By Betsy Lee
“A prayerful Christian is a powerful Christian,” said Billy Graham. The opposite is also true: a prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian.
Imagine my surprise then when I discovered that even prayer leaders struggle with prayerlessness.
I remember attending a training weekend for a national campus ministry. I couldn’t wait to meet people in ministry and learn about their exciting prayer lives.
I was stunned when I heard this comment over and over again: “Prayer?” they said, looking a little sheepish. “To be honest I don’t pray much. I have staff to lead, students to recruit, funds to raise.”
I found this astonishing until I became a prayer leader myself—leading a prayer ministry no less!
Are You Staying Connected?
Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 nkjv, emphasis added).
Nothing? Really?
As prayer leaders we all know the importance of having a regular devotional time—of staying connected to the Vine. But we get busy. We get distracted. Prayer slips down the priority list.
To our peril.
Abiding, Not Striving
Prayer is the constant current of communication that flows between heaven and earth, keeping us in close contact with God.
If we don’t stay connected to God through prayer, we try to manufacture that fruitfulness on our own and produce nothing—just as a branch, disconnected from a tree, lifeless and dead, produces nothing.
How do we stay connected to God so that His power flows through us? Jesus said to abide in Him. Abide means to rest, to remain, to dwell in one place. Striving we understand. But abiding?
Have you ever heard the branch of a tree grunting and groaning to produce fruit? Not likely. Fruit comes in the fullness of time as the sap, the life of the tree, feeds the branches. It’s a natural, relaxed process, the way our spiritual lives should be.
The Cost of Self-Effort
When we stop abiding in Jesus, we begin to rely on self-effort. This is not only unproductive; it is tiring. Without the reservoir of strength that prayer provides, we can become exhausted from serving others and susceptible to burnout.
My husband gets irritated with me when I let the gas tank in our car run dangerously close to empty before I fill it up. He warns me that this can eventually damage the car. The same is true of us.
Running on empty is not good for your physical or spiritual health!
If we do not take time to soak in God’s presence to nourish our bodies and souls, we can become demanding, brittle, and short-tempered.
Spiritual Warfare
One reason it is absolutely essential for a prayer leader to stay connected to Jesus, is for protection—not only for yourself, but also for your family and ministry as well.
When we enter the arena of prayer, we become engaged in spiritual warfare, the constant battle waged between the unseen powers of good and evil, darkness and light (Eph. 6:12). Just as a soldier would not step onto a battlefield without protection, a prayer leader must also be protected.
We can pray for spiritual protection daily by putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10–18), a way to stand in Jesus’ strength, not our own. In addition to praying for our own protection, ask others to pray for your protection too.
Recover Your First Love
Jesus told His disciples to stay connected to Him not only so they could be fruitful in ministry, but also so they could experience His love and joy in a deeper way (John 15:9–11).
I remember being a young mom, passionate about leading prayer in my church and juggling the needs of my family. One day a prayer picture popped into my mind. I saw my one-year-old daughter standing up in her crib, her eyes wide with excitement when I entered the room. She was so happy to see me!
In prayer, I heard Jesus whisper, “You used to love Me like that. You couldn’t wait to jump in My arms and spend time with Me. You’ve lost your first love.”
That pricked my heart. It was hard to hear. But it was true.
A prayerful Christian is not only a powerful Christian, but one who knows the depths of God’s love and pursues a growing intimacy with Him.
BETSY LEE was the founder and president of Prayer Ventures for 25 years. She is the author of several books, including two on prayer. Follow her on Facebook or Instagram @betsyleetravels
