Sermon # 29 - The Power Of Corporate Prayer Series

For our meditation I have chosen Act 4:31,“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness.” (AFV)

It is a fact that whenever we as a church gather and pray together, there will be a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit. We may not comprehend the power that is there in our coming together, but the devil is well aware of this, and that is why the doors of the church were closed for a season. As the churches were shut during the pandemic, it was an impossibility for many to gather together, and pray together for many months. Now that everything is back to normal it is extremely crucial that we as believers should gather together to pray together.

In some cold places people light a fire to warm themselves. There is a huge difference when there are just four logs burning, as against having four hundred logs burning together. I would like us to concentrate on this aspect of joining together to pray.

The church prayed for Peter

We read in Acts 12:5, “So Peter was kept in jail, but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him.”(GNB)

Peter was a disciple of Jesus who had learnt many things from Jesus. He preached the word of God boldly, and was filled with the Holy Spirit. However, when Peter was thrown into prison, the word of God was hindered from being preached to those outside. In such a crisis the church gathered together, and fervently prayed to God for Peter’s release.

It is a fact that whenever those who preach the word are being stopped, there is a group of people who are passing by without having the opportunity to hear the gospel being preached to them.

The outcome of their prayer

This was the result of the earnest prayer of the church as recorded in Acts 12:6-7, “One night, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two of the soldiers. More soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. Herod was planning to bring Peter out before the people the next day. Suddenly an angel of the Lord was standing there, and the room was filled with light. The angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him up. The angel said, “Hurry, get up!” The chains fell off Peter’s hands.” (ERV)

King Herod had planned to put Peter to death, and he had specified a day for that. When the church heard of this they gathered together, and prayed about this most fervently. As they prayed the angel of the Lord who is in the very presence of God, came and stood beside Peter inside the prison cell. This was the outcome of the prayers that were being offered by the church that day.

Whenever we gather together to pray in the midst of all our troubles, we are literally bringing down the powers of heaven into these situations. We are in a way through prayer linking the Kingdom of God with our earthly troubles and hardships, and when we do so there will be a shaking and a deliverance. Many families are not able to pray together, and no wonder then that there are many issues that families are grappling with. We join together to go on trips, for weddings, and other functions, but sadly are unwilling to come together to pray. People cite many excuses for this, but let me let us be cautioned that every time we fail to pray together, we are opening up the door for Satan to have a foothold in our lives.

Here are some things that happened when the angel entered the prison room that day.

1. The room that Peter was kept in was filled with light.

Every time we pray we can be sure that the darkness will turn to light, just as it did in Peter’s cell. This is the working of the Almighty God who when the earth was created, the first thing that He did was to bring light to world that was engulfed in darkness. Be sure that when the Lord intervenes in our situations, He will bring light to all that is dark and dismal.

2. The angel tapped Peter on his side and woke him up

Those who are asleep need to be woken up out of their sleep. There are so many around us who do not know who Jesus is, why He came to this world, and that His blood can redeem and cleanse us from all our sins. Such people are in a kind of slumber, and they need to be woken up.

3. Peter’s chains fell off his hands