Survey Says...God Help Us!

The post below is from Dr. Dan Crawford, a former seminary professor of mine.

A recent survey asked more than 800 pastors to name the critical ministries of their churches by listing the top five. Only five percent of participating pastors listed prayer/prayer ministry/prayer groups in the top five. Do they not know that exclusive of the Psalms, which is a prayer-book of its own, the Bible records 650 definite prayers, 450 of which have recorded answers? Do they not know that the most widely used verb in the ministry of Jesus was the verb “to pray?” Do they not know that almost every great spiritual leader in Christianity has listed prayer as utmost important in their life? Do they not know that the countries in the world where Christianity is growing fastest are countries where prayer is paramount in the churches? The answer is that they do not know. Or at least, if they know, they forgot when they took the survey. No wonder the majority of churches in America are either plateaued or dying. No wonder ministerial burn-out is at an all time high. No wonder theological schools are forced to teach conflict management courses while ignoring courses on prayer. Jesus said, “Therefore, pray . . .” (Matthew 9:38). God help us!