Introduction: “Prayer should be a part of our spiritual habits, but it ceases to be prayer when it is a habit only” – E.M. Bounds. It is one thing to have the habit of prayer, but another to have the spirit of prayer. Without a heart for communion and cooperation with God, prayer is merely a habit. The church could not be more audacious than when she fails in her main work—prayer. Her only alternative is to presume and to pretend to have God’s favor. The greatest need in the church today is a revival of the spirit of prayer and the following attitudes, when prevalent, explain the reason:

A Demeaned Attitude toward God

A Low View of God is a peril of prayerlessness. Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, “And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment” (John 16:8).

Prayerlessness renders the church powerless to influence society and causes an anti-God bias in all aspects of our culture. Apart from prayer, the Holy Spirit does not restrain Satan that we may make progress in the work of the gospel. This explains the reason for people hardening their hearts to the gospel. Peter addressed this problem in II Peter 2:10, 12: “But chiefly them who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities…speak evil of the things that they understand not…”

Prayerlessness results in the lack of the reproving work of the Holy Spirit that creates a God consciousness, as well as a consciousness of sin, righteousness and judgment--in the church and in the world. Obedience in prayer causes people to have a sense of their need of God. If the church does not pray, people lose their fear (reverence) for God, which leads to obedience.

The low view of God is definitely caused by prayerlessness, for God does not reveal Himself to the casual passer-by who does not linger long in communion with Him, but to those who seek intimacy with Him through prayer and the Word.

A Light View of Sin is another peril of prayerlessness. It is the lack of awareness of the sinfulness of sin and of the need for repentance, forgiveness and salvation. Paul said, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who believe not…” (II Corinthians 4:4). We will never be able to penetrate the spiritual darkness that pervades in every segment of society without power that comes through prayer. The church today seems to yield to modern thought that sin is relevant only to a past age. Men consider the command of the Lord to, “Cry aloud, spare not, a sense of their need of God.nd judgment--oly Spirit that brings a God-created consciousness of sine not lift up your voice, and tell my people Israel of their sins” to be out of place and offensive.” Thus, we have a sin-saturated society with a light view of sin.

Prayerlessness keeps the church dull, dense, and unaware of the power of sin that allows Satan to hold souls captive and keep them blind to their lostness.

A Limited View of Commitment comes from a demeaned attitude toward God and it produces a serious problem--the lack of commitment. Many pastors today are concerned that their people are not as committed as they should be. Without a doubt, this is the day of the superficial in many areas of spiritual life, especially in the area of commitment. This is a direct result of prayerlessness. Prayer is a means of creating concern and unity in the church, as well as a desire for involvement in the work of the church. In a prayerless church, the love of materialism and pleasure replaces love for the things of God and leads to a self-serving attitude.

A Lessening of Desire for the Word becomes prevalent in a prayerless church and the people lose their hunger for the Word of God and righteousness. They become willing to accept something less than the “pure milk of the word.” The dread result is spiritual malnutrition that causes Christians to be susceptible to various kinds of spiritual diseases such fear, doubt and unbelief. The lack of joy weakens a church, for the Bible says, “The joy of the lord is your strength.” Victims of a Doctrine Deficiency Syndrome, Christians are incapable of functioning in the body of Christ.

A Deficient Approach to Ministry

We bring the church into 21^st century programs, but lack 1^st century power. We bring people to a mental decision, but, suffering from spiritual miscarriage, the prayerless church fails to bring them to genuine spiritual birth.

In this day of superficial preaching, the problem lies not so much in what is preached, but in what is not preached. Many take for granted that God will bring the lost to Himself, regardless of the absence of clear proclamation of the doctrines of salvation. This is what the Holy Spirit uses to convict the unsaved of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. These biblical truths condition the mind of the sinner for the understanding of their lost estate and for the reception of the gospel. Without an awareness of the sinful plight of souls without Christ, men do not passionately preach the whole counsel of God, inclusive of the cross, the blood atonement, repentance and faith.
 

A Diminished Activity in Prayer

To most Christians, prayer is only a devotional activity that does not accomplish the desired objectives of God. Our own agenda is very important, but God’s agenda must not be neglected. We must wait before the Lord to determine the divine direction, then enter into the ministry of intercession for revival, for the spiritual development of God’s people, and for the salvation of souls. The church today does not seem to understand that prayer if the fulcrum on which the lever of God’s power rests. There are two things that greatly hinder the church in the matter of prayer:

One - A Misunderstanding of Prayer. The evidence of this lies in the way most Christians pray, which is a scaled-down version of prayer. I call it generic prayer that is merely asking God to “bless” and “be with.” Now Christians learned this way of praying by listening to others in the church pray. And this is what a prayerless church produces.

Two - A Misconception of the Purpose of Prayer. The activity of prayer is the work of prayer through which God’s objectives are accomplished. It is a serious peril when the church fails to pray for what needs to take place in the kingdom. God’s work ceases if we are prayerless. Man’s work may go on in the self-energy, but oh, how much fruit has spoiled because it was plucked by human effort and not produced by the Holy Spirit.

The work of the Holy Spirit is channeled only through Spirit-filled believers who give themselves to the work of prayer. Jesus said, “No man can come to me except my Father draw him.” And He draws by the Holy Spirit who enlightens sin-darkened minds of the unsaved. Revelation 22:17 says, “The Spirit and the bride say come.” This is the divine open invitation to salvation, but is extended first through prayer—cooperation of the church with the Spirit. The Spirit draws as the church travails in the “fellowship of Jesus’ sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). It is the responsibility of the bride (the church) to say “come” and we do so through prayer and the proclamation of the gospel.

Unless we suffer the birth pangs of travail in prayer, souls remain lost and unaware of their terrible destination. I think the greatest peril of prayerlessness is a careless attitude toward souls. Every soul who comes to Christ does so because “the Spirit and the bride say come.” May God give us a revival of the spirit of prayer in these days. We must have it now!