Clicking on the “Ministries” tab of many church websites reveals that we often have a similar bias when it comes to our corporate life. We highlight our discipleship groups, crisis counseling, community outreach, student ministries, Bible studies, and congregational care. Our photos show people singing and playing instruments, people holding coffee cups and open Bibles, people maneuvering wheelbarrows and chainsaws. As a church, we like what’s visible.
Perhaps for that reason, praying together rarely headlines our calendar of events. Corporate prayer—whether in a worship service or a week-day gathering—isn’t much to look at. We show up. We bow our heads. We ask God for daily needs and for gospel success. Then, we do it again. Week after week, year after year, the same people bring the same concerns in the same way to the same God. It doesn’t always produce obvious results.
But it’s one of the most important things the church does.
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