions, excuses, and spiritual laziness. Forgive us for asking You to bless plans we never asked You to direct.
Teach us to pray again.
Restore prayer to our homes. Let children hear their parents call upon Your name. Restore prayer to our marriages. Restore prayer to our churches. Give pastors and ministry leaders a renewed hunger for Your presence.
Lord, awaken Your Church. Before we point toward the sins of the nation, search our hearts. Before we ask You to change someone else, change us.
We pray for America and the nations of the world. Give leaders wisdom. Protect children. Strengthen families. Help the poor. Comfort the grieving. Deliver those in bondage. Strengthen missionaries. Revive churches. Save souls.
And when we become busy, remind us to pray.
When we become confident in ourselves, remind us to pray.
When we are ashamed, draw us back to prayer.
When we are spiritually dry, help us pray anyway.
When everything is going wonderfully, keep us praying.
And when everything falls apart, let prayer already be the language of our hearts.
Lord, teach us to pray.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
🔔 THE CHALLENGE
For the next seven days, before checking social media in the morning:
PRAY FIRST.
Ten minutes.
No phone.
No television.
No news.
Just you, your Bible, and God.
And sometime during those seven days—
PRAY WITH YOUR FAMILY.
We keep asking what it will take to change our lives, our homes, our churches, and our nation.
Perhaps part of the answer has been sitting in front of us all along.
PRAYER. PRAYER. PRAYER.
Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International
Your Feet to the Nations
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