Next, our unity in prayer glorifies God because it is evidence to the world that God sent Jesus to be Lord and Savior of all.In Acts 4 the church began their prayer with worship: “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them…” Surely nothing can be more pleasing to the heart of our Father than seeing his children gathered together adoring his holy name.When the people of God pray together God is glorified, the church is strengthened, and God moves in power. Brothers and sisters, we also must be a church which is devoted to praying together. So the early church was devoted to prayer, and not only to the practice of personal prayer in which an individual disciple went into his room and shut the door in order to be alone with God, but also to the practice of united prayer in which the disciples worshipped and called upon God together. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.Īcts 13:1-3: Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.Īcts 2:41-42: So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Indeed, the book of Acts shows us that from the very beginning the early church was a church which prayed together.Īcts 1:13-14: And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. Instead, this united prayer in response to persecution and threats from the authorities grew out of the very soil of the church’s life together. This spontaneous turn to prayer was not a knee-jerk reaction to a frightening situation. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. After receiving Peter and John back from their imprisonment, and after hearing how the authorities had ordered the apostles to stop preaching about Jesus, the church responded by joining together in united prayer:Īcts 4:24-31: And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’- 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. What the early church in Jerusalem did next is extremely instructive for us, church, as we follow Jesus together today in the 21 st century in the Buchanan-area. These authorities then strictly ordered Peter and John – with threats – “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” and then they released the two apostles.Īfter being released, Peter and John returned to their believing friends – to the church – and told them what the chief priests and the elders had said. They were kept in custody overnight and interrogated the next day. Peter and John had been arrested by the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees.
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