Reflection on: Praying by Numbers

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to "pray continuously". Jesus would often spend whole nights in prayer. In 2010, the church to which I am proud to belong, Hope Church Glasgow, organized and executed two separate solid weeks of prayer. So, for a 24 hours a day for seven consecutive days March as well as in October, someone from the church was praying for the church, the city of Glasgow and the nation. We were not alone in this venture; we were joining other churches across the country to pray 24 hours a day for a whole year as part of 24/7 Prayer UK. We're in the midst of planning another week of prayer for next month.

However, some recent number crunching has illustrated me to the possibilities which lie behind this idea.

For example:

• In January 2011, Hope Church Glasgow’s Sunday meetings gathered an average of 84 adults.

• If we were to double the average number of adults per week, this would be 168 adults.

• Coincidentally, there are 168 hours in one week.

• Therefore, if we were to double in number, and if each adult in Hope Church then prayed for only ONE HOUR per week, we could pray for our church, our city and our nation continuously [24 hours a day, seven days a week] for a whole year!

I look at Scotland, and indeed the world, and I see a desperate need for prayer. Imagine the possibilities of a church praying around the clock for a year! Now, in 2009 I did some research into churches in Glasgow as part of my dissertation, and at that time there were 171 protestant churches in Glasgow, not to mention Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. How many of these churches number more than 168 adults (of course children can pray too, but they may well require an adult to be with them, so an adult would be present)?

How many people are part of your church?
With 168 each adult needs to pray for an hour a week.
With 336 each adult needs to pray for an hour a fortnight.
With 730 each adult only needs to pray for an hour a month.
However, even if your church is short of these numbers, praying for your church, city and nation for a week is possible. A church of 24 adults needs each adult to pray for an hour a day to be able to pray for a whole week. Several smaller churches could come together to cover a whole week.

Of course, there are difficulties in doing this kind of thing. Praying from 3am til 4am on a Thursday morning isn't going to be the most popular available slot. However, I believe the benefits of doing this far out-weigh the difficulties that it may bring.