What is prayer? Why should we pray? The majority of Christians agree that prayer is a very important thing to do but not all Christians tend to pray regularly. It has been said that the average person in America prays one minute a week. Even pastors find prayer to be an incredibly difficult reality.
An Ellis Research survey for Facts & Trends finds just 16% of pastors are very satisfied with their personal prayer lives, 47% are somewhat satisfied, 30% somewhat dissatisfied and 7% very dissatisfied (Facts & Trends 5/6/05). We can see that a large number of pastors struggle with prayer as well.
God told Solomon when the Temple was being dedicated: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV). Profound!
As we start a brand new year we will begin our next sermon series entitled “Prayer”. We will study prayer practically and analyze how the Bible writers dealt with the subject.
Also notice what Timothy Keller says about the subject:
“Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change— the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things He has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life.”
(Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God).
Let us find our greatest growth in the new year as we move closer to God through prayer.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Geraldo
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