When the Church Prays
Main Passage: Acts 6:1-5
If you understand what scripture and church history says about the primacy of praying together, you will never again view prayer time the same.
We must prayerfully step forward in our participation and confidence in prayer, not just as an individual, but with other believers, praying together with the purpose of seeing God's kingdom strengthened, His word shared, and His glory manifested.
I bring the issue of praying together up for three reasons:
1) Prayer, and praying with one another, is just as important as preaching and teaching, and must be a priority in a healthy church.
2) Praying together is a vital key to enabling God's presence and work among His people in vital ways.
3) The tendency among all believers, is to think of prayer, even prayer gatherings as the extra-curricular activity, a secondary activity in the life of the church.
It is easy to believe that prayer is good to have, but not important enough to join; something you briefly tack on to a meeting before you get down to the real business. Unfortunately a growing number of believers view prayer meetings as optional, secondary to the “real” work of the church, doing tangible ministry activities.
A man arrives in heaven, and Peter is showing him around. After a while, they pass by a large warehouse, and the man inquires what is inside. "Oh, you don’t want to see that," protests Peter. The man’s curiosity is piqued, and he demands to see inside. Peter opens the door, and they see a warehouse full of wonderful things, stacked to the rafters. "Why didn’t you want me to see this?" the man demands. "It all looks wonderful!" "Well," Peter says, "I thought it might make you sad. You see, those are all the things God had ready to give you, if you had only asked for them in prayer."
This morning my intention is to convince you that God has sovereignly ordained prayer, even the corporate prayer of a church, such that His mighty workings increase exponentially and His purposes are accelerated when we pray together. Understand that prayer does not require us to be physically together in order to pray corporately, and I do not intend to minimize personal prayer. Instead, it is to show you that praying together, even if we are not physically present with one another will result in the working of God to the degree that spiritual transformation will take place in our lives, our church, our cities, and our nation.
Corporate prayer is an important part of the life of the church, along with worship, sound doctrine, communion, and fellowship. The early church met regularly to learn the doctrine of the apostles, break bread, and pray together (Acts 2:42). When we pray together with other believers, the effects can be very positive. Corporate prayer edifies and unifies us as we share our common faith. The same Holy Spirit who dwells within each believer causes our hearts to rejoice as we hear praises to our Lord and Savior, knitting us together in a unique bond of fellowship found nowhere else in life.
To those who may be alone and struggling with life’s burdens, hearing others lift them up to the throne of grace can be a great encouragement. It also builds in us love and concern for others as we intercede for them. At the same time, corporate prayer will only be a reflection of the hearts of the individuals who participate. We are to come to God in humility (James 4:10), truth (Psalm 145:18), obedience (1 John 3:21-22), with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6) and confidence (Hebrews 4:16). Sadly, corporate prayer can also become a platform for those whose words are directed not to God, but to their hearers. Jesus warned against such behavior in Matthew 6:5-8 where he exhorts us not to be showy, long-winded, or hypocritical in our prayers, but to pray secretly in our own rooms in order to avoid the temptation of using prayer hypocritically.
There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that corporate prayers, or praying together, are “more powerful” than individual prayers in the sense of moving the hand of God. Far too many Christians equate prayer with “getting things from God,” and group prayer becomes mainly an occasion to recite a list of our wants. Biblical prayers, however, are multi-faceted, encompassing the whole of the desire to enter into conscious and intimate communion with our holy, perfect, and righteous God. That such a God would bend an ear to His creatures causes praise and adoration to pour forth in abundance (Psalm 27:4; 63:1-8), produces heartfelt repentance and confession (Psalm 51; Luke 18:9-14), generates an outpouring of gratitude and thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6; Colossians 1:12), and creates sincere intercessory pleas on behalf of others (2 Thessalonians 1:11; 2:16).
Prayer, then, is cooperating with God to bring about His plan, not trying to bend Him to our will. As we abandon our own desires in submission to the One who knows our circumstances far better than we ever could and who “knows what you need before you ask” (Matthew 6:8), our prayers reach their highest level. Prayers offered in submission to the Divine will, therefore, are always answered positively, whether offered by one person or a thousand.
The idea that corporate prayers are more likely to move the hand of God comes largely from a misinterpretation of Matthew 18:19-20, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” These verses come from a larger passage which addresses the procedures to be followed in the case of church discipline of a sinning member. To interpret them as promising believers a blank check for anything they might agree to ask God for, no matter how sinful or foolish, not only does not fit the context of church discipline, but it denies the rest of Scripture, especially the sovereignty of God.
