There was once a pastor who had a little five-year-old daughter, and the little girl noticed that every time her dad stood behind the pulpit, and was getting ready to preach he would bow his head for moment before he began to preach. The little girl noticed that he did this every time.
So one day after the service the little girl when to her dad and asked him, “Why do you bow your head right before you preach your sermon?”
“Well Honey” the preacher answered, “I am asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.”
The little girl looked up at her father and asked, “Then how come He doesn’t do it?”
I think all of us are like that little girl. We spend a lot more time asking God why He doesn’t answer our prayers, then asking ourselves what we might do to more greatly utilize this spiritual weapon we have available to us in prayer. So we are taking a 40 day look at living a life of prevailing prayer, and examining some Biblical keys to injecting our prayer walk with great, supernatural, Holy Spirit backed power.
In his book “Connecting with God,” Herb Miller tells the story of a nightclub opening on Main Street in a small town. Upon hearing the news, the only church in that town organized an all-night prayer meeting. The members asked God to burn down the club. Within a few minutes, lightning struck the club, and it burned to the ground. The club owner sued the church, which denied responsibility for the destruction of the club.
After hearing both sides, the judge said, “It seems that wherever the guilt may lie, the nightclub owner believes in prayer, while the church doesn’t.”
Prayer is a very powerful thing. . .but do we believe it is? Last week, we began with poor George sitting at a bar, at the end of his rope, and just desperate enough to turn to prayer as a last resort. What happened to poor George’s desperate prayer? Let’s find out. . .
(Movie Clip – It’s a Wonderful Life, prayers being offered up for George.)
George’s prayer from that small town bar actually had two powers behind it, and Clarence wasn’t one of them. Not only did it have the power of desperation which we explored last week, but the prayer also had the power of community. Countless other people, completely unbeknownst to him, were simultaneously lifting prayers on his behalf. And a key to experiencing prevailing prayer is to unlock the power of community.
The Associated Press carried an interesting story about a group of post office customers who succeeded in speeding up some slow-moving service. One man described it by saying, “It was like watching grass grow.”
There were 26 patrons jammed into two lines. They realized they weren’t getting enough attention, so a 73-year-old man organized the group. In an uncommon show of unity, the 26 shouted together, “We want service!” Two minutes later, another clerk ambled out and without cracking a smile said, “Next?”
Well, the 26 knew they were on to something, so they tried it again. You guessed it, one more clerk appeared. An amused customer summed up the situation like this: “I got through that line in 4 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it!”
There is great power in community. Power that can do a lot more than simply motivate some postal workers, cheer on a football team, or even fight crime in a neighborhood. It is a power that can result in mighty, prevailing prayers.
Turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts. Acts 12. We’ll begin right in verse 1(read through verse 4).
Just to be sure we know who we are dealing with here, Herod the king is Herod Agrippa I, the nephew of Herod Antipas who murdered John the Baptist, and the grandson of Herod the Great who had the children of Bethlehem put to death in his search for Jesus. Can you imagine the discussion around the table at their family reunions?
He reigned in the year 37 through A.D. 44, and was known for being rather incompetent and inept, especially in handling finances. But he happened to be in the right place at the right time. He had managed to flatter the eventual emperor, and thus won his favor and the opportunity to reign over a territory. That emperor was murdered in A.D. 41, and Agrippa helped Claudius ascend the throne.
So, of course, you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours, and Claudius not only confirmed him in his rule but added Judea and Samaria to his domain, thus granting him control of the same land which his grandfather Herod the Great had ruled.
Now Herod was not a Jew but an Edomite, and the Jews resented this fact, and Herod knew it. So to gain favor with the Jews, Agrippa began persecuting the early Christians, and had James, the son of Zebedee killed.
Of all Jesus’ followers, there were three in his “inner circle.” Peter, James, and John. Imagine the horror throughout the church when James was the first of the twelve apostles to die for the sake of the gospel. Being put to death “with the sword” literally meant that he was beheaded. An appalling murder that had to shock this young church.
How could an anointed apostle die so young? Where was God’s protection? If they can take him out, who is safe? And it was all simply an attempt by Herod to win the favor of the Jewish leaders.
In fact, James death went over so well with the crowd, that Herod arrested Peter. Peter had been imprisoned before. Twice before. And he had been delivered before. So this time he was placed under maximum security in the care of four squads of soldiers of four men each. 16 men to watch over him. Both of Peter’s wrists were chained. He had a soldier on each side. Outside his cell, two more soldiers stood guard.
The plan at the time of Peter’s arrest was to execute him like James. However, Peter’s execution was delayed because it was against Jewish law to have a trial or sentencing during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, better known as Passover.
