Corporate Prayer
Acts 1:14
Ill- On February 24, 1991, a lightning ground offensive was launched by the U.S. and allied forces in the Persian Gulf War. Its effectiveness shattered the defending Iraqi forces. Within days the world’s fourth largest army was crushed, tens of thousands of prisoners of war were taken and the conflict was ended. What explains this stunning defeat? For over a month a relentless air campaign had targeted the defending forces. Its strategic penetration had broken the defenders’ infrastructure and dissolved their power. These events speak a powerful truth about prayer for Christians today, as we seek to take our communities and world with the good news of Christ. We have weapons with "divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4), as "we struggle... not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12) Concerted personal and corporate prayer is our air offensive. An effective air campaign comes first. When it is waged and air dominance established, the ground campaign becomes effective and decisive. (Submitted by Jim Egli, Flanagan Mennonite Church, Flanagan, Illinois…Contributed to Sermon Central by: Brad Bailey)
We have been studying the subject of corporate prayer. Corporate prayer is our air offensive. Corporate prayer is strategically important but a subject of which we receive very little teaching. We have set aside today to broaden our thinking on this subject. The phrase corporate prayer is not used in the Bible but the concept is perfectly defined in Acts 1:14. Webster defines corporate as being “united or combined”. The lesson we learn from this verse is that there are times when God’s people come together in united prayer for a specific purpose. This is the air attack that should precede all spiritual offensive efforts. If we, as a church, are not united in prayer everything we do will be crippled. This is something God has shown me in recent years. If we are not united in prayer, no matter the project, we limit our effectiveness. This is a lesson all of us should absorb. Not matter what the project (revival, 40 days of purpose, lay renewal, fall festival, etc.) all of us who participate in our church should be of one accord in lifting the event in prayer.
I would like to discuss this subject by doing a simple two point sermon. First, I want to consider the requirements for effective corporate prayer. Then, I want to consider the results of effective corporate prayer.
I. What are the requirements for Effective Corporate Prayer. We see the requirements in the context of Acts 1.
A. The first requirement for corporate prayer is dependency. The early disciples had been stripped of all answers, all solutions, and all pride. It was within that context that they prayed together corporately. They were totally dependent on God.
We sometimes substitute other things for dependence on God.
1. Sometimes we substitute preaching for prayer. I am not saying preaching is unimportant. I am saying we sometimes put too much confidence in the ability of a man to do what only God can do.
“Does the Bible ever say anywhere from Genesis to Revelation, ‘My house shall be called a house of preaching.“ (Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire…Jim Cymbala…p. 70)
“Have you ever noticed that Jesus launched the Christian church, not while someone was preaching, but while people were praying?” (Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire…Jim Cymbala…p. 71)
2. Sometimes we substitute programs for prayer. Our churches become convinced that the latest program will bring fresh fire into the church.
“Part of our problem is that we have developed a religious industry whose machinery runs smoothly without any need of the Holy Spirit. A. W. Tozer once commented that if God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, most of what the church is doing would go right on, and nobody would know the difference.” (Fresh Power…Jim Cymbala…P. 123)
3. Sometimes we substitute things for prayer. We convince ourselves that a new church sign, a new bus, a new building, or even a new staff member will bring God’s presence.
B. The second requirement for corporate prayer is brokenness. These early disciples were perplexed, powerless, discouraged and disillusioned. I am going to make a statement that may sound radical to some, but it is based on the truth we find in this passage. “If you are perplexed, powerless, discouraged, and disillusioned---God has you right where he wants you.” God moves when brokenness occurs.
Ill- In his retirement, Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. Because Jefferson trusted that students would take their studies seriously, the code of discipline was lax. Unfortunately, his trust proved misplaced when the misbehavior of students led to a riot in which professors who tried to restore order were attacked.
The following day a meeting was held between the university’s board, of which Jefferson was a member, and defiant students. Jefferson began by saying, “This is one of the most painful events of my life,” suddenly he was overcome by emotion,
and burst into tears. Another board member asked the rioters to come forward and give their names. Nearly every one did. Later, one of them said, “It was not Mr. Jefferson’s words, but his tears.” Just like the student was moved by Jefferson’s brokenness, so is God by ours. (Contributed to Sermon Central by: Michael King)
C. The third requirement for corporate prayer is unity. Notice the phrase “all” in verse 14. Have you ever thought of all of the barriers that must be overcome in order to move God’s church forward? These are not necessarily bad, they are the facts of life.
