Devoted to Corporate Prayer
Acts 2:42-47 (ESV):
42And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and
the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apos tles. 44And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
About 25 years ago in the church that occupied this building, before BCI moved in, we sup ported a pastor in an Asian nation. This nation had a dominant religion that was not Christian and occasionally the government allowed anti-Christian activities. One of those seasons had come again and I was reading stories of churches being burned, and individuals being killed in the national newspapers from that country. We were worried about our pastor and friend who pastored in the remote northern regions. So, we organized an all-night corporate prayer meeting to intercede for our pastor and friend. We sat right here in our sanctuary over here on the left side, maybe about 30 of us, on a Friday night and we prayed and prayed and prayed. We prayed until about 1:00 am then the pastor felt that we had thoroughly and effectively interceded for this need and we went home.
So, what was the outcome of our prayer? Did it make a difference? I will tell you at the end of this preaching today.
Many teachers and preachers will tell you that there are three kinds of prayer that we should incorporate into our lives as we follow Christ.
1. Personal prayer: This is prayer where we as individuals get alone with God and pray pri vately. Jesus did this and He is God. As in Mark 1:35: And rising very early in the morn ing, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
2. Family prayer: This is where family units gather to pray together. Ideally, this is facilitated
by the father. It builds unity and helps children build a foundation of faith.
3. Corporate prayer: This is when the church meets together to pray. Corpo rate comes from a latin root word – corpus. For example, Corpus Christi means the body of Christ. (And it is a city in TX.) As a church we are the Corpus Christi. The word corporate arises from corpus. So, when the body of Christ gathers for prayer it is Corporate Prayer. This is our focus for today.
When you explore this topic in the Bible, and you should, you will find that there are very few references to corporate prayer and only a very few corporate prayer events that are de scribed. So, we don’t have much information about what prayer meetings were actually like in the early church. However, we do see that it was an indispensable part of the infant church’s life. One of the reasons that we may not see many testimonials about corporate prayer meetings is that all religious activities in the days of Jesus, the early church and the first thou sand years of the church were all corporate. It was the only way believers could hear the word of God, teaching and prayer because it was not until about 500 years ago that the printing press was invented and Bibles began to be printed (and translated) for individual use.
In our text we see reference to corporate prayer:
Many consider this text as the model or guide for church life. It tells us that Christians were • Devoted to Bible teaching
• Committed to fellowship
• Eating together
• Praying together
• Filled with awe
• Witnesses to and recipients of many miraculous signs and wonders
• Sharing everything
• Generous
• Daily attending temple services
• Having favor by their community
• Growing in numbers
Clearly, community was important. Communal prayer was part of their church life. (And I am sure that you are happy to see that they ate together.)
Is corporate prayer important? And if yes, WHY?
- Corporate prayer has always been and will always be a part of worship to God. - Corporate prayer unifies believers
- Corporate prayer teaches prayer and faith as we listen to each other - Corporate prayer releases power from God’s hands for miracles and signs and wonders.
1. Corporate Prayer has always been and will always be a part of worship to God.
In the Old Testament:
We see the first reference to religious assembly when God gives instructions to Moses about how Israel should celebrate Passover in the future: Exodus 12:16 On the first day hold a sa cred assembly, and another one on the seventh day…..etc.”
Psalms 34:3 (ESV) “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” In the earliest days of temple worship God’s followers were called to exalt and worship God together.
In the New Testament:
Jesus taught us to pray corporately: Matthew 6:9 (ESV) [Jesus said] Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
The Lord’s Prayer does not start with “My Father, who art in heaven…”. Jesus intended prayer to be a corporate activity.
Mathew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them”. Jesus is specifically calling out group prayer and encouraging it.
After Jesus ascended into heaven and left His disciples to build the church they all stayed to gether and prayed together.
Acts 1:12-14 (ESV) “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is
near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had en tered, 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. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
Today:
Outside of the western world corporate prayer is practiced much more. In homes, in church es, in shops, in schools, in secret places where authorities will not come to arrest the believ ers, in prisons, wherever people gather. In places where there is conflict, poverty, hardship and struggle Christians gather frequently to pray.
While we were staying near Okocho in September we heard a prayer meeting at a residence next door very early in the morning. People were praying and singing before the day began.
