Prayer

Prayer is exemplified throughout the book of Acts. Prayer was done together in homes, in the temple, in the outdoors and in prison. It was a daily exercise. It happened together. Prayer is part and parcel of the life of the church. Without prayer there is no church. It keeps the Church aligned with Christ. The Holy Spirit communicates to the church and for the church through prayer.
The sophisticated Twenty-First Century has gift inventories, personality tests, leadership tests, and church marketing gurus. There are tools to help define mission, vision, strategy, and target groups. There are pastors for youth, children, assimilation, evangelism, visitation, music, etc. All the tools may be present; all the right people in the right ministry positions. But, if there is no Holy Spirit induced power, then the church is just one more well organized club. Something is amiss in a society that claims belief in God, but where church attendance is on the decline. One key to renewing and reviving the church is corporate prayer.
Personal prayer and devotion is an important emphasis in the church. But corporate prayer must also be part of the focus. Most of the churches this writer is familiar with have some sort of prayer meeting. Most are not well attended. Where the size of the church building may require a congregation to have more than one service to accommodate a Sunday morning crowd; prayer meeting may garner only 30% or less of the congregation.
Why is praying so important? E. M. Bounds said, “The prayers of God’s saints are the capital stock in Heaven by which Christ carries on His great work upon the earth.” Prayer is part of the believer’s participation in Kingdom work. It connects earthly and Heavenly Kingdom together. What keeps a believer, as part of the Body of Christ, connected to the head, if it is not prayer? How little advantage is taken of the opportunity to converse with Father God. Is part of the problem a sense of inferiority and intimidation when it comes to God? The point is, He chose us; we did not choose Him! Jesus taught the disciples to pray because they asked Him to do so. They understood the necessity to learn to pray. God gave His people permission to call on Him. James instructs that prayers are not answered because they must be uttered with right motives and they first, must be prayed.
Leonard Ravenhill recounts a story from the life of Charles Finney. When Finney went to Bolton, England to preach, two of his friends, Fathers Nash and Clery rented a basement in a cottage for the duration of Finney’s meetings. There they prayed for Finney and the meetings. The point of this story is two-fold. Great preaching still needs prayer. And, agreeing with someone else in prayer has powerful results. The disciples were together in one accord when the outpouring of the Spirit came (Acts 2:1). Peter’s release from prison was gained because the church was praying (Acts 12). Paul and Barnabas were sent on a ministry journey when the church was worshiping and praying together (Acts 13:2). Paul and Silas were set free from prison because they were worshiping (Acts 16:25,26)Corporate prayer is an essential part of the Kingdom work.