So Peter is in prison, awaiting his execution. That is where we find ourselves in verse 5. A great verse. A great verse with a very common word, which becomes a word of great power. (read verse 5).
I love that word. . .”but.” Luke has painted this incredibly bleak picture. All the odds are against Peter. He is desperate. He is alone. He is doomed for death. “But. . .constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.”
I want you to notice three things about this verse, but first I want you to see the results of these constant prayers that are being offered. Verse 6 (read through verse 10). Now that is what I call prevailing prayer. That is the kind of stuff I want to see happen when I pray. But to see it happen, we need to look back at what we know about this season of prayer.
First, we are told that these prayers that are being offered up are earnest prayers.
I. THESE PRAYERS ARE EARNEST PRAYERS.
Look in your Bibles. Some of you probably have translations other than the New King James Version. That word “earnest”. How do some of your Bibles translate that word? Anyone?
Prayers that are constant. Earnest. Continual. Kind of ties us back to last week when we talked about desperation. Desperate prayers. These are not your grace before dinner prayers. This is not, “Dear Jesus, bless this food to our bodies, and help out poor Peter in jail. Amen. Someone pass the potatoes.”
There is urgency here. They know what has happened to James. And it looks like Peter is next unless God intervenes. Which brings us to the second thing we know about these prayers. They were directed to God.
II. THESE PRAYERS ARE TO GOD.
They aren’t trying to come up with a human situation when divine intervention is needed. They aren’t exploring man made options when the hand of the maker of man is needed. With nowhere else to turn. Death at the door. This early church in deep desperation, they pray to God.
And this third aspect is the one I really want us to notice today. . .
III. THESE PRAYERS ARE COMMUNITY PRAYERS.
The prayers of a unified body. In fact, my Bible uses the words “the church.” Not people within the church. Not different churches. There is a singular unity. “The church.”
I think that is significant. In the midst of this trial, and time of urgency, the body of Christ has not stayed in the seclusion and safety of their own homes. They haven’t taken an independent approach to this spiritual battle. They have come together, in community, and are offering up prayers as a single body. As “the church.”
I like how Max Lucado describes this passage. “It wasn’t a confident committee that prayed in a small room in Jerusalem for Peter’s release from prison. It was a fearful, desperate, band of backed-into-a-corner believers. It was a church with no options. A congregation of have-nots pleading for help. And never were they stronger.”
Verse 11 (read). So Peter has been physically experiencing this deliverance, but doesn’t really know what is going on. And he kind of snaps to, and realizes that God has once again delivered him from prison and certain death. So when you experience a miracle. When you come to your senses and realize that God has done an incredible thing in your life. What do you do? Verse 12 (read).
Peter thinks about what has taken place. He considers the recent events that have transpired, and he heads to the place most likely to be the location of the body of Christ.
Verse 13 (read through verse 15). Kind of like our opening illustration. A church prays that a nightclub will be destroyed, but doesn’t see any connection to their prayers when it happens. These people are praying for Peter’s deliverance, but aren’t ready to accept it when it happens.
Look at this. They call her insane. They say she is out of her mind. Tell me. Which is more out of mind? To tell someone what you see with your own eyes, or to pray for something without believe that it will ever happen? Which is crazier?
To say, “Hey, that looks like Peter.” Or to gather together as the body of Christ, seek God’s will and direction, pray for His intervention, and yet not believe that our prayers will ever be answered? Which would be a greater sign of insanity?
Even when they accept that there may actually be some being at the door, they figure it must be his angel. “Well, we have been praying. So, it is possible that God would send Peter’s angel to us. Right?” Come on. Why do we pray for the miraculous, only expecting the average? Or at best expecting a partial miracle?
Verse 16 (read through verse 17). I don’t often struggle with what to preach. God overwhelms me with sermon thoughts, ideas, and leadings. He fills my mind with words and truths from His word that we as the body of Christ need to be reminded of, and reflect on.
But I struggled with this sermon this week. Because every now and then pastors reach a point of saying, “What else is there to say?” We are largely a body of believers. Most of us have forgotten more sermons than we ever needed to hear. We have studied more truths from God’s word than we will ever have the time to apply and model. For the most part, the church of the 21st century does not struggle with a lack of knowledge.
So what divine inspiration can I find to convince us that our ability to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, and as a unified body of Christ hinges at least partially on our ability to pray together as a community? How many of us, if I asked the question this morning, should we pray together in community as the body of Christ, would answer, “Maybe. I’m not sure. Who says we should? I’ll have to study that first.”
But as I look at my own life, I ask myself, “When was the last time I invited people over to my home to pray?” “When was the last time I got together with a part of the body of Christ, and prayer was the central purpose or focus, rather than just window dressing?” “When was the last time I initiated a movement within the body of Christ to experience the Holy Spirit’s power in corporate prayer?”
