Prayer

The most obvious change in the church because of the global outbreak of coronavirus has been the explosion of internet-based services.  Christians are becoming experts at various software platforms, and churches are gathering online in never before seen numbers.  We are thankful for the ability to meet online, but for most of us, this is a “second-best” option.  After the crisis passes, people will return to their pews, and churches to some sort of normal.
 
Yet there has been another change in the church, one that I hope won’t disappear along with the fear of COVID-19.  I am referring to the other explosion in the church—the explosion of prayer.  Everywhere I look, I see churches meeting online specifically to pray for each other and their communities.  Incarnation is doing this, but so are many other churches.  The crisis of coronavirus has been the circumstance for an eruption of prayer, and this happened without any sort of coordination or planning.  Churches just started doing it and realized afterwards that others were doing the same.
 
There is, of course, the chance that the mere novelty of praying together online wears off, and people stop praying in the purposeful way that we have seen so far.  This is not just a possibility; indeed, it is likely that the new pattern of praying together several times a week will be dropped by many before it becomes a lasting habit, in the same way that resolutions to be more faithful in personal devotions only last a few weeks for most of us.  Like other churches, Incarnation is being given an opportunity to grow in our prayer life together, and I hope that these patterns get entrenched as habits before we tire of them.
 
In order to make this pattern a lasting habit, we need to think carefully about how often we should continue to pray together.  Most of us don’t have time to meet Sunday morning, Wednesday (or Friday) morning for Bible study, and Tuesday and Thursday night for Compline (not to mention small groups!) every week.  But with the right decisions and some wise thinking, the church can make it easier for these patterns to become habits. 
 
But strategic decisions by the church are not enough.  The people of God (i.e., you and me!) must personally make this new practice a lasting priority.  If we continue to pray together, even when we don’t feel like it, we will be participating in the growth of the kingdom of God.  Coronavirus has given the church a chance to remember its calling and grow in its willingness to participate in the mission of God.  The most basic way we do this is by continuing to pray together for the redemption of the world.
 
I have been praying for us all that we would step forward in our willingness to follow and pursue Jesus.  No amount of good planning can overcome our distraction and disinterest.  The church’s attention has been grabbed, and we are being called to find our rest in God alone and offer ourselves as living sacrifices.  If we, as a people, plunge forward into the heart of God—trusting in him, finding our delight in him, longing for his presence—we will see the glory of the One who loves us.  I hope for all of us that we would long for the presence of the Lord, follow him in all things, and find our delight in him.  Please join me in this prayer and this pursuit!

-Steven