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Introduction:
Regrettably few churches today know or truly believe in the power
of God or the importance of prayer. I recognize that is a very
strong statement. Yet I believe it is true. I will repeat it for
you. Regrettably few churches today know or truly believe in the
power of God. Regrettably few churches today know or truly believe
in the importance of prayer. Allow me to demonstrate my reason for
believing this statement. I have visited numerous congregations
and I am certain that you have as well. In general, would you not
agree that most congregations devote more time to making
announcements than to praying? I can remember a variety of
conversations I have had with Christians about corporate prayer. I
have been told that the first prayer is to be an “opening
prayer.” It should not be long but should simply open the
service and ask God’s blessing on our worship. Of course, the
prayers during the Lord’s Supper and contribution should not
wander about hitting every topic; they should just focus on the
Supper and the collection. Finally, the closing prayer is supposed
to be just that—a closing prayer. It should not take much time.
It should thank God for the time of worship, ask Him to bless us
as we leave and then send us on our way. In all of this, I am told
we are to keep in mind the elderly and the families with small
children, not to mention our television trained attention spans
that cannot follow along with lengthy prayers. I have heard all of
this said. Regrettably, I have said some of it. Then it occurred
to me, now that we have whittled down our usual prayer times in
the corporate worship, when does the congregation ever pray
together just to be devoted to prayer?
Acts
11:21 expresses exactly why the Antioch church had
success—“The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great
number believed and turned to the Lord.” We will only have
success in the Lord’s work to the extent that the Lord’s hand
is with us. The Lord’s hand will only be with us to the extent
that we pray. Remember, our God can do exceedingly, abundantly
above all that we ask or think (Ephesians
3:20). But that means we better think and ask.
We often say, as we look back at the New Testament
churches, that we can be what they were and accomplish what they
accomplished, if we simply do what they did. What did they do?
They prayed. So must we. From Acts
we learn if our leaders are given to prayer and the
congregation continues steadfastly in prayer, then God will work
through us and our prayers. Discussion: I.
Leaders must be given to prayer. A.
Prioritize
Prayer.
Picture the scene of Acts
6:1. Satan had planted the seeds for division. Whether
through intent or accidental oversight, native Hebrew widows were
being cared for but Hellenistic widows were not. These widows had
no means of support. If the church did not take care of them, they
went hungry. The Hellenists brought a complaint to the apostles
about this apparent racial divide. Look at the apostles’ answer
in Acts
6:2-4. The paraphrase is, “Pick some men from the
congregation to deal with this. We do not have time. We are too
busy praying and ministering the word.” Whoa! Can you imagine
what would happen if our leaders said they did not have time to
make sure our widows were fed because they had so much praying to
do? That is the kind of priority the apostles placed on prayer.
Leaders, what kind of priority do you place on prayer? Are there
things you just can’t do because you have to pray instead? Or
does it work the other way around, are you doing so much that you
rarely have time to pray? Make prayer a priority. B.
Pray
Daily.
In Acts
3:1, the text says, “Now Peter and John went up together
to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.” When Luke
called this the hour of prayer, I have no doubt he was making
reference to Jewish custom. However, by so designating the ninth
hour, he implied a major point about leaders and prayer. These men
had prayers scheduled daily. Prayer was not something they waited
for Sunday to do. It was not something they occasionally did
whenever they met together. They prayed daily. C.
Pray
With Other Leaders.
Another interesting aspect of Acts
3:1 is that Peter and John, both apostles, were going to
pray together. I have no doubt that each of the leaders of this
congregation spends time praying. My question is how much time do
we spend praying together? Peter and John clearly had a habit of
prayer and of praying together. Do we? D.
Praying
For Every Aspect of the Work.
When the Christians needed boldness to teach in the face of
persecution, the apostles prayed (Acts
4:23-30). When the men were appointed to help serve the
widows in Acts
6:6, the apostles prayed. When Paul and Barnabas were
separated out to go on their missionary journey, the church’s
leaders prayed (Acts
13:3). Prayer was how the early churches’ leaders faced
every problem and started every work. How much time do we spend as
leaders of the church praying regarding the work we are doing? Do
we pray for our Bible classes? Do we pray for our Gospel meetings?
Do we pray for our regular assemblies? Do we pray for our
evangelism? E.
Praying
Whenever Together.
In Acts
20, Paul met with the Ephesian elders. They had not
gathered specifically to pray. They had gathered because Paul was
passing near by and they wanted to see him again. Before they
departed in Acts
20:36 they prayed together. What a great prayer example of
church leaders. How many times do leaders get together? Perhaps we
get together for business meetings or just for supper. When we get
together do we take the time to pray? I mean really pray, not just
an obligatory open and close the meeting prayer. I mean devoting
ourselves to prayer because we are together with other church
leaders. This needs to become a habit if the congregation will be
devoted to prayer. II.
Congregations must continue steadfastly in prayer. A.
Prioritize
Prayer.
