4 Symptom Of Prayerlessness

Christians need to pray, not just to protect themselves and their families from evil attacks, but also for the health and vitality of the church. Yet, when it comes to prayer, many Christians remain asleep at the wheel. A recent study shows that only 57 percent of Americans pray at least once a day, which is pretty much the same as it was the last time the survey was taken 32-years ago.


The Bible tells us that prayerlessness is sin. So why don't more Christians pray? I believe that prayerlessness stems from a crippling virus-like effect that sidelines people from the fight of spiritual warfare. I call it, "spiritual HIV," or "High Indifference Virus." Just as medical HIV weakens the immune system, spiritual HIV decreases a warrior's prowess to fight off spiritual enemies. His soldier instincts have been compromised. This infected warrior sits listlessly while his disease-stricken soul deteriorates. It breeds further in his soul as the unsuspecting victim adds layers of theological opinion and an assortment of Bible verses to the mix to support his faulty indifference toward spiritual warfare.

The more he uses his Bible to shield himself from the war that's raging, the more the virus takes over his immune system to make him indifferent. The HIV can be diagnosed with one or more of these symptoms: 1) disinterest in the fight, 2) disbelief in the fight, 3) discouraged by the fight, and 4) disdain for the fight.

Disinterest in the fight:
Those afflicted are not aware of being infected and become detached from the spiritual fight. They believe there is nothing to lose in the fight or that the stakes may be too small. Nothing could be further from the truth. A main tenet of Jesus' mission was to destroy the works of the devil. This includes removing blinders from the minds of people so they can positively respond to God's call to love and serve Him. Jesus was always engaged in the spiritual war.

The stakes have not changed! Admittedly war is never pretty, yet Scripture declares we are to fight the good fight of faith. The Bible positions spiritual warfare as a necessary reality Christians must embrace to push back the powers of darkness.

Disbelief in the fight:
Some Christians don't believe in the fight at all. The High Indifference Virus makes their compromised souls blind to the spiritual war. The irony is that many of the virus victims hold to the inerrancy of the Bible, which includes teachings such as, "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground" (Eph. 6:13). To those who have never fought spiritually, the verse seems like religious chatter. It has little or no meaning to them, since they may not truly believe in the existence of a spiritual war.

Discouraged by the fight:
Some may have given up on the fight; they feel hopeless. Discouragement stems from many sources: the loss of a marriage, the death of a child, or dismissal from a job. It hurts! It's emotionally unsettling. In fact, it is a very dangerous place to be, much less settle. It wrecks the willingness to fight, even for things that are noble and right. But, the fight and battle lasts a lifetime. It starts when we're born, and should take on a new urgency when we're born again. It doesn't end until we die and heaven's gates open to us.

Disdain for the fight:
For some, the fight is scornful. Contempt is harbored. No one starts off with that kind of attitude, but through a series of painful battles, the mind morphs into a flawed theological reasoning, such as: If God wants it to happen, it will happen. This viewpoint is not new. It's called antinomianism, a doctrinal notion suggesting that our salvation frees us from the responsibility of obeying God's laws. However, one cannot rid oneself of the virus with such thinking. We're called to serve as fearless kneeling warriors. Any other kind of thinking renders us susceptible to contracting spiritual HIV.

 The bottom line is that we must use prayer to fight for the purpose of God for our generation. Sideline living is not acceptable, no matter how comfortable it may appear. So how do we do this? Church attendance is perhaps the best way help reverse prayerlessness while adding vibrancy and relevance to one's faith. That same study shows that almost 9 in 10 Americans who attend weekly religious services pray daily. When we live in community with others who serve in the King's army it increases our prayer efforts while lowering our susceptibility to contracting spiritual HIV.

Paul ended his second letter to Timothy by stating, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). He was referring to the spiritual fight between good versus evil and the part he was to play as a soldier in the army of the Lord. The apostle was proud of the fact that he did not live his life on the sidelines. The obligation to fight for God's purposes for the next generation — Timothy's generation — was passed on to Timothy and his contemporaries. In the same way, the baton is passed to us. We must pray.

Pastor David D