How deep do we need to dig in Acts chapter 12 to gain truth we have yet to apply? Peter was in prison, but the church was praying. Peter was freed, and found the body of Christ gathered together, praying. Even though they weren’t expecting a whole lot. They were still praying. Earnest prayers to God, in community with each other.
While living in Memphis, TN, our family attended The Life Church of Memphis. An independent charismatic church that began when two couples and two singles graduated from LSU, and relocated together to Memphis to start a new church. They began in an apartment complex, holding a small group meeting. First in one of their apartments, and then later in the apartment clubhouse.
By the time we arrived on the scene, just a year or so later, they were running 120 people in a rented banquet hall. I had the opportunity to serve as the set-up coordinator for the church, and Debbie and I were Life Group leaders, leading a group of families that lived in our apartment complex. Allie was born while we were a part of that body. May provide some explanation for her vibrant, extroverted, charismatic personality.
Today the Life Church has hundreds of people worshiping in multiple services. They are about to launch a satellite campus in Collierville, a suburb of Memphis. In a few weeks, they will have a night of worship led by Reuben Morgan, worship pastor and songwriter from Hillsong Church in Australia. And they aren’t even 10 years old.
The church was featured in Charisma magazine, which provided the following profile information about them, “John Siebeling (the pastor), who is white, was frustrated when his efforts to create a racially diverse church in Memphis didn’t produce results during the first few years, especially since his "sending church" is African. (The Life Church was largely funded, and planted by Lighthouse Church in Nairobi, Kenya.) The steadily growing church remained mostly white, despite outreaches to a diverse population.”
"It did bother us," Siebeling says. "We wanted a church that reflected the community, but we were so far from that."
“After Siebeling had preached about diversity and the sin of racism, people in his congregation thanked him. At the same time, a personal friendship with a Hispanic pastor and an African American pastor created an opportunity for relationships between their congregations.
“In 2003, The Life Church of Memphis had three combined services with Aposento Alto, a Hispanic church led by Greg Diaz, and New Direction Christian Church, a primarily black congregation pastored by Stacy Spencer. Each church hosted a service.
Charisma goes on to report that, “Now, with a fast-growing attendance of about 800 (this was in 2003), The Life Church of Memphis is roughly 10 percent Latino and 10 percent African American, Siebeling says, and it has a small number of Asians. Siebeling is not sure exactly what broke the stronghold.
"It wasn’t my slick programming," he says. "The longer I do this, the more I have questions and not answers, and then God will just surprise us with breakthroughs."
Speaking of breakthroughs. They have launched a non-profit ministry called Breakthrough Memphis. Each week, groups of volunteers come together to take God’s love outside the church walls and into the lives of people in their community. Whether it’s serving a hot meal to homeless men and women, coaching an athletic team for underprivileged children or tutoring refugees and other non-native English speakers, they show God’s love in tangible ways.
They describe it like this, “Breakthrough Memphis is our non-profit community development organization designed to bring hope, help and healing to the underprivileged of our city. From tutoring refugees to hosting holiday dinners, Breakthrough Memphis is working to overcome barriers of cultural differences, poverty and isolation.”
This church has exploded, and made huge strides towards racial diversity in one of the most angry, hostile cities anywhere in America. Pastor John says that he is not exactly sure what broke through the strongholds, but I know. . .and I think he does to.
It looked like this back in 1997. Each Sunday, an hour before the worship service, the entire leadership of the church and all of us Life Group leaders met in a back room with Pastor John. He gave us a brief overview of the sermon, the follow-up discussion to lead our small groups through during the week, and then we prayed. We prayed in community for the majority of our time. And we prayed in desperation for God’s hand to move.
On Friday nights, the leadership of the church and the Life Group leaders would meet at a staff member’s home. There were minimal refreshments. A few songs. And then hours of desperate, community prayer.
While there we started a ministry called the “Arms of Life.” A pastoral prayer support ministry to help uphold the arms of our pastoral leader. A team of people praying together for Pastor John’s ministry, which has now expanded to preaching at such places as Hillsongs Kiev in Russia.
Now hear this this morning. I don’t share about the Life Church to say that I wish that was what we were. Though it sure wouldn’t be a bad model to follow, and there are some great things we could learn from them. I don’t share about the Life Church to say, “Look at all they have done in just 10 years.”
I share the story of the Life Church because I am a firm believer that their success and ministry expansion is a direct outflow of a commitment to be a community of desperate prayers. Not only individually in personal devotion, but corporately in unified sessions and seasons of prayer. Many led by the pastor. Many initiated by the laity. All participated in by the leaders and people with a passion to see God do something mighty in their midst. And He has, and is.
