They all joined together constantly in prayer (Acts 1:14).
The first disciples of Jesus had witnessed powerful events--the resurrection and
the ascension of their Lord.
They had been commissioned by the risen Christ to an awesome task, serving as
His witnesses to the ends of the earth.
No wonder we find them on their knees "together"! Mutually dependent upon God,
they were mutually engaged in prayer.
1. "In prayer" they awaited the promised Spirit.
Jesus had commanded them to "wait for the gift my Father promised" (v. 4). He
referred to the Holy Spirit, who would cleanse them from sin and energize them
for service. They obeyed. While they waited they prayed. Jesus had earlier
taught them that God gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask (Luke 11:13).
Among other things, they likely prayed for patience to wait. It is never easy to
delay an exciting task.
And they likely prayed for receptivity to the Spirit. They must have been
dealing with anything that soiled the welcome mat.
2. "In prayer" they conducted a needed election.
Peter rehearsed the tragic fall of Judas, and declared that it was "necessary"
to choose a qualified replacement for the lost apostle. They "proposed two men,"
but did not resort to popular opinion or human wisdom to decide the matter.
Instead, they prayed for divine direction: "Lord, you know every one's heart.
Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic
ministry..." When God's choice was indicated, they accepted it without question
or dissent (vv. 24-26). What a lesson is here for all our church elections,
indeed, in all our church relations.
As a result of these prayer meetings the Church now had its basic structure and
its given message. They lacked only the power that would assure success to their
mission. That power soon came--on the day of Pentecost. We learn from this that
if we provide the channel God will send the power.
They devoted themselves to...prayer (Acts 2:42).
Underscore that word "devoted." Prevailing prayer never happens accidentally or
automatically. To pray effectively we must devote ourselves to prayer. Prayer
must be a daily practice in private and a frequent activity with other
believers. From the context of this statement we learn some vital lessons about
prayer.
1. Prayer was informed by doctrine: "...to the apostles' teaching..."
The apostles' teaching expounded the Old Testament and created the New
Testament. It is from the Bible that we learn the true content, intent, and
extent of prayer. Unless we understand the Scriptures, our prayers will become
spent emotions or empty rituals. The school of prayer has Jesus for its teacher
and Scripture for its textbook.
2. Prayer was enlarged by fellowship: "...and to the fellowship..."
Meeting together allowed the believers to know what God was doing in each one's
life. They knew what to praise Him for and what to petition Him for. They could
then strengthen one another's resolution and faith, thus making their prayers
more practical and effective.
3. Prayer was linked to ritual: "...to the breaking of bread..."
Many scholars interpret this phrase as a reference to the Lord's Supper. This
ritual, by holding before us the atoning death of Jesus Christ, provokes love
and inspires prayer.
Prayer includes thanksgiving, and thoughts of the cross should inspire
gratitude. Prayer includes petition, and thoughts of the cross should incline us
to pray for purer hearts and nobler lives. Prayer includes intercession, and
thoughts of the cross should prompt us to pray for those who need the Savior.
Prayer includes adoration, and thoughts of the cross deepen our adoration for
the Lord.
Devotion to prayer is linked here to the outreach and growth of the church: "And
the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (v. 47).
Let us devote ourselves to prayer. We couldn't ask for better reasons or better
results.
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of
prayer...(Acts 3:1).
Peter and John were men "filled with the Spirit" and "devoted to prayer" (2:4,
12).
They helped themselves by honoring "the time of prayer." We learn from them that
the Spirit fosters both spontaneity and regularity in prayer.
1. The time of prayer became the time of miracle (vv. 2-8).
At a temple gate the apostles were accosted by a crippled beggar pleading for
alms. To his surprise they gave him a hand up, not a handout. The lame man was
instantly healed "in the name of Jesus Christ." The power of Jesus' name was
channeled through men of prayer.
Without prayer nothing good happens. Through prayer anything good may happen.
Those who do not pray cannot be conduits of the love and power of Christ. If
Christians neglect the time of prayer, those who might have been helped continue
to suffer from unmet needs. Prayer is costly, but not praying is costlier still.
2. The time of prayer became the time of opportunity (vv. 9-26).
A crowd gathered and a message was delivered. A message was delivered and
salvation was offered. Salvation was offered and a multitude was saved: ...many
who heard the message believed" (4:4).
The miracle itself saved nobody; the message did. Peter would later pay this
tribute to the power of the gospel:
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,
through the living and enduring word of God. For.... "the word of the Lord
stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you (1 Pet. 1:23-25).
