The Absent Prayer Meeting

I was just on our church's website and my fear was confirmed.

We don't have a prayer meeting.

We have children's ministries, men's ministries and ladies' Bible studies...

but no prayer meeting.

We have an entire page that lists service opportunities, and sign-ups...

but no prayer meeting.

We have an exciting list of upcoming events that includes every age-group...

but no prayer meeting.

We host all of our sermons, for an entire year, with catchy sermon titles...

but no prayer meeting.

We have online giving opportunities, and direct withdrawal so you never forget...

but no prayer meeting.

We have a solid "what we believe" doctrinal statement, (nothing about prayer)...

but no prayer meeting.

We have a blog (here) where our pastor (me) shares his musings and soap boxes...

but no prayer meeting.

We have life groups that enjoy close relationships, but even at those...

no regular prayer meeting.

We have very nice live stream capabilities..

but no prayer meeting.

We have a page of amazing missionaries that we partner with...

but no prayer meeting at which to pray for them.

And, we have a place where you can digitally share your prayer requests...

but no prayer meeting.

Perhaps, this brief confession will serve us as a sort of before/after picture of the absent prayer meeting in our church. This post will hopefully be a before picture that displays, as it were, an old, dilapidated kitchen or bathroom before it receives a total-makeover. More importantly, as your lead shepherd, I desire that this will serve as my public repentance (I have privately repented) for not leading and prioritizing the prayer meeting in our church. This, dear ones, is my confession to you: we have no prayer meeting.

Lord, change your church.

Stay tuned for an announcement of a prayer meeting that's convening soon.

"The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be slothfulness in prayer." -C.H. Spurgeon

We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little; many services but few conversions; much machinery but few results.
-R.A.Torrey

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or consult the LORD! "-Isaiah 31:1