Christians have long compared prayer to a thermometer that measures spiritual heat. When we grow complacent in our relationship with the Lord, that thermometer almost invariably registers cool, for in such times we pray seldom and we pray without fervor.
What is true of us individually is true of us congregationally. We need to be constantly on guard against encroaching apathy, and such spiritual malaise often manifests itself first in prayerlessness. Here’s how Leonard Ravenhill crisply said it: “The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying.”
And he’s right! The pastor who is not praying for his congregation and with his congregation may be doing little more than playing pastor, for he is neglecting one of his most solemn duties. The congregation that is not praying on their own and when assembled may well already be straying from the will of the Lord, for they are neglecting to adequately care for one another (James 5:16). Congregational prayer is a crucial component of our worship and a key measure of our spiritual health. In the absence of prayer is the presence of spiritual sickness.
