Are We Above Prayer?

If there is a sin that the church as a whole is guilty of, I would say it is prayerlessness.

For example, if there’s a Bible study, attendance will be good. If there’s a guest speaker, attendance will be even better. If there will be special music or a guest artist that people like to listen to, attendance might be better still.

But when there’s a prayer meeting, guess what happens? Attendance goes down. Why? Because we think we don’t need to pray.

Do we need more Bible studies and more worship and more musical artists? There’s a place for that, of course. But are we above prayer now? James 4:2 says, “You do not have because you do not ask” (NKJV).

The Bible tells us about a time when the prophet Daniel was deeply moved after reading God’s Word. He said, “I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain” (Daniel 9:20 NLT).

Notice that he prayed for his own forgiveness, but he prayed for others, too.

Maybe you’ve seen someone who has fallen away or is compromising spiritually, and you’ve talked about it to everyone. How about praying for them instead? How about interceding for them? Why should you do that? Because, my friend, one day it could be you.

Any of us have the capacity to fall into sin. So we should pray and intercede for others. We should stand in the gap for them. If only we would spend as much time talking to God about others as we spend time gossiping about others.

When was the last time you prayed not just for your own needs, but also for someone else? It’s time to intercede for others in prayer.