Deutero Q

I have never been to South Korea, but it is my understanding that the church is very much alive in that country. In fact, many of the world's largest and most vibrant churches are found in South Korea. Could it be that God is moving mightily in that part of the world because Korean Christians are a praying people?

In the capitol city of Seoul, tens of thousands of Christians attend early morning prayer meetings. Churches also hold all night prayer meetings on Friday and many Korean Christians attend "prayer mountain" retreats on the weekends. I think also of the church I pastor--we share our building with a Korean church, whose members gather here every morning at 6:00 a.m. for prayer!

My observation is that the Korean church is first and foremost a praying church, putting into practice the scriptural exhortation to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

By contrast, studies have shown that the typical American Christian spends less than five minutes a day in prayer. Less than five minutes! Many of us wonder why our country is facing so many difficulties and why the spiritual landscape is so barren. Perhaps the situation would be much different if we took prayer more seriously.

As we move into the new year, why not resolve to become more intentional about prayer--not in a legalistic and joyless way, but with the attitude that prayer can be wonderul communion with the Lord, with the power to change circumstances and lives.

Perhaps the following prayer would be a great place to begin in this venture: "Lord, help me pray!"