In addition, to believe that when “two or three are gathered” to pray, some kind of magical power boost is automatically applied to our prayers is not biblically supportable. Of course Jesus is present when two or three pray, but He is equally present when one believer prays alone, even if that person is separated from others by thousands of miles. Corporate prayer is important because it creates unity (John 17:22-23), and is a key aspect of believers’ encouraging one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11) and spurring one another on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).
I want to give you five proofs from the Word that establish the desperate need for all who are believers to become a part of the prayer efforts of this body. This morning we will survey various Scriptures that establish something simple, profound, and stirring: Praying Churches are used of God to change the world. Here are five proofs:
1. Praying together was a priority for the apostles.
In Acts 6, the Church in Jerusalem faced one of its first dilemmas. Here's how it happened:
In those days, as the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. (The word distribution is the word "diakonia," which is the root word behind our words deacon and ministry. So the emphasis is on serving people.)
Verse 2: Then the Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, "It would not be right for us to give up preaching about God to wait on tables.” (The word translated wait on or serve tables is diakonein, from the same root family as in v. 2, focusing on serving others).
Verse 2 cont. “Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty.” Literally, v. 4 reads, But we to the prayer and the "diakonia" of the word will steadfastly continue.
Historically this passage has usually been interpreted that the apostles delegated ministry responsibilities to others so that they would be freed up to spend time in personal prayer and receive a fresh word from the Lord to preach to the people, and that is true. But that is not the point that I want to make today.
The apostles are not only referring to the need for personal, private prayer. Instead, they are talking about the ministry of mobilizing the people of God to pray together, to focus upon prayer needs which were mutually recognized. They were marking out the two ministries they must especially meet as church leaders. Let’s examine the clues that lead to this conclusion.
1) The context of this passage revolves around ministries. Verse 1 points out a problem with ministries. In v. 2, the apostles discuss what ministries they must do and the ones they must not do. In v. 3-4, they instruct that seven men be identified from among the congregation to take on this ministry. This section of Scripture is focused on ministry to people, not on personal issues.
2) The definite article before prayer in v. 4 points to something significant. Listen again: But we to the prayer and to the ministry of the word will steadfastly continue. That little word "the" that appears before prayer indicates that this doesn't mean prayer in general. It highlights something specific and important. The syntax of the sentence creates the possibility that the ministry of prayer and the word are twin ideas.
3) The example of the apostles in Acts points to the priority praying together held for them. Every occurrence of prayer in Acts preceding Chapter 6 (1:14, 24; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31) pictures the apostles leading others in prayer. Not one reference points to their private prayer time; the focus is on God's people praying together.
So by testimony and by example, it is plain that the apostles placed a high premium on the people of God praying together. They considered guiding the corporate prayer life of the church just as critical a priority as the preaching/teaching of God's Word. Let's add a second proof:
2. Praying together was modeled and practiced by Christ.
The apostles learned their leadership patterns from the Master, Jesus Christ. Ransack the Gospels for Jesus' teaching and practice of prayer, and you will identify 37 verses, sometimes repeated in more than one Gospel. Of those 37 instances in which Jesus refers to prayer, 33 of them were addressed to a plural rather than singular audience. In other words, Jesus' instruction decisively leaned toward praying with others, not just praying in private.
Take, for example, Matt. 7:7: "Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you." We read "you" in that verse and immediately think it's singular, referring to an individual. In fact, it is a plural "you," meaning Jesus is urging a gathering of believers to ask, seek, and knock.
In other passages, Jesus deliberately emphasized the significance of praying together. Listen to Matt. 18:19: Again, I assure you: If two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. Jesus could have said, "If anyone asks...;" instead, He deliberately chose to emphasize a group gathered for prayer. This focus of Jesus' on more than one praying indicates that there is a design of God's in such gatherings, through which He uniquely and powerfully works.
So the apostles made it a practice and a priority to teach about praying with fellow believers and to practice it because they had heard and seen Jesus emphasize the same thing.
3. Praying together and the mighty moves of God in the New Testament.
The Book of Acts records many works of God for and through His church in its early years, and connects them to unified prayer.
The 120 were gathered in an upper room praying in one accord when Pentecost comes (Acts 1:13; 2:1).
The disciples prayed for wisdom in knowing who Judas' replacement should be (Acts 1:24).
