How important is prayer?

What is the greatest challenge facing the church?  I have asked this question a number of times lately and heard varying answers from fighting sexual deviancy to being more justice minded.  Stanley Grenz, in his book A Cry for the Kingdom, has a different take worth considering:

"The church of Jesus Christ faces many challenges today.  Yet the greatest challenge is not what might initially come to mind.  The greatest challenge is not that of urging Christians to speak out on the great social issues of the day...Nor is our greatest challenge that of encouraging each other to be more fervent in evangelizing the world, ...Rather, the greatest challenge facing the church of Jesus Christ today, and therefore every local congregation, is motivating the people of God to engage in sincere, honest, fervent prayer."  - pg. 1

Let's consider this for a moment.  Where are the prayer meetings today?  Christ became upset at the commercialization of the temple in his day.  This led him to turn over tables and crack the whip at the money changers, all while saying, "My house will be a house of prayer for all nations but you have made it a den of robbers."  Are we a house of prayer or a den of robbers stealing the vitality of life God wants to give?  Might the great social issues of our day, and the evangelization of the nations move forward if the churches were praying?  Might people be moved to follow Christ, if the someone took the bold step of being dependent on God in prayer?  The more I reflect on the problems facing the body of Christ the more I am struck by my lack of prayer, my lack of discipleship.  In short, I am struck by my complacency?  How about you?

So I come back to the question, "How important is prayer?"  It is very important because it is our lifeline of dependence to the Father.  People of God, will you consider asking God to teach you to pray?  I am, and the results are astounding.