Jesus taught his disciples to pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. His disciples prayed for the Holy Spirit to come, and when the Holy Spirit came on men and women and for people of all nations and ages, they were filled with a new love and spiritual power. Prayer was one of the four key distinctives of the first century church. Acts 2:42 says 'They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.' Oswald Smith, a great evangelist, said simply: ‘When we work, we work. When we pray, God works.’ It matters that you know how to pray.
Prayer was the heartbeat of the early church and they lived a lifestyle of prayer, with prayer mentioned in 20 of the 28 chapters of Acts. For us to also see great things, prayer must be at the very heart of our lives and families and in this church. We can only bring change to the world when we are humble enough and hungry enough for God to know that we must pray. Do you pray to the Lord every day with all your heart? Do you talk to Him and more importantly do you listen to Him? We see how we should pray by looking at the example of how the first Christians prayed:
1. They prayed in unity (Acts 1:14: men, women, leaders, disciples, Matt. 5:23-24)
2. They prayed passionately (James 5:16-17; Acts 4:23-24)
3. They prayed Biblically
• They prayed according to the Word of God (Psalm 2:1-2)
• They prayed in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:30)
4. They prayed continually (Acts 1:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18)
5. They prayed specifically (Acts 12:1-5)
6. They prayed boldly (Acts 4:29-30)
7. They prayed effectively
• The Holy Spirit was poured out when they prayed (Acts 2:1-4)
• There were healings when they prayed (Acts 3-4)
• There was a great shake up when they prayed (Acts 4:31)
• There was new direction when they prayed (Acts 10)
• There was supernatural intervention when they prayed (Acts 12:5-12)
• There was a release of powerful new leaders and new growth in ministry when they prayed (Acts 13:3)
Apply
Do you pray to the Lord every day with all your heart? Do you talk to Him and more importantly do you listen to Him? In the early church, everybody prayed. It wasn’t just some of the people but all of the people. It was not just about personal devotions but about united prayer. Of course it is important as Jesus taught to find our own place and space to pray but there is great power when the whole church prays together: men, women, leaders and disciples. If you want to become a strong Christian and disciple, you must pray every day and pray with your brothers and sisters. To have a powerful prayer relationship with God we must be in right relationships with our families and others in the church family. When our hearts are right with one another and there is no unforgiveness or judgement, then we can pray together with confidence that we will be blessed by God. We must also pray passionately: there is a place for silent prayer and meditation, but we also need to stop being passive and open our mouths and raise our voices. We must raise our voices in prayer before raising them in society.
Do you pray according to the Word of God and in the name of Jesus? Do you pray continually, specifically, boldly and effectively? When the early church prayed, they knew they were addressing the great Creator God, ultimate ruler of the universe, the sovereign Lord and King of Kings who keeps His covenant through all generations. We too must know and pray the word and promises of God, as well as to understand and apply the authority of Jesus when we pray. Jesus taught his disciples to pray daily for bread and the early church practiced and taught that we should always pray. Your prayers can be specifically for answers that you need, praying for particular situations and individuals. When we understand that we are praying to the God who is in control of everything, we can ask big prayers from God. He can do far more than we can ask or imagine. Through prayer we can experience a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit; healings; a shaking up of the old; new direction; God's intervention in our circumstances; and bring great power and growth in ministry.
Do you know how much you will change and how many situations will change when you pray? Do you want to decide to live differently by living a lifestyle of prayer? Prayer is so powerful which is why the early church overcame so many problems and grew rapidly. Prayer has always been outstanding in every move of God through history. This is why we need to develop personal prayer, prayer in families, prayer in groups, and prayer as a church. We all need to be much more spiritually sensitive and empowered to face every challenge in life and in the world. Pray and humbly repent for where you have been prayerless. Repent for where you listen to voices of people in the world and not the voice of God. Make a vow to the Lord to be more faithful in prayer. Whether you are a new Christian of have known the Lord for many years, pray to invite the Lord be first place in your life. Pray now for the Holy Spirit to fill you with a new love and desire for prayer.
