As the results below indicate (click directly on the graph to enlarge), the big cults - Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons - pray more than we do. When I write "we," I'm referring to Evangelical Protestants.
It is very problematic when people who know Jesus Christ actually pray less than those who do not know the real God. I realize that some of these groups pray in order to gain what they think is a works-based salvation. This undoubtedly is why their numbers are as high as they are. However, our number should be 100%. Why in the world do only 3/4 of those who know Christ pray to Christ daily? This number alone speaks volumes about the problems we have today in the modern Western church.
The command to "Pray without ceasing" is not a punishment or even work. Rather, it is for our joy and for God's glory. May we be people of fervent and constant prayer who also encourage and exhort our brothers and sisters in Christ to be the same.
2 comments:
I can think of at least two reasons why the answers of the responders might be skewed:
1). I wonder what people think of when they hear the word "prayer". In my understanding, there are two main kinds of prayer. There's the "in your prayer closet" praying, and there's the running, private conversation that one can have with God while driving, washing the dishes, or debating a problem in the boardroom. The command to pray without ceasing would contradict many of the other commands in scripture if it meant only the former, so it must at least include the later. I'd be curious as to how the question was posed, and how the respondents interpreted and answered with regard to those to kinds of prayer.
2). As you alluded, Man-made religions force people to put on a holy veneer. I wonder how accurate or inflated their answers were given that background.
Jeff,
I agree that how the question was asked has an impact on the results. Clarification there may have changed the results. Oh well. I think it is still telling that the cults pray the most. Works-based salvation is quite a motivator.
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