The Power Of A Praying Church

In order to be An Exhibition of God’s Power thru the Principle of Evangelism, We Must Have An Effectual Prayer Life. I submit to you that basically Acts 4 is an account of A PRAYING CHURCH. In Verses 23-31, Luke records the epitaph of A CHURCH AT PRAYER.

Some Wonderful Things Happened When This Church Prayed. Some Marvelous and Great Things Occured when All of the Members of this Church got on One Accord and Prayed. For when this Church Prayed, an Earthquake Shook the Building. When they Prayed, All Believers Were Filled With the Holy Ghost. When they prayed, They Began to Witness Boldly. When they Prayed, the Church Had Great Power, and Great Grace was upon Every Member of This Church - When They Prayed, Some Wonderful Things Happened!

And I’m Led of the Lord to believe that God’s Power Is Released In and Thru A Praying Church. The Power of God Operates Thru A Praying Church. Signs and Wonders, Salvation and Healing, Praise and Adoration, all take place within the context of A Praying Church.

We can either Pray, Believe and Receive or we can Pray, Doubt and Do Without! But God’s Power operates In and Thru a Praying Church.

There’s a church in Seoul, Korea that has been marvellously blessed by God. The pastor of that church teaches only Two Things: Prayer and Witnessing. In many other areas they may be short, but they are long in prayer and witnessing. Every Sunday the house is packed from Six in the morning to after Twelve at night; they have continuous service to meet the needs of all the parishioners - there is standing-room-only at every service. Often the pastor has to ask some of the membership to stay at home one Sunday a month, so that others may be recipients of the Word and salvation by grace. Now that’s a powerful testimony to what God can do thru a church that Prays and Witnesses. God can Fill Up Any House! However, the problem lies with us and not with God.

The pattern that we find in the Early Church is that They Prayed and Prayed Often! And it’s time for the Church to have a New Emphasis. Its time for us to enter into the Spirit of Corporate Prayer, to rediscover the Prayer-Meeting. Just as individuals are to pray, we are to pray as a church body. ’Course the Church hasn’t been doing that lately. We have been gathering, but we haven’t been praying!

Now the Church Has Always Had Problems, and will always have Problems as long as we are in this world. Getting the Gospel Out is a Problem. Getting Lock-Jaw when it comes to Witnessing is a Problem. Getting Spiritual Results from our Ministry is a problem. Mostly, there are carnal results; there are physical and fleshly results; but the deep work of the Spirit is seldom seen, and that’s a Problem! Finding the Right Leaders for the various Ministries of the Church is a Problem. We just don’t have sometimes the Right People with the Right Spirit and Motive to be placed over certain ministries, and that’s a Problem. Finances are a Problem. It zooms up and then it falls down. People give according to their Feelings, the Economy and their Likes and Dislikes, and that’s a Problem! The Lack of Love and Unity is a Problem. Then Disciplining New Converts is a problem. And then, Some People Fail to be Submissive, to give themselves to Spiritual Authority, and that’s a Problem. There’s only One Undershepherd over a local church, but sometimes we want to have our own separate ways, and that creates a Major problem!

But these are Not Critical Issues! They are a Problem, but they are Not Critical. The real critical issue is the prayer Life of a Church, and that’s the Problem. If the critical issue of Prayer is solved, every other problem will find a solution. Difficulties will soon disappear, Obstacles will be removed, when the Prayer Life of the Church is Powerful and Effective. When We Pray God Will Provide!

It so happens that A Praying Church Becomes A Revived Church. We’ll get in a hurry when its time to congregate; we won’t lag and drag and be 20,30, 40 minutes late: When we are Revived, we’ll be in a Hurry! When we’re Revived, Our Voices will Ring Out Loudly and Succinctly in Praises to our God. We’ll forget about our creaky and cracking voices, and we’ll zoom in on the Lord and just glorify Him, when We Pray. A Praying Church is a Revived Church.

A Praying Church is a Worshipping Church. That congregation that does not worship, does not pray! But if we pray, prayer will spawn spontaneity in worship. We’ll know how to lift up holy hands. We’ll know how to say "Hallelujah and Hosanna." We’ll know how to ’Stroke the Lord.’ We’ll waive when we aren’t speaking to nobody, scratch when nothing is itching us and run when nobody is chasing us. We’ll forget about everybody else and we’ll be in spirit and truth, and Just Worship the Lord! But Worship comes as a result of Prayer.