Our world needs to kneel in prayer. We need, desperately need, to be immersed in prayer. We need to be in the midst of a flowing conversation with our heavenly Father. We need to talk to Him, talk about Him and sit still long enough for Him to talk to us.

We need prayer.

We are stuck in the middle of a series of pandemics. We are still reeling from the pandemic of Covid and now we are faced with a pandemic of hate. In the midst of such pain and sadness, it might seem like calling for prayer is a cop out.

Oh, I am aware that we also need to be about the business of caring and showing that care. We need to be sensitive to those around us and find practical ways to actually show it. We need to unite our hearts with those hurting. We need to change some things. We need to protect some folks. We need to respect others.  We need to share with those who don’t have what we do.

But firstly, and mostly, we need prayer.

J. Oswald Sanders said, “Prayer is indeed the Christian’s vital breath and native air.” It is essential in the best of times and it is indispensable in the worst of times. It is both an obligation and a great joy to pray. And we need to pray.

So this week, may I encourage you to keep the positive dialogues going with your family and friends. Listen more. Talk less. But make certain that you speak with your heavenly Father the most.

Confess you own sins of selfishness and neglect. Ask Him to forgive you for ignoring your neighbors. Seek His understanding of how to really care for someone. Pursue a relationship with Almighty God that is centered in an ongoing, real, personal conversation about things that matter.

Make it a priority to pray for others. Pray for those in authority that they would wield that authority with wisdom. Pray for their safety. Pray for those who are mourning the loss of a love one or the loss of a dream. Pray for those who want to help build bridges of understanding.

Pray for our government officials that they would have hearts of compassion and insightful minds so they can devise ways to serve all our citizens. Pray for our spiritual leaders that they would indeed, lead. We need to be led to the throne room of God and stay there for a while.

James told us to “confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed“ (James 5:15).

We need prayer.