Recently, I was listening to an interview with Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX. During the conversation, the interviewer displayed a graphic showing the age groups of Americans who plan to “pray more in 2026.” I was inspired to see the group leading the way was adults ages 30–44.
As they discussed the reasons behind this trend, my mind drifted to the numbers for my own age group—those 65 and older. Only 12% of seniors said they plan to pray more.
That number puzzled me. I even tried to justify it. As Christians, we already pray daily… maybe that’s enough? After all, Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing.” We understand this to mean cultivating a continual awareness of God’s presence—being ready to speak with Him throughout the day. Over the years, our prayers develop a connection, a relationship, a spiritual rhythm as natural as breathing.
So if we already pray daily, do we really need to pray more? Is that why the percentage is so low?
But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that we boomers should actually desire to pray more as we age. We’ve run the race for a long time. God has been faithful to us again and again. Our prayer life today is deeper and richer than it was when we were in that 30–44 age bracket. And now, as grandparents, God has entrusted us with even more to bring before Him—our grandchildren.
Our prayer life shouldn’t simply be about being “ready” to pray. It should be something that rises up in us naturally and continually. Dr. Jeffress used a vivid illustration:
“Prayer should be like a hacking cough. We’ve all had a hacking cough. When you try to suppress it, you just can’t. It keeps coming and coming. Our prayer life ought to be that way—irrepressible. That’ s what it means to ‘pray without ceasing.’”
As we step into a new year, I encourage you to set your heart on praying more. God has given you so much to be grateful for, and so many people to lift before Him. Let’s all do that with a higher frequency this year!
Wishing you and your family a spectacular 2026!
Andrew Oldham is a Northsider.