Prayer resulted in power released and people redeemed.
This story challenges us to be faithful to "the time of prayer." We will not be
effective when we speak to people about God unless we have been faithful in
speaking to God about people. God will work through the lives of praying men and
women.
They raised their voices together in prayer to God (Acts 4:24).
The Sanhedrin knew Peter and John as men who "had been with Jesus" (v. 13).
Having lived with Him they were men schooled in prayer. From them, therefore, we
may learn valuable lessons for our prayer lives.
1. Prayer was a response to threat.
"After further threats they [the Sanhedrin] let them go"(v. 21).
The apostles were ordered to keep quiet about Jesus, but they had prior and
higher orders to speak of Him (vv. 18-20). Now they are seriously threatened and
they wisely react. They do not resort to conflict or demand their rights.
Instead, they engage in prayer in Jesus' name. They followed the example of
Jesus: "...when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself
to him who judges justly" (1 Pet. 2:21-23).
2. Prayer was an exercise in unity.
"They raised their voices together in prayer." Being in trouble together, they
sought strength and courage together. Praying together maximizes clarity of
thought and intensity of faith. Special promises are given to those who agree in
prayer (Matt. 18:19-20).
Many things tend to divide Christians. Mutual opposition from the world and
mutual access to the throne of grace should unite them.
3. Prayer was a channel of power.
"After they prayed...they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the
word of God boldly" (v. 31).
Their mission continued in the face of threats. They bore witness to Christ
boldly, not safely. They would pay a severe price for their fidelity to Christ
and the gospel, but nothing could stop them for they had an inner power greater
than the outer pressure.
We too live threatened lives. We too have the resource of praying together. We
too can be filled with the Spirit and bear witness boldly to Jesus Christ.
Here are some simple but effective lessons to learn from this portion of God's
Word. When you are threatened, pray. When you are praying, trust. When you are
answered, witness.
We will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts
6:4).
Preaching and prayer have been linked together from the beginning of Church
history. To sever that link grieves God and retards growth. To maintain that
link is to assure the Church of the best possible preaching and the surest
method of growing.
1. Preachers need time to pray.
"We will turn this responsibility over to them and we will give our attention to
prayer..." (vv. 3-4).
All believers should pray, but those who preach should especially pray.
Time is made for their prayers by the delegation of other responsibilities to
other persons. The apostles were taught to wash feet; they wouldn't regard
waiting tables as beneath their dignity. They refused in order to devote their
attention to weightier matters to which other believers had not been called.
Only study and prayer can enable men or women to preach effectively.
2. Preaching and prayer are vitally connected.
"We will give our attention to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (v. 4).
Prayer opens the preacher's mind to receive the word from God.
Prayer supplies the preacher's courage to proclaim the word to others.
Those who have inherited the apostles' ministry of preaching have also inherited
their resource of prayer-and the responsibility to use that resource wisely.
3. Prayer is an appropriate means of consecrating others to their particular
ministries.
"They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid hands on them"
(v. 6).
By praying, the apostles recognized the value of all service to God. Nothing
done for Him is trivial; everything done for Him should be the subject of
prayer.
By praying, the apostles recognized the dependence of all servants upon God.
Just as it took prayer to make good apostles, so it took prayer to make good
stewards.
"So the word of God spread. The number of disciples increased rapidly..." this
is the ultimate reason and result of linking prayer with preaching and all other
ministries.
Stephen prayed... (Acts 7:59).
Stephen was a man of courage who became the first martyr for Christ. He was also
a man of prayer. The two facts are related.
1. "Stephen prayed" in obedience to Christ.
"While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed..."
In Matthew 5:44, Jesus commands, "Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you." Here Stephen is seen and heard practicing what Jesus preached.
Prayer didn't soften the stones but it toughened the martyr's spirit. Stephen
lived and died in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing and nobody could
force him from that path of obedience.
2. "Stephen prayed" in commitment to Christ.
"Stephen prayed, `Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'"
True prayer is not escapism. It does not exempt one from suffering. It does
enable us to trust ourselves to the Lord in the worst situations we face.
The dying Christ committed His spirit to the Father. Here the dying Stephen
commits his spirit to Christ. Our security lies not in escape or comfort but in
a personal relationship of loving and trusting the Lord.
3. "Stephen prayed" in emulation of Christ.
"Lord, do not hold this sin against them."
Stephen's concern was not for safety or revenge, but for the pardon of his
killers. His prayer recalls that of Jesus from the cross: "Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing "(Luke 23:34).