When Peter and John reported the Sanhedrin's threats, those gathered cried out to God in one accord for boldness, and the place was shaken where they prayed (Acts 4:24, 31).
The church prayed over the seven men appointed to serve the widows (Acts 6:6).
After James was martyred and Peter imprisoned by Herod, but the church was fervently praying, and God miraculously delivered Peter from his cell (Acts 12:1-11).
While the prophets and teachers were praying and fasting, the Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas to go on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-2).
Paul and Silas were praying when God sent an earthquake that resulted in the conversion of the jailer and their release (Acts 16:25).
Again, let me say that I am not disparaging personal, private prayer. Ananias was praying alone when God instructed him to go to Saul (Acts 9:10ff.). Peter was alone on the rooftop when he had his famous vision leading him to share the Gospel with a Gentile named Cornelius (Acts 10:9ff.). Nevertheless, many of God's recorded workings came when His people prayed in agreement with one another.
4. Corporate prayer in God's mighty works in past history.
There are so many examples of how prayer, agreeing with one another, was the springboard for the sweeping movements of God. Let me mention a few. In 1857, America was riding the wave of a strong economy, and, as tends to be true in times of prosperity, showed a radical decrease of interest in the things of God. There was a layman named Jeremiah Lamphier whose concern led to a call for prayer. He tacked up notices in NYC calling for a weekly prayer meeting on Wednesdays from noon till one at a rented space on Fulton Street.
The first prayer meeting was on September 23, 1857. Only six people came, and they didn't arrive until just before 12:30. The next week, the attendance jumped to 20. The numbers continued to climb week-by-week.
Then, on October 10th, the Stock Market crashed and financial panic ensued. Trouble had its humbling affect and the hearts of many turned to spiritual matters. It wasn't long until somewhere between 10 and 50,000 businessmen were meeting every day in NYC to pray at noon. By week 15, the meetings moved from weekly to daily.
In 1858, this prayer movement leaped to every major city in America. The Second Great Awakening swept our land. Estimates are that a million Americans out of a population of 30 million at that time were converted in less than two years. And it all started with prayer.
Rees Howells, a Welsh coal miner, journeyed to South Africa as a missionary in 1910 in response to an increasing burden from the Lord. Six weeks after arriving, he joined in a prayer meeting. Out of that came the sweeping work of the Holy Spirit in which they had two revival meetings a day for fifteen months and all day on Friday. Thousands were converted as a result.
I could tell you story after story of how corporate prayer became the springboard for the mighty movement of God. But I want to add one more proof that is as current as today's newspaper.
5. Praying together and God's works today.
Right now, the Gospel is sweeping the globe at a rate that is unimaginable. Avery Willis, the VP of our IMB, has reported that statistically, most of the people who have ever been saved in history were saved during the 20th Century. Willis suggested as high as 70% of the total number of people who have been saved throughout world history have come to Christ in the last hundred years.
But get this: 70% of that number has been saved since 1945! Let me boggle your mind with one other layer of observation from this world missions expert: 70% of those saved since 1945 were saved since 1990! That's how fast the Gospel is storming our world. That means that at the turn of the 21st Century, possibly one-third of all Christians who have ever lived have been converted since 1990!
What does that look like? In Nepal, just 2000 Christians were known in 1990; to over half a million. Cambodia claimed only 600 believers in 1990; there is a reported over 60,000 today. In Korea during the 20th Century, the country advanced from being 2% Christian to about 40% Christian today, South Korea is second in missionary sending only to America.. East Africa is experiencing one of the greatest movements of God in history. In Uganda, so great is revival that one church alone went from 7 in attendance to an average of 2000 in just two weeks! Currently, that same church as a membership of over 22,000 and has planted 150 other churches.
In almost every quarter of the globe, Christianity is advancing...except for four primary areas: North America, Japan, Australia, and Western Europe. Guess what one of the common denominators is everywhere Christianity marches forward? Research says, Christians spending time in prayer. Track what God is doing in areas where Christianity is growing, and you will find His people praying. We cannot and should not feel that we must always be physically together in order to pray together, but we need to be praying in the same direction. Our prayer requests on the back of the bulletin is one way we can do that. Another is consistent prayer for revival in our community and in our church, may it be so.
His Grace and Peace be with you.
Editor's note: This sermon is drawn substantially from by Lloyd Stilley. “When the Church Prays.”
