By Ron Lutz

“Is New Life Dresher a praying church?” We discussed this question at a recent staff meeting. We all agree that we want to be a praying church. It is one of our core values. But is it a reality in our midst, or simply an aspirational goal? As you might expect, the answer was both yes and no. Yes, we see a number of encouraging signs of prayer in our midst—triads of people who pray together on a regular basis, women who pray together every Saturday morning, elders who meet weekly for prayer, regular prayer for our youth ministry, focused prayer for mission trips, prayer meetings for our local schools, etc. And we know that many of our people pray faithfully in private as Jesus counsels us in Matthew 6:6, “…when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” But we also said, “No, we are not the praying church we would like to be.” There is so much room for growth in this area.

Prayer is necessary!! We cannot truly know the Lord, grow in faith, or reach the world around us without prayer. We know that prayer is not just a “nice option” in the Christian life. We are all involved in intense spiritual warfare—and prayer is essential, it is a matter of spiritual life and death. But if we are honest, many of us are very frustrated and dissatisfied with our personal prayer lives. Many of us feel like total failures in this area. So how can we grow in this critically important area?

We are excited that we will be hosting “A Praying Life” seminar on March 6 and 7—Friday night and Saturday morning. The Lord has used Paul Miller’s ministry, through his book and seminar, to help many believers in their prayer lives. If you find that prayer is hard, and that your failed attempts to have a rich prayer life often end in quiet desperation, we believe that this seminar will offer you hope, encouragement and practical help. You don’t need to give in to discouragement and cynicism. Come and join us. We believe that the Lord wants to meet you and revive you through this seminar. We hope you can come.