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The Purpose, Power, and Peril of Prayerlessness


Psalms 2:8 – “Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.”

We often quote this Scripture when we speak about world missions.  This is an important Scripture for our ministry, it is a theme verse for our mission’s emphasis.  We believe God is giving us the nations for our inheritance.  This also includes our nation, the United States of America.  My desire is to witness and participate in a Christ Awakening.  I want to see our nation set ablaze with the fires of revival. 

We are called to cry out in prayer for our nation. We pray because we are living in what the Apostle Paul prophesied as “perilous times.” These are times of difficulty. 2 Timothy 3:1 reveals, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.” These are times of deception. 1 Timothy 4:1 says, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” These are times of danger, 1 Corinthians 15:30 reads,  “And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?”

These conditions should burden us to be diligent in prayer. Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” Dr. Jack Hayford writes, “Prayer opens the doorway to the dynamic that shakes, shatters, and does violence to the world of darkness.  Hell’s force holds no respect for our attempts to match its wit or its workings.  It is forced to yield ground to those believers who pray until they receive power.  Prayer can change anything.  The impossible doesn’t exist.  God’s is the power.  Ours is the prayer.  Without Him, we cannot.  Without us, He will not.” [i]

Our Christian values are under attack.  Sin and wickedness are celebrated while those things that are pure and wholesome are persecuted.  We are called to our knees to cry out for God’s intervention.  If we do not pray for our nation, who will?  If we do not pray for our family, then who will? J. Sidlow Baxter writes, “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons – but they are helpless against our prayers.”

[i] Hayford, Jack, Praise in the Presence of God, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN., 2003

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