In his moving account of life in Castro's prisons, Armando Valladares tells of a
Protestant minister from whom torture could not compel hatred. When beaten he
would look into the face of his tormentor and pray our Lord's prayer from the
cross. Just before he was machine gunned to death, while prisoners were being
cruelly beaten, he once again echoed that prayer. His fellow prisoners called
him "the Brother of the Faith." Valladares said, "Very few men knew his real
name, but they knew that he was an inexhaustible store of faith. He managed
somehow to transmit that faith to his companions, even in the hardest, most
desperate circumstances." Only a praying man could so live and forgive.
When you are mistreated, pray and trust and forgive. Live and die in Jesus-like
love. How? "Stephen, full of the Spirit..." That's how! "The fruit of the Spirit
is love."
PERSECUTION, PREACHING, PRAYER
...they prayed for them, that they might
receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15).
"Great persecution" scattered the church, and the scattered "preached the word
wherever they went."
"Great joy" attended Philip's preaching in "a city in Samaria," where many
believed and were baptized.
"Great signs" attended Philip's ministry, attracting Simon Magus, a converted
magician.
At this point, enter Peter and John. Three references to prayer occur in the
record of their follow-up ministry.
1. Prayer was made.
Peter and John "prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit" (v.
15).
Following prayer they laid hands on them, and they did receive the Spirit.
The Spirit is God's gift in answer to prayer. The apostles did not control Him;
He controlled them. God sovereignly bestows the Spirit; church leaders do not
automatically confer Him in rituals.
2. Prayer was urged.
"Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord" (v. 22).
Greedy Simon Magus wanted to merchandise the Holy Spirit for his personal gain.
Peter rebuked him in sizzling words, and urged him to pray for pardon, unsure
that it would be granted.
3. Prayer was requested.
"Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me" (v.
24).
Scared witless, Simon Magus wanted someone the Lord had already answered to pray
for him. We are not informed that Peter prayed, or with what results if he did.
We are taught that praying persons receive prayer requests.
This story of evangelism begins and ends with references to preaching.
The scattered Christians "preached the word" (v. 4). Philip "proclaimed the
Christ" and "preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus
Christ" (vv. 5, 12). Peter and John "proclaimed the word of the Lord,"
"preaching the gospel" on their return home (v. 25). Preaching produced the
converts and inspired the prayers. That should tell us to pray much for
preachers and preaching
...ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for
he is praying...(Acts 9:11).
Saul persecuted Christians in good conscience, thinking that he was doing God a
service, for he regarded Jesus as a Jewish impostor and Christianity as a
dangerous contagion.
The shock of learning that Christ was alive and reigning from heaven blinded
him. Through Ananias he was instantly healed, and soon began his career as a
gospel preacher. Ananias was told, "he is praying." From this incident we may
learn these lessons:
1. When you can't do anything else you can pray.
Circumstances may forbid other activities, but one can pray anywhere, anytime.
This does not make prayer a last resort. For Saul it was a first activity.
2. When praying you can see with your soul what you can't see with your eyes.
The entry and activity of Ananias was not visible to Saul, but he had seen it
"in a vision" and was not surprised by what happened. We see farther and clearer
on our knees than on our feet.
3. Prayer helps to ready a person for the future, whatever it holds.
"I will show him," said the Lord, "how much he must suffer for my name." As the
Lord's "chosen instrument" to proclaim the gospel to Jews and Gentiles, kings
and commoners, Saul would be a man of prayer. From that communion with God he
would find the courage his life and death required.
4. Prayer, conversing with God, prepares us to converse with people.
Saul's first activity, after submitting to Christ, was prayer. His next recorded
activity was preaching. All who pray are not preachers but all who preach must
pray. Otherwise, their preaching will be powerless and fruitless.
5. Praying doesn't make one a Christian, but being a Christian will make one
pray.
Saul prayed daily as a Pharisaic Jew. He now prayed as a convert to Christ.
Christians do not monopolize prayer but prayer is one mark of a Christian. A
non-praying Christian is a flying giraffe--the creature doesn't exist.
Peter sent them all out of the room; then he
got down on his knees and prayed (Acts 9:40).
A highly publicized miracle enhanced Peter's reputation as a channel of divine
power (vv. 32-35). Logically, his help was requested when Dorcas died. A man on
his knees got a woman on her feet.
Three kinds of people emerge in this story.
