Learning to Pray Like the Apostles (Part 2)

In a previous post we looked at some ways in which the believers of the early church in the Book of Acts were devoted to prayer as one of their fundamental practices. Through prayer they commissioned workers to the mission field, whether deacons, elders, or missionaries. Through prayer they witnessed effectively to the grace and love our Jesus Christ, as we saw in the case of the martyr Stephen and the murderous Saul who witnessed both the unjust death and the enduring faith of Stephen. We were reminded how prayer must be employed as a weapon of spiritual warfare, to the end that God would grant us a bold and effective articulation and defense of the gospel as good ambassadors of Christ. In this post we wrap up our look at prayer in the Book of Acts with some final observations that we can put to practice in our own spiritual lives.

Devote Yourself to Praying With Other Believers

For starters, it is important that we take note that in the majority of cases where prayer is mentioned in Acts, it is in the context of corporate prayer. That is, prayer in the Book of Acts is frequently viewed as something done with other believers. Now don’t misunderstand, I do not say this as a way to undermine the importance of individual and personal prayer. Not at all. We see instances even in Acts where individuals are devoted to prayer outside of any obvious context of corporate worship. Here I am thinking of Acts 9:11 where the Lord instructs Ananias to minister to Saul of Tarsus, who was just confronted by the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, and who, the text says, “is praying and has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” We might also make mention here of Acts 10 and the story of Peter and Cornelius, two very different men about to meet up in a divine appointment, but who are both first meeting individually with God through prayer. So it is clear that individual prayer is honored and practiced in the Book of Acts, and thus we do not and should not diminish prayer in that sense. On the other hand, I also wish to emphasize the corporate aspect of prayer as practiced in the early church to underscore something that is often neglected in our spiritual lives: our interdependency with other members of the body of Christ and the reality that God often works through the body of Christ as a whole, not just one on one as individual believers. 

There are a number of cases where prayer is mentioned in the corporate sense. These instances, in fact, comprise the lion’s share of the citations of prayer in Acts. The first mention is in 1:24, a passage we looked at two weeks ago, in which the Eleven remaining apostles joined together to seek the Lord for a replacement for Judas. The next occurrence is toward the end of chapter four. After Peter and John were apprehended and later released for the “crime” of preaching in the name of Jesus, we read in 4:23-24 that “they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted up their voices together and prayed.” In chapter six, which we looked at last week, the twelve main spiritual leaders of the church gathered together and corporately commissioned the newly-ordained deacons to the work of taking care of the physical needs of the church. 

In one of the more authentic and humorous glimpses into human capriciousness, Acts 12 records a corporate gathering where those praying apparently did not believe they’re prayers were going to be heard! Here is what happened: after having James executed, Herod the king proceeded to arrest and imprison Peter. Upon hearing this, the believers bolted into action, and “earnest prayer for Peter was made to God by the church.” (12:5) Well, in an apparent case of our glorious God going beyond our modest expectations, the Lord heard the prayers of the gathered community of believers and miraculously delivered Peter from his prison cell. Peter, once he realized he was not dreaming, “went to the house of Mary…where many were gathered together and were praying.” It seems obvious enough that they had joined together to petition God for Peter’s release and safety. But when the servant girl reported to them that Peter was standing at the door, they exclaimed, “You are out of your mind.” (12:15) What a candid look at the variability of our faith!! One would think that the church was gathered at Mary’s house because they truly believed that God would actually hear them and answer on their behalf. Yet, when it became obvious that God did in fact hear them and answer their prayer for Peter’s deliverance, they stood there incredulous and amazed! 

Skipping over one of the passages we looked at last week in chapter 13 where Paul and Barnabas were commissioned to the mission field, we come next to Acts 20. Here we find one of the more emotional scenes in all the New Testament as Paul, knowing that personal endangerment  awaited him back in Jerusalem, exchanged tearful goodbyes with the believers at Ephesus as he made plans to head there anyway. After instructing the elders to keep careful watch for the flock, Paul “knelt down and prayed with them all.” (20:36) Here we see an instance not only where prayer is a church-wide event, but also the most appropriate way for believers to depart from one another while at the same time acknowledging that our deepest bond with one another is in the Lord. 

