If there’s one thing that’s become a bit of a “pet-peeve” for me, it’s that there’s never any urgency for prayer in churches today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some grand “prayer-warrior” or anything like that. It’s more that I’ve learned that life tends to get in the way of our prayer life probably more than any other aspect of our Christian lives.

Bait & Switch – Saying One Thing & Doing Another

This lack of urgency was driven home again just in the last week when we had three prayer meetings as a “kick off” to 2022. Yes, it’s February and we’re just getting our 2022 prayer kick-off. Our lateness in calling prayer meetings says a lot about its priority in our church!

I get it that often things can get in the way – even in church. That wasn’t the worst of it. When we arrived, I learned that the first session was dedicated to worship. Three one hour prayer meetings and the first was already absconded with worship. The third would include communion so best guess, we might get one hour prayer from three hours of prayer meetings. And that’s exactly what drives me crazy. We announce prayer meetings, but apparently not to pray.

I wouldn’t have minded so much if someone had at least told us in advance. Then I could have skipped out. Yes, some may find I have a bad attitude, and they might be right. But I have history. It’s not like this is the first time this has happened to me, or even the first church in which it’s happened.

Past Frustration Colors My Perspective

I was a member of a strong church for 35 years. Great church with great pastors, a leader in our denomination. Every year we’d have a week of prayer meetings to kick off the new year. But every year, prayer meetings turned into “mini” Sunday services.

There was always praise and worship, announcements and a “golden nugget” sermonette before we’d finally settle into prayer. It was a source of frustration that got worse and worse as the years passed.

I remember one night where the “preliminaries” dragged on particularly long. After hearing at least three times “just one more important thing I want to say, and then we’ll get to prayer”, I’d had enough. I got up and walked out, in plain sight of everyone there. I decided my time would be better spent at home actually praying.

Walking out of a prayer meeting is not something you do lightly. But looking back, it’s the only time I can remember leaving church really angry. I cut my teeth in church, and spent most of my life there. And that was the only time I can remember being really angry. I was furious.

For years I’d attended prayer meetings that seemed hollow. Prayer meetings where we were all told what to pray for and how long to pray for each “priority”. Meetings where pastors and board members would walk around praying audibly – loud enough to be heard across the sanctuary, unaware their prayers were disruptive to others. It seemed Pharisaical.

Or worse, prayer by one person from the podium while everyone else “prayed along”. It was as if we didn’t believe our congregants could pray on their own or be led in prayer by God’s Spirit. Everything had to be controlled. Our leaders couldn’t leave the toddlers unsupervised in the room!

It must have been me. My expectations must have been maligned. I wanted to pray, something daily activities always robbed me of. But our leaders always had other ideas, other priorities, a different agenda.

We’ve Abandoned Church Prayer

Years ago, my church in Michigan always reserved time for prayer at the close of services. The length of time was open. One could go forward and pray at the altar or remain in the pew. There was no one establishing what each person should pray for. The emphasis was simply upon praying as each had need or felt led. Many prayed but few prayed for the same things.

Services today emphasize praise and worship. Prayer has become a casualty. It’s collateral damage in services today. There’s only 60 or 90 minutes and then people go home. With praise & worship, announcements and a sermon, there’s simply no longer time for prayer. Which is why I find it all the more frustrating that we call prayer meetings and then don’t pray!

The really strange part is that it’s happened in evangelical churches that have spent decades preaching the importance of a personal relationship with Christ. Prayer is where we speak with God and allow Him to speak with us. It should be considered essential to a vibrant, healthy relationship. So how can there be strength of relationship where there’s little or no prayer?

We’ve Traded Prayer for Praise & Worship

Many may argue I have unreasonable expectations. There’s nothing wrong with praise, and its now ubiquitously accepted that prayer must be preceded by praise and worship. It’s not that it’s a bad idea, only that it now seems we can’t get out of its orbit. The appeal of praise and worship has a gravitational pull so strong it cheats us out of prayer time.

And we are stuck in that orbit. When Jonah found himself drowning in the belly of a great fish, I seriously doubt he prefaced his prayers with praise and worship. I’m sure he just cried out to God, begging Him for forgiveness and promising to do His will if God would preserve Him. No praise and worship necessary. More to the point: no time for praise and worship when your life is threatened!

Everybody always loves to talk about how David danced before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:14). It’s true but no one ever talks about the actual circumstances. That’s because proponents of dancing don’t want to acknowledge that the circumstances were extraordinary. It was no “normal” Sabbath. The Ark of the Lord was being returned to Jerusalem after an extended absence. The Ark was the symbol of God’s presence. Without it, God was not present in Israel. It’s return was cause for great celebration. God had returned to Israel to bless His people.

Or consider when Bathsheba’s child died (2 Samuel 12:15-20). David had fasted and begged the Lord that his son would live. After the child’s death, David cleaned himself up, went to the temple and worshiped. Does anyone think he danced while worshiping on that occasion?

Prayer is no Longer a Priority Because There’s no Urgent Need

Prayer meetings just don’t draw many congregants and I think that’s a big part of the problem. Rather than accepting that there just aren’t a lot of prayer-warriors, we’re trying to “gussie up” our prayer meetings to improve attendance. Our lack of interest shows we don’t have urgent need for prayer. We’re healthy, wealthy (compared to the third world) and have much of what we need. We have liberty and aren’t persecuted. The problems we do have, can be solved without prayer. For us, life is good.

It seems the same with our pastors. Prayer meetings focus upon church priorities and growing the church. Perhaps part of the reason is that it’s a pastoral priority. It’s his job and he wants to succeed. But overall, our pastors also seem to be too doing well. Perhaps Satan had a point when he said, “A man will give all he has for his own life” (Job 2:4). Perhaps when we suffer, we’ll give our all in prayer.

A Call to Prayer

What’s troubling is there really is urgent need for prayer. Our world is racked with wars and conflicts. Human rights are under threat globally. Mass-incarceration of Uighurs, ethic cleansing of Rohingya and contract hits from government assassins in broad daylight. Forget the rule of law! The entire world is collapsing around us and the Gospel, the one thing that can save the world is increasingly banned.

In the face of these realities, it’s like we live in an alternate reality, one in which we worship as if none of this is happening around us. We are complicit in our own self-deception and it’s corroborated by our prayerlessness. We simply see no urgency for God to intervene. If these catastrophes don’t motivate us, nothing will. And so far nothing has.

But it doesn’t need to be that way. If we engage with those who are suffering, we will learn compassion. We will realize the needs of desperate souls and anticipate the suffering of those beyond our purview. Love and compassion will motivate us to pray. But don’t make my mistake. Don’t expect to find prayer in church prayer meetings!