According to the Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life, 76% of people in Louisiana say that they pray at least once a day. That’s pretty remarkable. It ranks Louisiana as the second most praying state, falling just one percentage point lower than Mississippi. Nationally 56% of people claim to pray daily.
You can read the state by state results for yourself.
There is something significant here. People in Louisiana appear to be overwhelmingly open to prayer. Even though nearly half of the Louisiana population (47%) does not attend religious services on a regular basis, more than three-quarters of Louisiana residents say they pray regularly.
Why shouldn’t prayer be a starting point in going beyond traditional outreach? Though people can be quite resistant to hearing a religious doctrinal presentation (which is essentially what a gospel presentation ends up being), they may be quite willing to have you pray for their needs and talk to God on their behalf. They may be open to praying together.
Prayer ought to be more effective too. Gospel presentations are instructions and a call to action. Prayer is action. In prayer, one stands before God. Once you’ve done that, something is going to happen.
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