By Steve Loopstra, Executive Director of Prayer Transformation Ministries, Minneapolis, MN

At a recent conference, I was asked to speak about what I sensed was the conditon of prayer in the Church and what God is saying to us.  This article is a brief outline of what I presented:

Here in the Twin Cities, the recent report of a dramatic increase in crime, I believe, is reflective of the condition of the Church.  Rather than pointing a finger at "all of them," Peter says that judgment begins at the house of the Lord (1 Peter 4:17).  Let's take an honest assessment of where we are as the people of God, step up to the line, and push forward - not in our own strength, strategies and programs, but in the life and power of the indwelling Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Current Conditions:

There is a general sense of Weariness – We have been praying for a long time and don’t seem to see any significant results, or, what we have seen seems to be slipping away.

A feeling of general Apathy – We can get caught up in the sense that if we see others who don't seem to care, why should we. 

There is a Grass-roots hunger – Many are feeling an increasing hunger and desperation for the Lord to do something. And more than that, there is a hunger and growing desperation for His presence in our lives, our churches, and our communities.  There is also a grass-roots longing for leadership to show them the way.  There is disappointment that many who are in leadership are not stepping up to the plate, but busy about maintaining the "machinery" of ministry.

A wide-spread Disillusionment – Why can’t we seem to get anywhere? We have had so many conferences and meetings, and on and on and nothing has changed. There is a growing realization in some places, and hearts, that programs and methodologies are not going to cut it anymore!!

There is a Holy Spirit - born internal desire to come together – we have a desire for everyone to somehow come together to pray together, labor together, acknowledge one another together, etc.

II. Causes:

1.We have expended our energies thinking that programs and events would bring the transformation we have wanted.  We are not alone – many cities are facing the same issues.  We must learn how to attract His Presence to our lives, our churches and our cities.

2.The duration and intensity of the battle – we are finding out that what we are seeking in transformation is not like the other “easy fixes” that our society seeks. The words of Revelation 13:10 (NIV) says: "...this calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints." 

3.The closeness of the goal – It is always the most difficult as the goal approaches.  Those last few yards are the hardest, but no goal is achieved without battling through the "red zone."

4.We need to learn how to persevere in prayer and vision and not be dissuaded by the difficulty of the goal. The old term used to be "praying through." Praying persistently until the Lord brought the breakthrough. This of all times is not the time to give up and quit!

5.We need to learn the importance of MY Repentance, MY holiness, MY brokenness rather than that of others.  A Barna poll showed that 45% of Americans claim to be “born again” yet our society falls deeper into the pit. If that 45% were truly living a Spirit-filled, Christ-filled crucified life, our country and our cities would not be in the mess they are in today.

III. Challenges

1. We need to learn Informed, Strategic prayer – Learning our weapons, and our targets – not just shooting our prayers off into the air…learning how to be intelligent and strategic about how to use the weapons of our warfare. This is called "informed intercession."
2. The duration and intensity of the battle – we are finding out that what we are seeking in transformation is not like the other “easy fixes” that our society seeks. The words of Revelation 13:10 (NIV) says: ". . . this calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints."
3. Learning to Persevere – to “pray through” until the Lord brings the answer.  We need to reflect the words of Isaiah:
   
   Isaiah 62:1-3, 6-7  
   For Zion ’s sake I will not hold My peace,
   And for Jerusalem ’s sake I will not rest,
   Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
   And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
   The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
   And all kings your glory.
   You shall be called by a new name,
   Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
   You shall also be a crown of glory
   In the hand of the Lord,
   And a royal diadem.
   I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
   They shall never hold their peace day or night.
   You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
   And give Him no rest till He establishes
   And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
   
4. To continue and learn even more to Encourage and support one another. Not be shooting at one another, be really live out the "one anothers" of the New Testament.
   
5. To pursue our own personal brokenness, and death to self, and His life living in us. The reason that we have so many events and conferences and things still stay the same is because WE stay the same. The Lord is calling for us, the people of God, to get desperate enough for Him so that we will be willing to look at our own priorities, our own selfishness, our own brokenness, and pursue humility before the Lord and one another. Those are the ones He esteems. "'Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?' declares the Lord.  'This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word'" (Isaiah 66;2).

May the Lord both encourage and challenge us all not to give up or give in. The other day I saw a program about one of the first battles in Afghanistan. The Army goes into battle with these values in mind:

The Mission is first

Never give up

Never accept defeat

Never leave a fallen comrade behind.

May we, as God's chosen, live for the Lord and our world in such a way!