Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, January 2, 2026.

A dear friend of mine, who is an unbeliever, shared an observation of how Christians seem to respond to the problems facing our world.

She said,
"The problem is all people want to do is pray…"

She's not wrong.

Now, before we start attempting to rationalize and absolve ourselves of guilt, it was obvious to me that this was a generalization and not an absolute. Clearly there are many Christians that do much more than "just pray" and dutifully serve our community.

The fact remains however, that there are so many instances of this being true that it gives reason for the generalization to even exist. Christians collectively bear a responsibility, we should hold each other accountable, and I'm exclusively dealing with instances when the claim is true.

Too often it IS true that all people want to do is "pray" which reveals two key failures:
– a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of prayer
– and an abdication of Christ's endowment and the purposes for which it was given.

We are called to rule well. We were put in the garden of the nations of the world to care for it. As the Father sent Jesus because He loves the world, Jesus sends us (John 20:21). We were given power for the world to encounter the Kingdom, not to sit in a pew.

Prayer is not a shopping list to get what I want. It is a strategic alignment session so His Kingdom will come, that His will may be done—not ours. Prayer is a meeting where I should be seeking God, what He is doing, and how He wants to use me. If nothing changes after a meeting, it was a wasted meeting.

The problems the world faces are because the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Christ came that they may have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10), and we are His vessels.

Prayer puts us on the same page and prepares us to perform His good pleasure.

Prayer is participation.

#PrayerIsParticipation #Prayer #PerfectOurLove