Slipstream - Leaders - in - formation

Prayer life of Christians 

The Teal Trust conducted a survey of 5650 Christians looking at their prayer life, here are the results:

Amount of time spent in prayer each week:

Issues Prayed about:

Family and friends 89%

Thanking God 80%

Healing 68%

Praising God 65%

Confession 58%

Work of church 42%

Church leaders 41%

Others to come to faith (by name) 33%

World and regional issues 29%

Others to come to faith 28%

Material needs 16%

Experiences in and attitudes to prayer:

Believe God answers prayer 93%

Believe they have experienced answered prayer 86%

Spend time listening to God 63%

Have experienced God communicating with them 59%

Read the Bible every day or most days 58%

Pray with others at least once a week 39%

Barriers to prayer:

Wandering thoughts 80%

Noise and other distractions 62%

No time 55%

Not knowing what to say 32%

Not knowing what to pray for 22%
Source Religious Trends No. 2 2000/1  

Tearfund surveyed 2,000 people including 1,000 churchgoers about their prayer habits, here is a summary of their findings:

42% of adults pray to God outside of church meetings

27% prayed at least once per month, 10% prayed less frequently and 5% said they pray only when they are in crisis situation.

26% said they pray at least once a week, 18% pray at least daily, and 7% said they pray several times per day.

Even 12% of those who said they have "no faith" said that they prayed occasionally.

Of those who say they pray regularly 80% said that praying makes them feel better.

Whilst 77% said they believed "there is a God who watches over me and answers my prayer", 38% feel peaceful/content after prayer and 30% feel "strengthened".

57%  believe that prayer can change what happens in their life and 32% claim to have seen the effects of prayer in their own lives.

Source Prayer in the UK Tearfund 2007