An Exhortation to Make Corporate Prayer a Priority

Note:  As we resume our midweek prayer meeting at CRBC, I providentially ran across an article titled “A Theology of Corporate Prayer:  Preaching, Prayer Meetings, and You” (Puritan Reformed Journal [2012]:  pp. 170-179) by Ryan M. McGraw.  At the end of the article, McGraw offers a number of practical challenges including this one on making corporate prayer a priority: 

Corporate prayer meetings must be a priority in our lives.  Prayer meetings are often relegated to the lowest place on the list of church activities.  If this attitude continues, our American churches will likely die a slow and painful death under emaciated preaching.

Do you view corporate prayer as Christ viewed it—as the means of performing the greater things that He spoke of?  Without using His prescribed means, how can we expect to see His promised results?  Churches that have no prayer meetings implicitly declare that they do not require the work of the Holy Spirit in their church.  If your church holds a weekly prayer meeting, then prioritize it in your family.  Many families do not attend prayer meetings because they have young children at home.  However, children learn from our priorities.  They may not understand much or be able to participate in prayer meetings, but families who prioritize and participate in prayer meetings are likely to instill the same attitude and practice in their children.  Children who do not attend prayer meetings become adults who do not attend prayer meetings.