1. Weepers.
Grieving widows "stood around...crying." Their grief was deep because their loss
was personal. She had furnished them with clothes in their urgent need. Her gain
was now their loss. Theirs was a natural reaction to their friend's death.
2. Prayers.
One is mentioned but others may be inferred. Peter knelt to express submission.
He knew that he could not reverse death, but he knew Jesus could. He had been
present when the daughter of Jairus was restored to life. He was expecting
supernatural intervention.
3. Believers.
"Believers and widows" is, in the Greek, "saints and widows." The NIV
translation, while inaccurate, is quite permissable. In the NT saints are made
by faith, not by works. The saints were certainly believers, otherwise they
would not have sent for Peter.
As a consequence of the miracle "many people believed in the Lord." Once again
we see prayer and miracle resulting in harvest.
Prayer lessons from this passage:
(1) When you are in sorrow, pray.
(2) If you can't pray with faith, send for someone who can.
(3) Pray in submission to God, recognizing your inability to supply the answer.
(4) The life that is given you through prayer should be spent in service.
He gave generously to those in need and prayed
to God regularly (Acts 10:2).
Cornelius was an exceptional army officer. He was "devout and God-fearing" and
had influenced his family and some of his troops to be like that. He was a
stranger to Christianity but prayed more and lived better than many Christians.
We can learn from him.
1. The value of regular praying.
The character of Cornelius was shaped by his communion with God.
The influence of Cornelius was strengthened by his communion with God.
What a person is and does owes largely to prayer or to want of prayer.
Praying people have an intimacy with God and an influence over others that comes
in no other way.
2. The effects of regular praying.
Praying opened his eyes. He had a vision and saw "an angel of God." The hour of
prayer became a moment of revelation. He received instruction and guidance that
changed his whole life for two worlds.
Prayer opens us toward God so that He can speak to us, teaching and guiding us
by His words.
Praying opened his hands. The angel brought him God's commendation for his
giving and praying. The two are related. True prayer is the spring of compassion
for the needy about us.
Prayer opens us toward others so that we see them and react to them as does God.
Praying prompted his obedience. Told to send to Joppa and fetch Peter, he called
two servants and one soldier and promptly dispatched them. When you talk to the
Lord you soon learn that He is in charge. Prayer is not a man or woman giving
orders to God; it is God giving orders to a man or woman. Prayer teaches us who
God is and who we are.
Of course, all we have said about what prayer is and what praying does has
reference to true prayer, not to all prayer. There were men in Jesus' day who
prayed regularly, but they were not gracious like God or generous to people.
They were selfish, grasping, pitiless men who played a major role in the
crucifixion of Jesus. Their prayers were empty rituals done for show and void of
blessing. But true prayer will have the value and effects we have listed in this
study.
Peter went up on the roof to pray (Acts 10:9).
Acts 10 records a vital segment of church history--the first Gentiles enter the
church. The church will be a union of Jews and Gentiles in a new community of
faith. It all flowed from prayer. Recounting the incident, Peter began with
these words, "I was in the city of Joppa praying..." (11:5). What flowed from
his praying can be summed up in these statements:
1. "He saw heaven opened..." Prayer brought revelation.
While praying, Peter saw the vision and heard the voice that prompted him to act
against his prejudices and visit a Gentile home with the gospel message. As it
had for Cornelius, prayer prepared him for new understanding. Praying people are
open to divine truth.
2. "He arrived in Caesarea..." Prayer brought guidance.
The Holy Spirit guided Peter's ministry and told him to go without hesitation
with the delegation from Cornelius. He dismissed whatever other plans he might
have made and obeyed the Spirit. Praying people are subject to divine direction.
3. "He said, 'I am only a man...'" Prayer produced humility.
Peter was a VIP in the early church. Once ambitious for place, he now refuses
the homage offered to him by Cornelius, saying, "Stand up, I am only a man
myself." He learned humility through communion with God. He regarded himself the
equal, not the superior, of others. Praying people shun human adulation.
4. "He ordered that they should be baptized..." Prayer preceded progress.
As Peter preached Christ, the Holy Spirit fell upon the listening Gentiles.
Peter learned that God would save the Gentiles without their first becoming
Jews. To refuse them baptism would be opposition to God. So began the worldwide
Gentile harvest of which we are a part. Praying people are keys to church
growth.
From Peter's experience and its consequences, we should easily see the
importance of prayer for our own lives. As we pray, God can teach us, guide us,
humble us, and employ us as instruments of church growth. Prayer enhances our
holiness and usefulness.
