"Where Are the Men and Women of Prayer?"

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:16, “[Redeem] the time for the days are evil.” We live in exciting times. More people are alive today than any previous generation. The opportunity to impact our world for Christ has never been greater. We have all the resources we need. But there’s one disturbing question, “Where are the workers?”

Jesus said that the solution to enough workers for the harvest is found in prayer (Mt. 9:37-38). But that presents another problem. Where are the men and women of prayer?

Too many of us have become so busy that we have no time for God. It’s impossible to have an intimate relationship with anyone without sufficient time with that person. How much more true is that with God? We long to spend time with those we love. Therefore, if you truly love God, you will desire to spend time alone with Him sharing your heart and allowing Him to share His heart with you.

This may be the greatest hindrance of this generation of pastors. We have become “professional” ministers and learned well how to produce “quality” programs. But we’ve forgotten the secret chamber of prayer. We often entertain but seldom convict. We draw crowds to our buildings but few to our Savior. We’ve learned the art of developing partnerships, but lost the passion to know the one Partner that really matters.

The Father longs to spend time with His children. He calls to us. Steal away and make time to meet with Him. If there is any hindrance to your intimacy with God, identify it, confess it, and repent of it. Determine in your heart that you long to know Him, really know Him, more than anything in life. He will come to you. He will meet with you. Don’t allow any obstacle to keep you from such intimacy with God.

–Adapted from Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry (Chapter 37, Hindrances to Effective Prayer by Sammy Tippit).