Time fails to mention all the cases, but suffice it to say that all in all, close to 60% of the mentions of prayer in Acts are instances of corporate prayer – the church gathering together and joining hearts before the throne of God. This brings to mind something that Paul wrote to the church at Philippi. In chapter one of Philippians we read, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

That word “partnership” is the word that we often translate “fellowship.” “Partnership,” however, seems to convey the meaning of the word quite well. Paul is commending the Philippians because they corporately participated in the advancement of the gospel. We see at least six ways that participation was lived out in the Philippian church. Their partnership together in the gospel involved defending the gospel, living worthy of the gospel, suffering for the gospel, laboring for the gospel, providing for the gospel, and rejoicing together in the fruit of the gospel. These are notable exhortations that should apply to every single local church even today. We should all be doing these things – participating together in these things.

On top of these, one practice that we could add to this list by way of our observations from the Book of Acts would be that we should be praying together for the advancement of the gospel. After all, the propagation of the gospel from Jerusalem and Judea to Samaria and the remote places of the earth is the very theme of the Book of Acts. We find this doctrinally in Jesus’ last recorded instructions to His disciples in chapter one of Acts. Then we witness it historically throughout the next 27 chapters. And we have seen some of the ways in which the gospel was thus spread – through men and women who were filled with the Spirit of God and who came together in the Lord petitioning Him that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven – through them.  

Much of the New Testament is written not to individuals alone, but to local assemblies of individual believers who are joined together by a common bond in Christ and united together in one purpose. We as the church have been given marching orders by our Commander. Each local church might have a unique personality, a particular emphasis, a distinctive mission. But every true church of Jesus Christ, at least from a biblical perspective, falls under the umbrella of one ultimate purpose: to live out our lives together – in the words of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians – to the praise of His glorious grace. One way that we do that is to share that glorious grace – that is, the gospel – with those around us who are in need of the grace of God in their lives. And one way that we come together to unite in and advance that purpose is corporate prayer. 

All of this can be summed up by two basic ideas. First, when we come together to unite our hearts in prayer, let us be ever mindful of the charge that has already been given to us concerning the advancement of the gospel, and that prayer is an indispensable means by which God both emboldens the one who proclaims the truth and opens the eyes of the blind to hear that truth. If we wish to be a church that wins the lost to Christ, then we must pray together towards that end. In other words, a top priority in our corporate prayer life, just as it was for the church in Acts, must be to see others come to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Second, as simple as it sounds, we must come together in the first place!  What do I mean by this? Well, this takes us back to the point we were making earlier: we are being fashioned together as Paul puts it in Ephesians 2:21-22, into a “whole structure, being joined together, and growing into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Now just to be clear, Scripture is very balanced on this point. In no way does Scripture minimize the spiritual life of the individual believer. Far from it! In fact, Jesus Himself commended personal, private prayer when He said, “when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6) The Christian faith, while extolling the virtue of the spiritual community, does not at the same time obliterate the value of personal devotion. It honors and commends both. For our purposes today, however, we want to emphasis the often overlooked biblical reality that we are called to regularly join together with like-minded believers, united in purpose and mission, to call upon the Lord as the body of Christ that He might do mighty things through us and in our midst. As we see throughout the Book of Acts, God delights in bringing us together that we may share in the life of the Spirit together. In other words, the Scripture exhorts us to be an active and contributing part of a local, bible believing church. I realize that may be difficult for many, whether owing to a physical liability, a job-related conflict, or other, more personal reasons. But as far as it depends upon you, I encourage you to find a church on a mission where believers are devoted to praying together for one another and for the advancement of the gospel. I truly believe that while God desires and indeed establishes a personal, intimate relationship with all of His children, He also seeks, as the Book of Acts attests, to relate to us together as the body of Christ.