Joining in Prayer
Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3
It is God’s will for His children in Christ Jesus to gather for corporate prayer. It is one of the very important ways of establishing and maintaining unity in the local Body of Christ.
In our daily lives, it is so easy to separate ourselves from other believers in the body of Christ. That is exactly what we do when we choose not to avail ourselves to corporate prayer. In Christ, every believer is part of the family of God. Just like your individual family members, which might include grandparents, aunts and uncles and even nephews and nieces, the local church is the more intimate expression of our larger family in Christ. If there is not the unity God intended in the local family, how can we ever expect that we will be one with brothers and sisters around the world?
- Jesus taught us to pray: OUR FATHER which art in heaven (Matthew 6:9).
- The great power in the early church is no surprise based on Acts 1. THEY ALL continued with one accord in prayer and supplication (Acts 1:14). Notice the words, “they all”. No one was missing. How often can we say that about our church prayer meetings?
- That they really did continue this way reveals one reason the early church advanced so rapidly and with such great power. And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and IN PRAYERS (Acts 2:42). And they, continuing daily with ONE ACCORD…
We must not fail to recognize that it was prayer that established a great unity in their midst. It drew them together and when God responded to their prayers, there was an unbelievable excitement among them. Together they loved God and they loved one another. When a brother or sister was in any kind of trouble or had any kind of need, they were on their knees together. This was the case when the Apostle Peter ended up in prison. God intervened on behalf of the local church faithfully praying. I have heard people say that God does not respond that way today. Stop and think about what they are saying. The answer to that statement is very simple — God’s people do not pray in the same way today. Should we really expect God to do more?
We need the same kind of confidence that the psalmist had when we pray. He wrote, “The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer” (Psalm 6:9). Do we truly believe that God will hear us when we pray personally or corporately? If not, then there is no reason to gather for prayer for it becomes nothing more than ritual.
Another matter related to this is the absence of power. Psalm 62:11 states that power belongs to God. If He is the source of power and we desperately need power in our churches, why is it we so little see the need of corporate prayer? Do we really believe that God is the source of power? Do we believe that He will distribute that power to us today? Acts 1:8 states – But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Then read the rest of the book of Acts and one of the things that really stands out is the power in the church. God honors obedience and gives enablement to those who choose to obey. Look at the word power in some of these texts – Acts 3:12; 4:7, 33; 6:8; 8:19; 10:38; and 26:18.
We all need to ask ourselves concerning what is taking place in most of our churches: Where’s the power? How about in your individual life? Is the power of God manifest in and through your life? Make this a matter of prayer and see what God would be willing to do in you and in your church.
George Stiekes held successful pastorates in churches in Michigan and Washington among other places. He currently resides in North Carolina and blogs at Reverent Reflections. We recommend his ministry and republish his material by permission.