Some wonder why church community prayer is important. They wonder if corporate prayer is really emphasized in the Bible at all.
Yet Jesus wants his church to be a "house of prayer" (Matthew 21:31). In fulfilling the five purposes of the church -- worship, evangelism, discipleship, fellowship and ministry -- prayer surrounds and envelopes and bathes them all.
Our Lord taught us to pray: "Our Father . . . give us today our daily bread . . . forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." All plurals.
We also see in the Acts 1 how the church was gathered together with united hearts and minds in one place praying together in community -- "all joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14).
Then in that atmosphere of prayer, the Holy Spirit came upon them in Acts 2, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And the church exploded with power and expanded with people.
Let me invite you for the next 30 days to pray about praying! To pray something like this:
"Lord, teach me to pray. Lord, teach us to pray. Breathe new life into my stale prayer life. Lead our church community to form fresh avenues and structures for prayer. Grant me, and our church family, a fresh spirit of prayer!"
30 days to pray about praying. A 30-day prayer experiment. A 30-day spiritual adventure. I wonder what God will do!
Tell me what you sense the Lord saying to you about prayer. . . .
I am being challenged by God to pray. To pray more often and for longer periods, to pray more intimately, to pray for others, and to pray as a way of worshiping and honoring Him. I know for experience how wonderful it is to pray in the midst of difficult times, and so, when my life's journey takes a rather rough road I pray. I those moments I pray incessantly and fevorously, and I trust the Lord and He, in His infinite mercy, responds. Now God in challenging me to also pray, as incessantly and fervorously, when things are going fine and when my life is constantly being blessed. That is a tough thing to do, because when things go fine I often forget that I still need Him as much.
ReplyDeleteGod is the one who stirs us to pray, Marian. Responding to the nudges by the Holy Spirit is important.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you succeed in this challenge that you have taken upon yourself and that people come to church for 30 consecutive days to learn about the importance of prayer.
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