Bishop Jerry can tell you about a secret prayer meeting he attended in China. He shared a video of it with us and you could see and hear the passion and the earnestness and the tears of the participants as they cried out to God in unison.
In Cambodia when you attend a prayer meeting you will hear everyone praying simultane ously in Khmer.
In the western nations things are a bit different. More and more churches in America have abandoned dedicated corporate prayer meetings.
Here is a quote from an essay published at a blog called Feeding On Christ. The title is: The Least Attended Church Gathering (25-April-2016). (by Nicholas T. Batzig, Church Creek Pres byterian Church of America, Charleston SC.):
“Last night, we had a sweet time of singing God’s praises and praying together as a church– prior to eating a meal. We do this once a month at New Covenant. This gathering serves as a monthly prayer meeting. The other times of prayer in the life of our church occur in our morning worship service and during our weekly/bi-weekly small groups. Most of the time, our monthly prayer meeting is fairly well attended. I suspect that it is, at least in part, due to the fact that we have a meal. However, it is a sad reality of the church in the Western world that the prayer meeting is “the least attended church gathering.” I have experienced this sad
reality first hand as a member of a church of 1000+ where 8 to 10 people would show up for the weekly prayer meeting. It didn’t take me long to real ize that prayerlessness is one of the foremost sins and symptoms of an ane mic church. I fight against this sin in my own heart and life. The end result of a prayerless church is that it inevitably becomes a powerless church.”
It has been our joy to see so many joining the zoom prayer meetings that we have on Thurs day nights. I am sure that our pastors are so encouraged to see and hear the prayers that are being offered up. If you have not yet joined one of those meetings then please do strive to find a way to join and you will be encouraged and strengthened by joining together with the brothers and sisters in BCI.
In the future:
Revelation 7:9-12 (ESV) 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing be fore the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks giving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
At the culmination of human history on Earth as we know it, people from BCI, from believing churches in Morris County, from our GBA churches, from all churches in NJ and the USA, churches from Cambodia, Myanmar, Macedonia, Jamaica, Haiti, Ghana, India, Philippines, Uganda, Thailand, Dubai, China, Mexico, Guatamala, Russia, France, and every other nation and language group in the world will be standing together worshipping and praying before God. Corporate worship and prayer is part of our destiny!
2. Corporate prayer unifies believers
Acts 1:14 (ESV) 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
This text says the disciples, the followers of Jesus, were together in ONE AC CORD.
Becky Harling wrote:
“As we converse with God and yield our hearts to Him, He brings our will into perfect alignment with His. As we pray together, our hearts are more deeply knit with God’s heart and with each other. We are given a glimpse of the unity we’ll enjoy in heaven.
Corporate prayer connects us around a common purpose; seeking God’s heart. As we seek Him together there is solidarity. We’re not all pulling in our own direction. Our prayers be come less selfish and more focused on God’s will and purpose for our lives and the lives of
others. As we pray as a unified group, with one heart and one mouth, we glorify the Lord Je sus Christ in a way that is unparalleled to any other method.”
3. Corporate prayer teaches prayer and faith as we listen to each other.
Those who are less experienced with prayer can learn to pray by listening to more experi enced or more mature believers. As new Christians we may struggle for words or for faith to pray with confidence. By listening to others pray we can learn how to pray in ways that align with God’s will. Instead of praying with ignorance we learn to pray with knowledge.
Charles Spurgeon said;
“We cannot afford to lose the help and love of our Christian family. Augustine said, “The poor are made for the rich and the rich are made for the poor.” I do not doubt that strong saints are made for weak saints, and that the weak saints bring special blessings upon the full grown believers. There is a fitness in the whole body. Each joint owes something to every oth er, and the whole body is bound together by what every joint supplies……
….This is probably the reason that many a weighty gift of heaven’s love is only granted to combined petitioning: so that we may perceive the use of the whole body and may be com pelled to recognize the vital union that divine grace has made and daily maintains among the people of God.”
Certainly, those who are newer to the faith can learn from
For example, allow me to share from my own experiences. Two believers pray for a sick church member:
Believer One: Dear Lord, our Sister Mary is diagnosed with serious cancer with a bad prognosis. We’d like to see her healed, but your will be done. And please don’t let her suffer as she is dying. Amen.
