We imagined the appearance of a praying church and found diversity. We imagined the attitude

of a praying church and found humility. Today let’s imagine what’s going on in the praying

church.

Hope you’re not surprised by this, but here goes: a praying church prays! When things are

going well, the church prays. When things become challenging, the people don’t wring their

hands or gossip; they pray. When things become heartbreaking, the people shed tears and pray.

When things are rather ordinary, the church prays. When things are amazing, the church

rejoices together and prays!

And here’s one of the wonderful things about prayer – it’s everybody’s job – everybody’s

privilege!

Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all

perseverance and intercession for all the saints. (Eph. 6:18)

Three things to notice besides the “all times” and “every” mentioned above:

1 – “stay alert” – I’m not suggesting that we never go to sleep, but I am suggesting that we ask

God to help us stay alert during our wide-awake hours – alert to opportunities to pray. The

theme of the praying church just might be: if you see something, pray something.

2 – “with all perseverance” – one translation says, “by hanging in there.” I love that! The people

in the praying church “hang in there” -- they stay at it until there’s a clear answer or until the

Lord returns!

3 – “intercession for all the saints” – in a praying church, the people pray for each other – even

those they might not agree with -- until they agree with God about the matter and arrive at a

point of respect and love for each other.



Many other things happen in the praying church, but everything the praying church does is

surrounded by prayer – whether it’s the choice of music for the worship set, the welcoming

ministry, the Bible study lesson being prepared, upcoming mission trips, the age group

ministries. The key to the praying church is that the praying church prays about EVERYTHING!

Father, forgive us for the times when we plow on as if we can handle everything ourselves,

when You have made it so clear in Your Word that we need to pray about everything. Forgive us

when we settle for mediocre when You have “more than we could ask or imagine” plans for our

church and for us. Forgive us when we sing “I Need Thee Every Hour” and then fail to squeeze

in 15 minutes with You in a day. Help us be a people and a church known for our prayers. We

pray this in the name of the One who is seated at Your right hand – praying for us! Amen

By Judy Shrout