We have already noted that our leaders must have a prayer
priority. But they do not do our praying for us. According to Acts
2:42, the Jerusalem church continued steadfastly in
prayer. Prayer must be a priority in this congregation. I fear
that even our own teaching throughout the years has demonstrated
our lack of devotion to prayer. How many sermons have been
preached on the work of the local congregation? How many times
have we said and heard that our work is to evangelize, to edify
and to provide benevolence for the saints? How many times have we
overlooked prayer as the work of the church? We must not overlook
prayer. We must view it as our greatest work. We should begin
every aspect of our work with prayer. We should carry on with
prayer. We should conclude it with prayer. B.
Pray
Congregationally.
We should pray together as a congregation. In Acts
1:14-15, before the day of Pentecost, the 120 believers
continued with one accord in prayer. Combining Acts
2:42 and 46, we learn that the Jerusalem church
also prayed together as a congregation. When it is all said and
done over a week long period how much time do you think we as a
congregation spend praying together? Do you think we get 30
minutes? 25? 20? Do you think we might get even 15 minutes? Would
that rank us with Jerusalem as continuing steadfastly in prayer?
What would any one of us do if one of our corporate prayers lasted
for more than 5 minutes? I know what I have done in the past and I
regret it. I have spent a good deal of the prayer wondering when
the guy would get done, letting my mind wander to my sermon, my
kids, my lunch. Then on the way home complained about old brother
so-and-so who always takes up part of my preaching time with his
prayers. I am not saying that all of our corporate prayers need to
be long. But I do think we need to pray more as a congregation.
Perhaps, we should extend our concept of assembly from one hour to
an hour and a half and add in a few more prayers. Maybe we should
take at least one service a month and devote it to praying.
Whatever we do, we need to make sure we pray together as a
congregation. C.
Pray
Individually.
In Acts
16:25, Paul and Silas were imprisoned. What were they
doing? Praying. While we need to pray together as a congregation,
we must also make sure we pray as individual members of the
congregation. We must never think that our prayer lives are
covered because we prayed in our assemblies. I
Thessalonians 5:17 says we must pray without ceasing. It
must be our constant and continual habit. But in this lesson, we
are not just talking about our personal prayer lives. We are
talking about our prayer lives as members of this congregation. As
individuals, we need to pray for the work of this congregation. We
need to pray for our Bible classes, our worship assemblies, our
forms of evangelism and outreach. We need to pray for our elders.
We need to pray for our deacons. We need to pray for our
evangelist. We need to pray for our Bible class teachers. We need
to pray for the husbands in this congregation. We need to pray for
the wives in this congregation. We need to pray for the parents in
this congregation. We need to pray for the grandparents in this
congregation. We need to pray for the children in this
congregation. We need to pray for everything that impacts this
congregation and its members. Take out the directory and work your
way through it page by page and pray for every member of the
congregation. When you know specific needs, mention them. When you
do not, pray for those needs we all have—wisdom, knowledge,
guidance, courage, strength, etc. But whatever you do—Pray! Do
not tell everyone what you are doing; just pray (Matthew
6:5-6). D.
Pray
from House to House.
One of the most often overlooked forums for prayer is in small
groups. Christians getting together to pray in one another’s
homes. In Acts
2:47, the Jerusalem Christians gathered from house to
house praising God. In Acts
12:12, Mary, the mother of John Mark, had a group of
Christians in her home praying for Peter. This prayer is amazing
because the implications of the text are that this was a late
night, perhaps all night, session of prayer. James had already
been executed and it looked like Peter would be next. They had
prayed all week and still Peter was scheduled to be executed the
following morning. Therefore, Christians gathered in groups to
pray. How often do we get together with other Christians to pray?
Do we pray with each other any more than just a quick mealtime
blessing when we get together to do that all important work of
eating? Some people will have Bible studies in their homes. Others
will have singings. Perhaps we should start having prayings, in
which we get a small group together just to pray. Perhaps we
should take time whenever we are together with Christians to pray
for a few minutes, for one another and for the congregation in
which we jointly participate. Whatever we do, we need to spend
time praying with one another. III.
The Father will respond to our prayers. A.
Because the Christians were devoted to praying and praising
God, Acts
2:47 says the Lord was adding daily to the church. Do you
think the prayers of the early Christians had anything to do with
this? I think it certainly did. B.
Because the Christians prayed, God strengthened and
emboldened the early Christians to proclaim His word (Acts
4:31). Do not get so bogged down in the miraculous
demonstration God gave them. God does not have to perform a
miracle to embolden us. God is with us when we pray and God will
strengthen us when we pray. C.
When the apostles appointed the seven men to take care of
the widows in Jerusalem, they prayed (Acts
6:6-7). The text immediately says, “Then the word of God
spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in
Jerusalem.” The church was faced with possible division, but
because prayer was the backbone of their work, God granted them
multiplication. D.
Acts
12:5
specifically explains that the church was praying for Peter. What
happened? In vss.
7-10, the angel of the Lord brought Peter deliverance.
What joy the disciples experienced because they prayed. Conclusion: Remember one of our key passages—Ephesians 3:20-21. God can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask or think by the power working through us. God will do beyond all we ask or think. But we must ask. When God’s people pray, God works. We must ask the very difficult question. As a congregation, have we been devoted to prayer? If we have, then we must not grow weary but maintain our vigilance. If, however, we have not, what must we do to be devoted to prayer? Where do we need to grow? Let’s grow there. Let’s glorify God by devoting ourselves to prayer.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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