"The Church in Prayer" Acts 4:23-31
Pastor Bob Hunter
Intro: Describe how the Apostles got to a place of prayer. Review the story that immediately preceedes it, ( i.e. The healing of lame beggar, discuss the trouble it stirred up and the events that followed.) Describe Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (the men in the 3 piece suits). They are ordered to be silent (they scheme to disobey). The Sanhedrin releases them. They immediately go back to camp and pray. Verse 24
I. The early believers prayed.
They prayed before the spirit was given (5 days). They prayed and gave thanks after the Spirit was given. Every thing in the book of ACTS begins and ends with prayer. The phrase "they prayed" appears 48 times in the book of ACTS. The early believers recognized prayer as fundamental. Everything they did was bathed in prayer. Prayer is a response to God and what He is doing among us.
Transitional statement: Now what about us? Are we like the early believers? Are we that committed to prayer? Wow! This is pretty heavy isn’t it? What I would like us to do is review the occasions when we are most likely to pray. We’re going to do a little comparison here today. When is it that we normally pray?
II. When do we normally pray?
A. When it’s convenient.
We tend to pray when conditions are right. When we have time to pray. So long as nothing else interferes, (phone calls, visitors, work, play) We tend to pray most often when it’s convenient to do so, so long as it doesn’t interfere greatly with our personal agendas.
B. When we’re feeling guilty.
Sometimes were driven to prayer, simply because we feel guilty about not doing it. Or maybe we’ve hearing the Pastor teach on the subject and we feel unspiritual. So we force ourselves into a posture of prayer and play catch up because we’re so far behind. In other words, we try to pray real, real hard to make up for all the times that we haven’t prayed. We do this so we can walk away with a clear conscience know that we’ve paid our dues.
C. When there’s trouble.
This isn’t especially a bad thing. It’s just happens to be a reality. When there’s trouble brewing and we don’t have anywhere else to turn, we tend to get serious about prayer. I think back to post Sept. 11th and how many people were driven to their knees because of what happened. And that’s not especially a bad thing. But maybe that’s where we should have been along. Instead of praying ‘only’ when we’re trouble, maybe we need make some adjustments and pray before we get into trouble, before it’s a last resort.
Transitional statement: So these are the times in which we normally pray.(restate each). But let me ask you this, when should we be praying? What is a more normal & biblical pattern of prayer? Obviously, a more normal and predictable model of prayer is set forth in the book of Acts. We catch a glimpse of it, in Ch. 2 and again in Ch. 4.. The early believers established a solid and consistent pattern of prayer. So let’s take a look at theirs and compare it to our own., and consider the times in which we should be in prayer. So the question is when should we pray?
III. When should we pray?
A. When we see God moving.
The early believers we’re immediately thankful for being delivered from the immediate shut down of the Sanhedrin. They went back and reported what had happened to others. And after they reported what happened, an impromtu prayer meeting was held to give praise and thanks to God. Notice what it says in verse 23,24 "upon being released." You see, they had just been released from bondage. The religious authorities let them go. All they got from the men in the 3 piece suits was a slap on the hand. It could have been a lot worse! So we should pray when we see God moving and acting on our behalf. Prayer is a response to the mighty acts of God. To God’s activity among us; to what He is doing on our behalf. We should automatically pray, when we see God in action. And give him thanks for it. (Illustrate by telling the story of a new believer that has recently found Christ, prompt the body to pray on his or her behalf).
B. When we hear God speaking.
God’s Word to us prompts us to pray. In Acts
Ch.4, God was clearly speaking into their situation. Verse 25 cites words spoken by King David in the O.T. about what was happening. "quote verse" What God said centuries before through Holy Spirit in Ps. 2 was unfolding right before their eyes. The nations and people were plotting in vain against the Lord and against His annointed. Hearing God’s Word spoken in a new and fresh way energized their prayer life. So as they were praying, they repeated the Lord’s word spoken long ago through King David. They were hearing it all over again in a new and fresh way and it prompted them to stay in prayer.
What is your response when you hear God’s voice? God’s Word to us is faithful. He is still speaking. Sometimes we hear God’s voice in a song, or a message, perhaps through a book that we’re reading or a friend. When we hear it we must respond to it. How do we do that? We do that through prayer.
(Illust.) Not long ago I went to a Pastor’s conference in Tacoma. All day long I heard great messages with dynamic content and delivery. God used one of the messengers to speak to me in an area of my life that I needed to address. This word that God spoke to me began to prevail on my heart. As I was driving home, I just felt a need to pull the car over and surrender to it in prayer. Never drive and pray at the same time, that’s a good way to get a speeding ticket! Needless to say, I pulled the car over first. And then prayed. You see, when we hear God’s voice speaking to our hearts and weighing in on our conscience, we have to respond to it. Prayer is how we do that. It is a response to God and what He is saying to us at the time. Prayer is also necessary when…
C. When we need to take action.
The early followers of Christ were
charged with a huge task. They were commanded to go to the uttermost parts of the earth and be messengers of the message. The were called to proclaim the good news to every creature. Yet here in Acts 4, they are facing horrible and terrifying threats from the Sanhedrin. They are told to be silent and keep their mouths shut. But they could not... They were determined to go forward and continue the work. Knowing they must take action, they turned the whole situation over to God. All of the fears, all of the threats and opposition. They spelled it out before God in prayer. They said, "Lord, consider their threats and enable us to speak your Word with great boldness." Vs. 29 They spelled out the entire situation to God and prayed for divine help as further action was taken.
