The Prayer Scare

Hands up if the words “prayer” and “meeting” too close together make you shudder. Guilty? You are not alone in this I suspect.

Why is it prayer has become more of a “yikes” than “wahoo” for people these days? Even for people who like to pray, a prayer meeting can sometimes feel like a laborious experience. It strikes me, perhaps we have fenced prayer in too much.

Let's think about it for a second:

In order to pray you don't have to be anywhere specific.
You don't have to have any qualifications.
You don't have to have time spare, you can do it on the go.
You don't have to have anybody with you, but you can if you like.
You don't have to do it out loud.
Nobody even has to know!
You don't have to feel any response from God to know that your prayer was valid.
It doesn't cost you anything.
You don't have to say anything particular.

Prayer is your ultimate flexible friend!

Some of the most important prayers for our church are said by folks at home, by themselves, at their convenience, because they have committed to pray regularly for a ministry. Their prayers are so important. When there are good discussions at Friday Club, when we meet new faces at toddler group, when we survive another night at youth club, we know it's because people are praying.

Let's face it. If you believe in an all powerful God, it's worth having a word with Him now and again.

We've all got room for improvement, so why don't we try just offering up once sentence to Him this week, “Lord, motivate me to pray”.