1. We must overcome the barriers caused by preferences.
-temperature preferences
-music preferences
-Bible translation preferences
-sermon styles
-denominational preferences
The only way to overcome these barriers is prayer. We may come together on Sunday and be together but that does not mean we are united.
Ill- This is illustrated by the old story of the two cats. It has been said you can tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline. You will have union, but certainly not unity!
2. We must overcome the barriers caused by differences.
- each of us have quirky ways that make us
different
- each of us have different ways of doing
things
- each of us have our differences in the
way we dress
Ill- I saw a cartoon, which pictured a youth talking to a religious leader. The youth had spiked hair, an earring and a chain around his neck and all the trendy clothes. Apparently this youth had made some kind of religious commitment. The religious leader was standing before the youth and saying, “You know young man that this means you are going to have to dress normally.”
When you saw the religious leader he was wearing a bishop’s hat that rises up about two feet with a cross on it. He carried a staff and wore a robe and an enormous cross. You wondered what this religious leader meant when he said dress normal. We do not force everyone into uniformity. When we talk about church unity we mean a unity of purpose. We mean a focus on Jesus Christ that gives us a common bond together. We hold these things in common and we move in the same direction. (Contributed to Sermon Central by: Brad Beaman)
The reason God moved with such force on this group of people was because they were dependent, broken, and united. They put their preferences and differences aside to pray and seek God’s will. When they did, God blessed and God moved.
Ill- I thought of a group of people who did things with dependency, brokenness and unity. You know of whom I speak? It was the people who were aboard the Titanic. They were dependent on the crew for guidance and direction. They were broken because the Titanic was sinking. They were united because all of them were concerned about only one thing...living. When the people in God’s church unite in prayer and in that kind of spirit, God will do some awesome things.
Sometimes we base our support on the wrong motives. We support things if we like them. We support things if we agree with them. We support things if it is convenient to our schedule. As I look back over the past few years, some of the major spiritual events we have conducted are: revival, 40 days of purpose, lay renewal, a Challenge to Build Campaign, an associational revival, a mission trip to the Ukraine, and GROW outreach. Our support of such things illustrates the confusion of what it means to be a part of a church. Let me illustrate by reading a few sentences from our church covenant.
Having been lead, as we believe, by the Holy
Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus
Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and,
on public profession of our faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ as our Savior, having been
baptized in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now,
in the presence of God and this assembly,
most solemnly and joyfully enter into
covenant with one another as one body of
Christ.
We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy
Spirit to walk together in Christian love; to
strive for the advancement of God’s kingdom
and this Church in knowledge, holiness,
peace; and comfort; to promote its prosperity
And spirituality; to sustain its worship,
ordinances, doctrines, and disciplines;
According to that definition, if you do not support everything your church does in prayer, you may attend but you are not a member, in the truest sense.
II. The Results of Corporate Prayer
A. The first result of corporate prayer is urgency. Notice verse 10. When Jesus ascended into Heaven the Bible says His followers were “looking intently up into the sky”. They were wondering what went on! They were urgent to meet God and find His assurance, comfort, and direction.
Ill- A good illustration of urgency occurred in Toronto, Canada on Wednesday night. A jet was landing in the midst of a severe thunderstorm with 309 people on board. The jet overran the runway and crashed down a steep embankment. All of the passengers were able to get safely out. There was an air of urgency about those people. All of them were united in their efforts to escape and all of them were urgent to get out of the burning plane.
Urgency and passion are two of the greatest needs in our walk with Christ. A luke warm half hearted faith is a shame to be avoided in the spiritual life. If your faith is luke warm you should pray that God would give you a fresh urgency and passion.
-In Rom. 12:11 Paul urges believers to be fervent in their faith.
-In Rev. 3:14-21 John chastised the church at Laodicea for their lukewarm condition.
Ill- Jim Cymbala makes a convicting statement about passion: “The same people who want sixty minute worship services rent two-hour videos and watch NBA and NFL games that run even longer. The issue is not length, but appetite.” (Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire…P. 133) We need to pour out our hearts to God and ask that he give us a passion for Him and His work.
B. The second result of corporate prayer is unction. Webster defines unction as an anointing. These people were anointed with power, passion, and fruit.
Ill- Samuel Chadwick said in the early 1900’s, “The church that multiplies committees and neglects prayer may be fussy, noisy, enterprising, but it labors in vain and spends its strength for naught. It is possible to excel in mechanics and fail in dynamics. There is an abundance of machinery; what is wanting is power.”( Quoted in Fresh Power by Jim Cymbala. Taken from Samuel Chadwick‘s book The Way to Pentecost…p. 15)
