The Sin of Prayerlessness

through all prayer and petition, praying on every occasion in the Spirit. Eph. 6:18 (translation mine).

In the context of the preceding verses, Paul tells us that we put on our spiritual armor "through all prayer and petition". On ever occasion that we pray, we are to do it "in the Spirit", or in the realm of the Spirit. We are to pray under His influence, under His power, and under His instruction, for He is the Spirit of prayer.

As saints of God, we are either walking in the Spirit or walking in the flesh (Gal. 5:16, 25). If we are walking in step with the Spirit, prayer will be a vital part of our being. It is the pulse that can be checked to see if we have any life within us. If we are walking in the flesh, prayer will either be a second rate exercise in which we have no joy or perseverance, or hypocritical confession that we merely give lip service to. So, what is the cause of prayerlessness in the modern church? Christians who walk after the flesh. Indeed, we always speak of sins of the flesh as adultery, fornication, outburst of wrath, strife, envy, etc., but prayerlessness never makes the list. if we are walking in the flesh, we will exhibit some of these characteristics, yet it is exactly these characteristics that will keep us from the place of prayer. If a believer is in sin, the last place he will want to go is into the prayer closet. Why? Because it is in the place of prayer that he or she has to come face to face with the Divine Holiness. Also, since the Spirit is the Spirit of prayer, the one living in sin is not being controlled by His desires, and will avoid the place of prayer.

But what is it that makes prayerlessness such a detestable sin? It is the fact that for the believer, it is a manifestation of pride. We are saying to God, “I do not need you, nor do I care about your guidance or your will. I am of no need of being in union with you, nor do I need your power and the filling of your Spirit. I do not care about knowing you, nor do I care that you have called me to a ministry of intercession." Some may object to this and say "I pray every day for 10 minutes!" Yes, you do, but where is your joy in prayer? Why is it that you have time for everything else but can only give God 10 minutes of your day? You make time and priority for all the other things that interest you. The fact that you only allot prayer 10 minutes a day shows that it is of little importance. Though you may be unaware of it, it shows how arrogant you are.

Many wonder why their spiritual life is so feeble. They wonder why they never see or experience God. It is because they are in sin, the sin of prayerlessness. Many even try to cover up this void by filling it with service, study, and work in the church. What a sad state. All that they do is done in the power of the flesh, because it is not bathed in the Supernatural in the place of prayer. Many failures in the power of modern day preaching and ministry are due to this great and heinous sin. We plan all kinds of things without ever taking them to the throne of the Most High and asking if this be His will. We presume upon the divine forbearance, pick something to do that sounds good to us, and then demand Him to bless it.

It is a necessity for the spiritual leader to outpace the rest of the church in prayer. If you come across one who outpaces you in this place, you should repent and ask God to forgive you for not being the leader and ask Him to give you the capacity to receive more of the Spirit for the work of intercession. In order for the sin of prayerlessness to be on the decline in the life of the modern church, the minsters and leaders have to set the pace and teach other how to do it. Until that happens, the rest of the church will be hindered because of their sin.