Prayer is verbalized dependence on God. If we are not praying together, are our churches truly depending on God? We have strategies, seminars, books, and videos. We have programs designed to fill any lack in our churches. But no programs can replace God. And only prayer accesses His power (Ephesians 6:10-18) and His wisdom (James 1:5). God is the one who saves, not us. God is the One who transforms lives, not our programs. And God is the One who guides us as we look to Him.

No smoking gun for the demise of the weekly prayer meeting can be found. That Wednesday tradition is simply fading off the scene in much of American Christianity. As far as I can tell, nobody is trying to kill it. Regular prayer meetings are simply vanishing.¹

What is replacing prayer meeting in the life of the church? In some cases, another preaching service has filled in where prayer meeting was last seen. In other instances, children’s ministry or outreach programs have stepped into the void. However, in an increasing number of churches, prayer meeting has given way to nothing. Few came, so, the service was cancelled, leaving little trace behind.

Of course, Christians pray in every church service, right? Why should we be concerned for the loss of a dedicated prayer meeting? Traditions came and go. We have freedom to pray when and where suits our schedules best. However, where regular prayer meetings have already vanished, what have we lost?

We Lost a Biblical Emphasis

The Bible emphasizes the importance of prayer, especially corporate prayer. The first church listed cooperate prayer as one of its pillars (Acts 2:42). We see the entire church praying together in the face of persecution (Acts 4:31; 12:12; 16:25). The first church leaders gave themselves to “prayer and the Word,” refusing to let mundane matters to dethrone this spiritual discipline (Acts 6:4). Paul gathered the leaders of the church at Ephesus for a time of corporate prayer (Acts 20:26). In the more than thirty instances of prayer in the book of Acts, no less than nineteen specifically refer to corporate prayer. Clearly, corporate prayer was vital to the early church.

We Lost a Historical Impetus for Evangelism

In church history, prayer meetings have often coincided with gospel advance. For example, the first missions movement in America began with the Haystack Prayer Meeting. Those at this meeting were instrumental in sending out Adoniram Judson, the first American commissioned as a missionary.² Over a hundred years later, when evangelist D. L. Moody traveled to a city to preach the gospel, he started regular prayer meetings that continue long after his team had left.³

In our day, the general trend in society is away from Christianity. Many formerly robust congregations are now dwindling. Evangelistic fervor among believers has cooled, and even those committed to faithful witnessing often admit little fruit.

Where is the power? Where are the conversions?

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