1.
Prayerlessness is sin because the Bible calls it sin. Samuel, a great prophet of
God and a great prayer warrior, on many occasions came to the aid of Israel and
prayed for them. On one occasion, when they were severely guilt-ridden
and discouraged over their sin of desiring a human king instead of being
satisfied with the Lord as their king (1 Sam. 12: 19-21), Samuel encouraged the
people to continue serving the Lord with all their heart. And for his
part, he knew that it would be sin for him if he did not continue praying for
them; for that was what God had especially called him to do. So he said
to the people, “Moreover, as for me, far be it that I should sin against the
Lord by ceasing to pray for you” (1 Samuel 12: 23).
As Christians, just like Samuel, we are priests of God and have
the calling of prayer upon us. If we do not pray in Jesus’ name for those
He has commanded us and burdened us to pray for, we must say with Samuel that
it is a sin against the Lord.
2.
Prayerlessness is sin because it is failing to obey God’s prayer
commands. In Luke 18:1 Jesus told His disciples, and He tells us, that we
ought to pray at all times and not to lose heart. In Ephesians 6:18 we
are instructed to pray “at all times in the Spirit.” Again in 1
Thessalonians 3: 17 we are told to “pray without ceasing.” These prayer
commands describe the nature of prayer, or the nature of true prayer—prayer
that is in the Spirit. True prayer must be constant—without ceasing; it is
prayer that comes from a Spirit filled life; it is selfless prayer; it is
sincere prayer; it is prayer that comes from a life that is totally dedicated
to God. We may say that if prayer is not of this kind, then it is not
true prayer, and therefore we may call it “prayerless prayer.”
3.
Prayerlessness is sin because it is failing to follow Biblical examples of
prayer. Paul tells us in Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in
earlier times was written for our instruction.” We can also say that the
entire Bible, the Old as well as the New Testament, was written for our
instruction. That includes the recorded prayers; they were written down
for us to learn how to pray, as well as how to live. And we learn not
only from the recorded prayers themselves, but from those that prayed them.
4.
Prayerlessness is sin because it is a rejection of His grace. When we reject His
grace we are in a state of prayerlessness, because it is through prayer that
His grace is received. Our daily bread (Matt. 6:11), wisdom (Ja. 1:5),
and even the extension of life (e.g. Hezekiah, Is. 38:1), are all offered to us
through prayer. James 4:2 tells us that we have not because we ask
not. God wants to give us so many good things. He wants to bless us
according to His riches in glory (Phil. 4:19). All the blessings of
heaven are in Christ and can be ours through prayer (Eph. 1:3). But if we
fail to pray we are rejecting it all, and thus we sin, because we in effect are
rejecting Him and His grace to us.
5.
Prayerlessness is sin because it is a rejection of His work. God is always at work to
bring us to a completed salvation (Phil. 1:6); for He desires all to be saved,
to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Ti. 2:4), and to see the great day of
glory when we shall see Him just as He is and be glorified in Him (1 Jn. 3:2, 2
Thess. 1:10).
It is our privilege and honor to have a part in that great
work. He has commissioned us to pray both for sinners and for
saints. For sinners, we must pray for their salvation: that their
hostility for the gospel be broken down, that their hearts be prepared to hear
the Word, and that they would be liberated from the power of Satan. For
saints, we ought to pray that they may speak the Word with boldness, and that
they would have a passion for the lost. Let us pray also for all their needs,
spiritual as well as physical. But let us pray most of all that God would
prepare them and send them out as laborers.
6.
Prayerlessness is sin because it is a rejection of God’s protection. All Christians,
especially those of us who are busy doing God’s work, need protection against
the evil one who is against us and against all the good things we do. He
wants to deceive us, corrupt us, discourage us, and destroy us. He wants
to break us down so that we can do no good work for God.
But God has given us His armor: the girdle of truth, the
breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the
helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, and especially prayer. With
this armor, through it all, we are made victorious (Eph. 6:13-18).
Jesus told His disciples in Mark 14:38, “Watch and pray, lest
you enter into temptation. The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is
weak.” This says to me that if we don’t keep praying our armor is useless
and even the great sword of the spirit becomes dull. Prayerlessness
is definitely sin because it is a rejection of the protection that God offers
us.
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