10 Consequences of Failing to Pray in Ministry

Jesus is the greatest example of a leader and every godly leader should strive to emulate His example of consistent and committed prayer. Unfortunately, Christ-likeness, in this regard, eludes so many leaders today. In addition to missing out on being like Jesus, these leaders miss out on many of the other benefits of a fervent prayer life. Here are ten things leaders who fail to pray always miss out on. 


Leaders who fail to pray miss out on the joy of co-laboring with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). Instead of the exhilaration of answered prayer, they experience the monotony of ministry routine. Leaders who fail to pray miss out on what God could have done in and through them (James 4:2). God can sovereignly choose not to do what His followers selfishly choose not to pray for. 
Leaders who fail to pray miss out on God’s unparalleled power (Ephesians 3:20-21). Ministry quickly becomes an exercise of the flesh rather than a powerful work produced by faith (1 Thessalonians 1:3, James 5:16). 
Leaders who fail to pray miss out on God’s peace (Philippians 4:6-7). Instead of casting their anxieties on Him (1 Peter 5:7), they struggle to fabricate ministry on their own, resulting in frustration, burnout and pride. 
Leaders who fail to pray miss out on victory in spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-20). Instead of wrestling in prayer (Colossians 4:12) they resort to passivity and lethargy. 
Leaders who fail to pray miss out on God’s blessing (2 Chronicles 7:14). Content with the status quo, they arrogantly get stuck with it. 
Leaders who fail to pray miss out on God’s heart. Praying in line with God’s will (Matthew 6:10, John 14:13-14), unites a believer with His heart for His world, His people and His ministry; leaders who fail to pray fail to acquire His heart for those they serve. 
Leaders who fail to pray miss out on God’s vision and direction. Instead of prayerfully acquiring God’s wisdom (James 1:5), they negligently rely on their own. 
Leaders who fail to pray miss out on partnership with other believers. Prayer is an instrumental component of authentic fellowship (Acts 2:42) and leaders who fail to pray for other believers alienate themselves from them. 
Leaders who fail to pray miss out on intimacy with God. Instead of uninterrupted intimacy with their Savior (John 15:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:17) they experience only a fraction of the fellowship they could be having with Him. This is undoubtedly the worst consequence of failing to pray. 

Samuel understood that leaders who fail to pray for those they lead sin against God (1 Samuel 12:23). Unfortunately, I often do just that, following the example of Jesus’ disciples in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). If you feel the same way, I hope you’ll join me in confessing that failure as sin and recommitting to a vibrant prayer life. Andrew Murray encourages us writing, “Let us not make the feeble experiences of our unbelief the measure of what our faith may expect.” (1) I hope and pray your greatest years of prayerful leadership are still ahead of you.

(1) Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer (Valley Forge, Pa: Trinity Press, 2012), 31.

Leaders Pray!

Prayer is foundational for all ministry, especially outreach and evangelism. We've all heard the "Divine Order" - first talk to God about people and then talk to people about God. That statement is as true as any ever was. I won't ever get God's heart for the lost until I am committed to praying for them. The same goes for those fighting on the front line along side us. I've long made it a goal to pray daily for each of the leaders in our area (unfortuantaley I can't say this goal is one I always live up to, but by God's grace I will continue to try). Praying for each other, as good a start as it might be, is just a start. Until we pray together, we aren't standing firm as one man contending for the faith of the Gospel (Phil.1:27). I don't know why we feel we can win our community alone and I don't know why we all agree on that point yet do nothing constructive to unite towards it. We need to pray together! I'm convinced that if you'll start praying with other leaders in your community, God will begin changing you and them and preparing you for all He desires to do in your community. Every revival in history began in prayer and every revival in the future will as well. We must pray together and then reach out together!

Check out more on this in the MP3 below!

Here's an exciting video about the leaders' prayer time here in Durango:

Half Night of Prayer!!!

We'll be having another half night of prayer tonight. We try to do these once a month (get the invite on facebook here). Ten to 20 of us will meet up at 7:30 here at our house and pray till midnight. We will be praying tonight pretty much solely for friends, family, students, professors and administrators to come to know Jesus. We will each be praying for our top "10 list." We will spend time praying for new believers on godrev.com & greatcommission2020.com. The picture to the left is a screenshot of the godrev page and every time someone trusts Christ you can pray for that new believer. Pretty exciting and visionary (check out the godrev interactive map below). Prayer is as much a part of evangelism as the actuall sharing (if not more - check out more on prayer here). We always quote the Divine Order (not sure who came up with this) which says, "First talk to God about people and then talk to people about God." If you are a college student here in Durango please come join us for the half night of prayer tonight and if you live anywhere else, join us there - invite some friends over and pray for a few hours! I am sure you will find that your heart will be renewed afresh for Christ and your passion and vision for reaching the lost will be invigorated. I hope you'll join us in praying for the lost and want to encourage you once more to check out the map below and please also check out greatcommission2020.com (it is a bigger site with even more decisions - but both are exciting).

Col.4:2-6 - "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."