We have had eight prayer gatherings so far in the CIL’s Week of Worship and Prayer. Some meetings have surprised us with the amount of participation, and others have been sparse. Regardless, they have all been good.

Gathering a church for corporate prayer has challenges previous generations have not encountered. Traffic. Entertainment options. The complexity of the overscheduled child. The awareness of social anxiety. These are just the start of the list. When I bring this conclusion to other believers, I immediately sense the guilt Christians feel from a lack of prayer. After all, one of the slam-dunk sermons to preach is the theme – “We should pray more.” That message will be effective every time because it’s true for every person. Easy preaching. 

So, this post is not intended to add guilt. I want to call myself and you to lean into prayer. Pray often, even if it is short. Pray with your heart, even on the go. Prayer is not an all-or-nothing experience. Prayer is a call to a conversation with God that will extend into eternity. He loves to hear us pray anytime a bit of our attention is directed toward Him. He delights even in our hurried prayers – what grace.