Pastor, Include More Prayer in Your Church Service

I remember hearing a story about an African church leader who was brought to America to tour churches. At the end he was asked his thoughts.

He replied, “I’m surprised by how little prayer I witnessed.”

The American church, at least in my experience, tends to be lackluster in prayer. This is especially evident in corporate worship services. It can be hard to find an evangelical church service that even contains one three-minute prayer. Yet Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (Matt. 21:13).

Maybe it’s our independent American spirit, or maybe it’s a lukewarm faith. Regardless, many churches need to repent of prayerlessness, especially in corporate worship. Read More

Because they use set forms of prayer in their corporate worship, Anglicans tend to think that prayerlessness is not a problem for them. But this is far from the case. Too often these forms are recited in a perfunctory manner which suggests that the congregation is not praying from the heart. While the liturgy may abound in opportunities for silent or extemporaneous prayer, congregations rarely take advantage of these opportunities. The problem of prayerlessness for Anglicans is not so much a lack of prayers but a lack of prayerfulness.