You and I need to pray this way, when we take action. When we go out to minister to our friends, or loved ones who are far away from God and maybe don’t want anything to do with Christianity; we must first pray. I pray this way often, that as I speak to you on a weekly basis that my words will come forth with boldness and clarity. Praise God, I’m not speaking in the face of opposition. But whenever we take action on behalf of Christ, it’s necessary to pray first. Pray before you teach that class, pray before you witness to that friend, pray before you sing that song. Prayer prepares us for the work that is ahead of us. So pray before you take action. You’ll be glad you did.
D. When we need intervention .
The early believers prayed fervently for an ongoing display of God’s power. They were going to need not only one miracle, but many to reach the goal of sharing Christ with the nations. So in verse 30, they prayed, "Lord stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." Just another way of saying, Lord do it again, and again, and again. We need your intervention. We need for you to divinely perform miraculous wonders or we’re going to fail. And even fall flat on our face.
You know, there are many times in the life of the Church when intervention should be prayed for. When we reach a plataeu spiritually, we need to pray for the intervening power of God’s Grace. When it becomes clear we have failed God, we need to pray for the intervening power of God’s wisdom. When it becomes clear that we’ve hit a dead end, it’s time to pray. And pray for intervention. Remember what Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing…" Divine intervention is necessary -often! That’s how we get things done around here, we just keep praying for God to intervene. Because, humanely speaking, we are so incapable of pulling it off. We are so inadequate, and so in need of God’s intervention. Look at any Church situation from a human standpoint, and I’ll tell you it’s impossible. Even with the best leaders, a great location, and lots of money. Prevailing the Church is a humanly impossible task. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit and the divine intervention of Almighty God are we able to succeed.
Folks there is a big difference between a Church just prays and a Church devoted to prayer. I love how Fred Hartley III(Senior Pastor of Lilburn Alliance Church in Lilburn, GA)* describes it. He separated the two in order to show contrast. He makes the distinction pretty clear between Churches that are serious about prayer and ones that just dabble in it. Here’s the chart, lets just read through it.
A Church that prays:
1. Prays about what it does
2. Fits prayer in
3. Prays when there are problems
4. Announces a special time of prayer and only some show up.
5. Asks God to bless what it is doing
6. Is frustrated by financial shortfall-backs down from projects.
7. Is tired, weary, stressed out.
8. Does things within its means.
9. Sees it’s members as it’s parish
10. Is involved in the work of man.
Now read the following in contrast to the above list:
A Church devoted to prayer:
1. Does things by prayer
2. Gives prayer a priority
3. Prays when there are opportunities
4. Announces a special time of prayer- Entire Church shows up.
5. Ask God to enable to do what He is blessing
6. Is challenged by financial shortfall-calls for fasting and prayer, and faith.
7. Mount up with wings like eagles,
Runs and doesn’t grow weary, walks and
Not faint.
8. Does things beyond its means
9. Sees the world as its parish
10. Is involved in the work of God.
Conclusion:
What kind of Church are we going to be? Are we going to just flirt around and dabble in prayer? Or is it really going to become the means by which we get things done. I’ve asked the board to consider designating one of our vacant upstairs classrooms as an upper room prayer chapel, a place where there is a quiet atmosphere to go and pray. Jesus said it best when in the Gospel of Matthew, he said, "And my house shall be called a house of prayer." I can’t think of a more appropriate use of our time and space than when we retreat to an upstairs room, close the door and kneel before God at an altar. Try it, it works! I know it’s hard, but you know what I’ve found? When it’s hardest to pray, you have to pray the hardest! In the N.T. there was James the apostle. His nickname was "Camel Knees" Sorta like a surfer who has knobby knees from kneeling on board all day waiting for the right swell. James was a man of prayer so much they said he got these big knobs on his knees from spending so much time in prayer. That how devoted he was. So what’s it going to be for you? You don’t have to stay there all day long, but wouldn’t be nice to make more regular contact with God. Think of the peace, think of the results, think of the good it could do for your heart.
Now let’s practice what we preach. Bow your heads in prayer.
*Fred Hartley’s wonderful diagram can be found in "My house shall be a house of prayer" compiled and edited by Jonathan Graf and Lani C. Hinkle available through Navpress, 2001 pg. 9
