By Daniel Henderson
There was a time I believed every church member would automatically and wholeheartedly embrace the call to prayer. I have since learned otherwise.
The culprit that has spoiled my expectations is pride. I call it “the pride divide.” Because the enemy is always counterattacking any renewed emphasis on prayer, the insipid infection of pride can infiltrate the hearts of both those who embrace the prayer initiatives and those who do not.
Scripture describes pride as the snare or trap of the devil (1 Tim. 3:7). The snare makes its way into the prayer movement so subtly that it is hardly noticeable until the symptoms show up in serious conflict.
Two camps can easily emerge in any church. The first group I call the “resenters” and the second, the “resisters.” No one plans to join either camp, but the signs of subtle pride are obvious once they occur.
A Snare Emerges
Resenters can surface among those who jump wholeheartedly into the prayer ministry. As they relish their new experiences, they share the blessings of prayer with great enthusiasm. Prayer is something that must be experienced and can seldom be adequately explained, so others who aren’t as involved may not share the excitement.
This lack of participation can be interpreted as a lack of spirituality—or a failure to support the leadership of the church. Soon the prayer-energized saints begin to resent the nonparticipants. Without great care and sensitivity a pharisaical pride can surface.
As a response, the resisters—nonparticipants—begin to dig in their heels and even become antagonistic to the new initiatives. Typically, they are reacting more to the overbearing zeal of the enthusiasts than to the actual call to prayer. Pride unfortunately enters on both sides.
Deconstructing the PrideDivide
In my years of prayer leadership as a pastor, the following lessons have helped break down the pride divide, keeping everyone focused on the right goals:
1. Honesty is the best policy. Church leaders must acknowledge the divide, or at least the potential for it, and determine to address it openly with understanding and grace. Several times over the years, I have spoken openly from the pulpit on a Sunday morning about this dilemma. Just the act of exposing this danger allows people to talk about it, recognize it, and find greater resolve to avoid it. It also serves public notice on the forces of darkness that we are all alert to their schemes.
2. Understanding goes a long way. It is helpful for the resenters to remember that just because individuals cannot participate in the prayer programs does not mean they are less committed to seeking the Lord. The “holdouts” may have a variety of legitimate reasons for not participating in the call to united prayer.
Leaders would do well to explain to the resenters that public prayer activity is not the only gauge of spiritual authenticity. And resisters need reminders that the extreme outward zeal of the prayer adopters often reflects a sincere and seeking heart, for which we should always be grateful.
3. Prayer is intimacy, not activity. As prayer ministry develops, we can easily get wrapped up in the activity of prayer and lose focus on the core issue of relationship with God. This is the contrast we see between the prayer approach of the Pharisees and that of Jesus. In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees for reducing prayer to a public display of religious superiority. In contrast, He told His followers to humbly gather in a secret place to experience intimacy with their Father in heaven (Matt. 6:1, 5–13). Similarly, we can fall into the trap of making prayer a “program for God” rather than the pure and simple pursuit of His person and presence.
4. Only the Holy Spirit can motivate people to pray. Ultimately, only the Holy Spirit can draw people into a deeper commitment to prayer. Jesus wants His Church to be a house of prayer, and His Spirit is able to make it so. Each of us must find his or her place in this plan, and graciously pray that others will do the same. In an environment of humility and grace the pride divide cannot thrive for long.
Grace for the Pride Divide
Real humility works in concert with honesty, understanding, intimacy with Christ, and a focus on the power of the Holy Spirit. Humility invites grace and allows us to express mutual submission. Resenters can trust Christ for the grace that will draw others into prayer. Resisters can receive the grace that will lead them into prayer.
Together they will be exalted to a higher level of spiritual understanding and intimacy as they learn to seek the Lord on the common ground of humility.
DANIEL HENDERSON is the president and founder of Strategic Renewal, a ministry that exists to ignite personal renewal, congregational revival, and leadership restoration.
