The Church on Its Knees

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If you were to ask a random person on the street to describe the life of a church, they would probably list some obvious items: Sunday gatherings, sermons, singing, special events and programs, community outreach, and charitable work. If this person were a churchgoer, they might expand the list by including small-group studies, church budgets, leadership dynamics, and overseas missions.

But one of the most vital aspects of a church’s life is often the hardest to see: the prayers of the congregation.

Prayer is often taken for granted among Christians, even though we speak at length of its importance and have many theological ideas and traditions surrounding it. It is safe to say that, usually, we do not match the Bible’s emphasis on prayer, especially the corporate prayers of a local church body and the prayers from one Christian on behalf of others.

Psalm 122:6 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

Paul tells the Philippians that he prays for them with joy because of their partnership in the gospel. He tells the Romans that he mentions them without ceasing in his prayers.

When Peter was kept in prison, Acts 12 says the church earnestly prayed to God.

Ephesians 6:18 calls believers to pray at all times in the Spirit, “with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

In Colossians 4, Epaphras is remembered as one who was always struggling on behalf of the church in his prayers, asking that they would stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

The labor of prayer

That word “struggling” is important.

Culturally, prayer is treated as a peaceful, serene practice in stillness. Of course, there is often peace and serenity to be found in prayer. But prayer is also described as work, labor, and wrestling. It is a hard thing, as often as it is a restful thing. Epaphras, as described in Colossians, was not just offering casual remembrances of his fellow believers to God. There was an earnestness, a pressing-in, that Paul describes as a “struggle.”

We may wonder, how can prayer be a struggle? Consider the words of Isaiah 62:6-7, where the prophet says:

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;

All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves;

And give Him no rest until He establishes

And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

The phrase “And give Him no rest” may sound strange to our ears, perhaps too bold or presumptuous. And yet, this is God’s word to His people. This is how He wants us to pray. It recalls the image of Jacob wrestling with the Lord in Genesis 32, where Jacob is described as refusing to let God go until God revealed His name. If God had wanted to, it would have been less than nothing to be free of Jacob’s grasp. In fact, He was the one supplying the strength Jacob used to wrestle Him.

And that may be the point. God Himself empowers our prayers when we walk closely with Him. It pleases Him for His children to burst into the throne room with the confidence of a member of the royal family and pester Him with requests aligned to His character and will. He does not want us to politely give Him space and leave Him alone. This is an invitation into the deepest kind of relationship between a father and child.

Every local church needs believers who will struggle in prayer for its members. Not every believer will write a book, preach a sermon, teach a class, or serve in a visible role… but every believer can participate in the great work of prayer.

The weakest believer can pray. The poorest believer can pray. The newest believer can pray. The believer who feels useless can pray. The believer who can no longer serve physically as they once did can still pray.

And God is pleased to receive those prayers.

The urgent need for prayer

This should change the way we think about prayer. Prayer is practical. It is one of the appointed means by which God cares for His people. It is good for a church to pray for its own spiritual prosperity.

Churches prosper when Christ is honored in their practices, when the Word is received with humility, when sinners are redeemed, saints are matured, families are strengthened, children are discipled, and leaders are servant-hearted. Churches prosper when they are protected from false teaching, bitterness, pride, fear, worldliness, and division. Churches prosper when their members labor in prayer.

So pray for your church.

Pray for its growth in holiness, courage, hospitality, patience, peace, and joy.

Pray for its leaders, who will answer to God and need grace for the task.

Pray for its members, brothers and sisters who are tired, tempted, wounded, hopeful, immature, faithful, and afraid.

Pray for its children. Pray for its elderly. Pray for its marriages. Pray for its single members. Pray for its widows. Pray for its doubters. Pray for its new believers. Pray for those who are barely holding on.

Pray that Christ would be honored there.

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