One cannot read the book of Acts without being impressed at the amount of corporate prayer in which the church is engaged. In fact, the two priorities of Acts 6:4 are seen everywhere in the book: "the prayer and the ministry of the word." When these are working well, things like, an internal benevolence program, can really be beneficial.
I have often wondered if the reason the church today is not impacting society the way the early Christians did, is because of the lack of attention given to community prayer. The first disciples viewed prayer as priority. They prayed as if they really expected God to do something. Prayer was for them their connection to their leader - the Lord Jesus Christ! What blessings is God holding in reserve for his people when we learn to call upon Him as they did?
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4 comments:
Right on man. This is what I have been feeling and thinking. Our foundation must be right if all the fancy rooms and decor is going to work. This was a well timed sermon that I hope will continue to serve as a reminder to all of us as we continue on in this re-organizing, that unless the foundation is strong, the house will ultimately fail.
Oh, and how about that Lament song, wasn't that awesome. I needed that language as well. I actually need a lot more of it.
I have always been a little confused by the story in Acts that you used today. It says that they "raised their voices together in prayer." Does that mean they were all saying the same words at the same time? How did they know what to say?
I have never experienced "community prayer." It sounds like something that I would like to be a part of...if there ever was a chance.
Acts 4:24 says, "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God." I think this means that they were of one accord rather than they all started talking out loud and said the same thing! The same word is used in Acts 15:25, "So we all agreed to choose some men and send them ...."
I'm glad you've signed up for the prayer retreat. We will have some communal prayer time then.
I'm agree with Amanda on this subject. I'm not sure if i've ever experanced community prayer, and if I'm not sure, then I know i never really have. all your sermons have pointed us towards real prayers to our heavenly father, but what are the guide lines for comunity prayer? I also agree with what jeremy said, if we are to move forward with our prayers, we need to look at the past and see how the first christians did it.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you have planed for this sunday!
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