I respect the fact that the first believer here is submitting to God’s sovereign will. But God must be wondering what is being asked for?
Jesus, the Lord and King of all things, having all authority said to Luke 11:9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
We need to be clear about what we are asking for and we must believe that we will have it.
Believer Two: Dear Lord Jesus, Sister Mary has been diagnosed with a serious cancer and has a bad prognosis. In Psalm 103:3 you taught us that one of the benefits of a relationship with you is that you would heal all of our diseases. Furthermore, Lord, from all the evidence that you have given us in Your Holy Spirit inspired written word, we see that You healed everyone that came to You when you were on earth. And You have not changed. So, we have great con fidence both in your power and in your desire to heal. So, we lift up our sister to you and hum bly ask you to heal her. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Here the request is very clear and it is based on scripture. It is a prayer of faith. A prayer of obedience.
This kind of prayer can be learned by listening to others who are mature in faith.
Another way that we encourage faith is by vocalizing our agreements in corporate prayer.
John Piper in his typically blunt way wrote: “I don’t know how you feel about prayers, but oh how I wish I could loosen the vocal cords of my people when I am praying so that they grunt more, or say, “Hmm,” or “yes,” or “Amen.” Are you there? Is anybody there? Do you hear what I am praying? Do you agree?
You must signal your agreement in some way to me. Otherwise, you might as well not be there while I’m praying. I know the kinds of people who will re spond to me that way, and I like to pray with them a lot because when they say, “Mm-hmm,” “Yes,” “Hmm,” I know that they agree and they’re listening. They’re with me before the throne.
If they don’t do that, I wonder: Are they asleep? What’s going on here? So I’m looking for in corporate praying a togetherness that manifests itself in some way of communicating togeth erness, agreement, and affirmation. Those would be the operative words in that defini tion. Togetherness, agreement, and affirmation.”
This kind of affirmation encourages our faith.
Corporate prayer should be like a choir lifting up their voices with requests. The different members harmonizing, aligning together, agreeing, vocalizing, bringing a sweet sound to God’s ears. That is why being together physically is superior.
4. Corporate prayer releases power from God’s hands for miracles and signs and wonders.
One of the great texts that exemplifies this is found in the 4th chapter of The Acts of the Apostles.
Peter and John had been preaching about how the Jewish leaders had killed Jesus and this upset them so they were arrested and put into jail for the night. The next day as they stood before the highest Jewish authorities, they boldly condemned the authorities for killing Je sus. The authorities were confused about what to do to silence them, so they called them in and told them to stop and threatened them.
Then they were released.
Acts 4:23-31 (ESV) 23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lift ed 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 to-
gether 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. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to con tinue 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 bold ness.
What a prayer! They worshipped God and acknowledged His greatness and dominion. They described the situation they were facing. They did not pray to be delivered from persecution but rather that they would be bold, stand up to the threats and be a great voice for the gos pel. And how did God respond?
A. His presence shook the room.
B. The were filled with the Holy Spirit (again).
C. They continued to speak the word about God with boldness.
What happened when we prayed for our pastor’ in Asia?
When we were praying God led us to write a letter to the Prime Minister of that country, the Minister of the Interior and we cc’d a gentleman in the US State Department who was watch ing religious persecution in other countries. We collected 100 signatures from our church members and mailed the letter immediately after our prayer meeting.
We did not hear from our pastor until several months later when he came to NJ and stayed with us. He told us how tense things had been. He was getting threats. They killed his fami ly’s dog and left the dead body on their front steps. But then, shortly after the time that I had told him we were praying, a man carrying a machine gun came to his front door. Our Pastor opened the door with trepidation but the man said that he was sent to be his body guard. A body guard! He didn’t want a body guard but the man insisted. And so, as our pastor went to visit the sick or when he preached on the streets this man with the machine gun was always at his side. This was a wonderful answer to prayer but after a while the pastor had to tell him to leave because it did not look good for him to be preaching the gospel of love and salvation with an armed man standing next to him.
God answered our prayers and he was safe and secure for the remaining years of his ministry until God called him home with COVID in 2020.
In conclusion there are two things to remember:
1. We must and should participate in corporate prayer.
2. You can begin the journey of corporate prayer by joining our zoom prayer meetings on Thursday nights at 8 pm. 8-9 pm precisely. And this is accessible to all ages. Even children.