Survey: Spiritual maturity entails intentionality

Christians on the path to spiritual maturity have a habit of seeking God through prayer and worship -- not just in church but also as a part of their daily life as a way to please and honor God, according to a survey released by LifeWay Research.

The survey of Protestant churchgoers identifies "Seeking God" as one of eight attributes of discipleship that consistently show up in the lives of maturing Christians. Seeking God invokes the intentional steps a Christian takes to follow Christ for the purpose of becoming like Him.

LifeWay Research found 73 percent of Protestant churchgoers set aside time for prayer every day to a few times a week. To examine how churchgoers are seeking God at times beyond worship services, the survey asked participants to "not include any times you do these things as part of a church worship service." Nineteen percent say they set aside time for prayer of any kind between once a week and once a month, and 8 percent of churchgoers say "rarely/never."

Female churchgoers are more likely than men (77 percent vs. 70 percent) to set aside time for prayer every day to a few times a week. Read more