I know sometimes people can sense periods of frustration from me when I am in the pulpit. And I know many of you have never had the opportunity to experience anything like what God is doing in Memphis. Rapid, miraculous, conversion growth. Lost people coming to Christ faster than a church thinks they can disciple them. For many of us, Stonewall, or churches like Stonewall are all we have ever known.
But often my frustration is driven by an awareness that there is so much more that God has for us. We saw it at the Life Church in Memphis. We saw it at McKinney Fellowship Bible Church, from 150 to almost 2000 in less than the last 10 years. We have seen it at churches like Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX and Southeast Christian Church in Louisville. Closer to home in churches like Broadway Baptist that have more than doubled in the last 3 years. There is a preponderance of evidence that when the body of Christ joins together in desperate, community prayer. . .God moves.
When I look back at Debbie and my lives, I believe God provided us with those experiences to give us a taste of what He can do in the midst of a body wholly committed to partnering together, and hearing from Him.
So let me close with a few quick, practical ways to move towards unleashing the power of community in our prayer lives.
1. HEAR HUMAN PRAYERS.
When you are in a small group setting. When we open the floor during our services for others to lead us in prayer. Recognize that prayer is a purely human activity. The act of prayer is primarily our human response to God. And those responses carry all the uniqueness and personality of individual humans.
Forget having the “right words” to say. Forget about whether a proper formula is being followed. You may have to block out the constant repeating of “Father God” or phrases like “We Just want to.” Don’t get hung up in all that.
But when someone else is praying, concentrate in on the meaning of their words. Join them in the thought train, and the heart that is being communicated. Don’t see it as a time to check out. See it is a time to check in, and in community pray together.
2. PRAY ALONG WITH YOUR PASTOR.
Through conversation, it becomes pretty clear to me that often when a pastor prays during the service, that is another time when people just kind of mentally check out. There have been Sundays when I could tell people not only hadn’t heard my prayers, they didn’t even know I had prayed.
And when a pastor prays, it is often a single voice prayer, but it is also a time for community prayer as you listen in and affirm what is being prayed. You may affirm the prayers non-verbally by shaking your head, stretching out an arm, kneeling. You may affirm the prayers verbally with “Amen”s, “Yes, Lord”s, or “Thank You, Jesus”s.
When the pastor prays. . .when I pray. Don’t disengage. Join me as a community of prayer.
3. UTILIZE PHYSICAL OPPORTUNITIES TO FOCUS IN.
There was a day when the altars were not considered always “open.” They are at SWC. We even emphasize that they are from time to time. If you have a difficulty focusing during corporate prayer. . .come to the altar. Kneel in the aisle. Journal the requests and themes as they are prayed. Physically engage in prayer to help focus and strengthen your connection to community prayers.
4. ENTER PRAYER WITH A SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY.
Remember those poor people praying for Peter back at the house. It was great that they had joined together in prayer, but they weren’t very sure that God was going to be able to do anything. As you enter into prayer with others, expect that great things are going to happen. That will inspire, motivate, and even put an air of hope into your times of community prayer.
5. DON’T JUST TALK ABOUT PRAYER. . .PRAY.
Whenever a group of believers get together to pray, they run a huge risk of spending all of their time simply talking about prayer. You all have been there, done that. The group starts taking requests, and an hour later it is time to break up go home or to the service, and there hasn’t been any actual prayer. When you are praying in community, make sure you get to the praying.
And finally. . .
6. PARTICIPATE IN ALTERNATIVE PRAYER EXPERIENCES.
For example, Concerts of Prayer. We do them a few times a year here at SWC. They will help you learn how to utilize scripture in prayer. Song in prayer. Meditation in prayer. And it is all done in community. With other believers. With family and friends.
When you have the opportunity to join with others in prayer. . .take advantage of them. If you don’t have a strict work schedule on Fridays. . .join me at La Roca for the monthly time praying for our city. Find opportunities to experience prayer in community, in unique and different environments than you have before.
The central Kentucky church of 2006 cries out for God to save our cities. To defeat darkness. To bring victory in our communities. But when the body of Christ has the opportunity to gather together for a weekly lunch time of prayer and worship in the Kentucky Theater, or a monthly prayer gathering at LaRoca, or a memorial service at Rupp. . .we are almost nowhere to be found.
We talk about wanting to get back to the New Testament church, but do we understand that it was a church that committed hours, days, even weeks to gathered, community prayer? There is great power in community. When we learn to pray together, we will begin to experience prayers that prevail against the struggles we are facing in our lives.
There is an often quoted little phrase. It’s on plaques, bumper stickers, bookmarks. The family that prays together, stays together. It works for the body of Christ as well. The family that prays. . .together. . .stays. . .together. And can do mighty things in the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Have board members and vision team members lead cluster groups throughout the worship center in five minutes of community prayer.)
