They all joined together constantly in prayer... Acts 1:14
I had a strange conversation once with a man after preaching in his church. I can't remember now what I had been talking about, but I must at some point have touched on the subject of prayer. "You know," he said to me, "I don't go along with all this business of corporate prayer." I assumed he meant that prayer should be offered either "officially" from up front in a service, or individually at home. The idea of praying together in a small group seemed wrong to him.
I was rather taken aback - praying with others has been so absolutely vital to my life as a Christian over 50 years that I didn't really know what to say. But I've a feeling that many Christians, while they would probably never be quite as open as that man, in practice have pretty much the same attitude. The idea of praying with other Christians is alien to them. Go to a prayer-meeting? - what are you going on about!
Well, I think this verse teaches us better. It's talking about the members of the early church in that strange "gap" period between the resurrected Jesus ascending to heaven and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. But I can't imagine for one minute that it was a practice that ever faded out of the church over the years.
All the words Luke uses are worth thinking about...
"They all joined together..." This wasn't just the eleven remaining apostles. Indeed, Luke makes a point of continuing, "along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers." A few verses later he mentions an approximate number: "about 120". Praying together is for all Christians, not just the leaders or a select elite.
"They all joined together..." This suggests that they made a special point of meeting - it didn't just happen by chance. They may not have called it a "prayer meeting" in the way we might. But that's what it amounted to.
"They all joined together constantly..." It didn't just happen now and then. Of course, these people had other things to do in their lives, just as we do today - they had to do the shopping, look after their children, do their jobs. Life had to go on. But "constantly" implies that it was a real and serious commitment whenever possible. These people knew they needed to be faithful in prayer - and they acted accordingly.
All right, let's admit that starting to pray with others can be difficult. Let's be realistic - we may be be a bit shy, a bit self-conscious. But - and I'm talking now to anyone who has never tried it - once you have broken the ice and got used to it, it becomes entirely natural.
And people sometimes say, "But I wouldn't know what to say!" That's fair enough too. But there are at least two good answers. First, don't feel you have to say anything. Silent prayer is still received by God. No-one is forced to do anything they don't want to. Second, why not write a prayer out in advance and simply read it? Or read a few verses from the psalms or some other part of the Bible? Easy!
Let's admit too that gatherings for prayer aren't always the most exciting of times - especially, perhaps, on a wet February evening when there's a big football match on television. But never mind! God calls his children to pray, and that's it.
Praying with others is one of the great privileges of the Christian life. Even if, yes, it sometimes seems just a duty, the fact is that duties carried out for love of God have a wonderful way of turning into joys. And there is a closeness that slowly builds up between people who pray together which (and I mean this quite seriously!) is a tiny foretaste of heaven itself.
Praying together... It's good for the individual, and it's essential for the church. When all is said and done, it's just a group of God's children coming together to talk to their loving heavenly Father. God loves to hear his people pray!
Are you in some kind of regular prayer group? No? Well, may I put it bluntly? It's time you were! Why deny yourself one of the joys of everyday Christian living?
I had a strange conversation once with a man after preaching in his church. I can't remember now what I had been talking about, but I must at some point have touched on the subject of prayer. "You know," he said to me, "I don't go along with all this business of corporate prayer." I assumed he meant that prayer should be offered either "officially" from up front in a service, or individually at home. The idea of praying together in a small group seemed wrong to him.
I was rather taken aback - praying with others has been so absolutely vital to my life as a Christian over 50 years that I didn't really know what to say. But I've a feeling that many Christians, while they would probably never be quite as open as that man, in practice have pretty much the same attitude. The idea of praying with other Christians is alien to them. Go to a prayer-meeting? - what are you going on about!
Well, I think this verse teaches us better. It's talking about the members of the early church in that strange "gap" period between the resurrected Jesus ascending to heaven and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. But I can't imagine for one minute that it was a practice that ever faded out of the church over the years.
All the words Luke uses are worth thinking about...
"They all joined together..." This wasn't just the eleven remaining apostles. Indeed, Luke makes a point of continuing, "along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers." A few verses later he mentions an approximate number: "about 120". Praying together is for all Christians, not just the leaders or a select elite.
"They all joined together..." This suggests that they made a special point of meeting - it didn't just happen by chance. They may not have called it a "prayer meeting" in the way we might. But that's what it amounted to.
"They all joined together constantly..." It didn't just happen now and then. Of course, these people had other things to do in their lives, just as we do today - they had to do the shopping, look after their children, do their jobs. Life had to go on. But "constantly" implies that it was a real and serious commitment whenever possible. These people knew they needed to be faithful in prayer - and they acted accordingly.
All right, let's admit that starting to pray with others can be difficult. Let's be realistic - we may be be a bit shy, a bit self-conscious. But - and I'm talking now to anyone who has never tried it - once you have broken the ice and got used to it, it becomes entirely natural.
And people sometimes say, "But I wouldn't know what to say!" That's fair enough too. But there are at least two good answers. First, don't feel you have to say anything. Silent prayer is still received by God. No-one is forced to do anything they don't want to. Second, why not write a prayer out in advance and simply read it? Or read a few verses from the psalms or some other part of the Bible? Easy!
Let's admit too that gatherings for prayer aren't always the most exciting of times - especially, perhaps, on a wet February evening when there's a big football match on television. But never mind! God calls his children to pray, and that's it.
Praying with others is one of the great privileges of the Christian life. Even if, yes, it sometimes seems just a duty, the fact is that duties carried out for love of God have a wonderful way of turning into joys. And there is a closeness that slowly builds up between people who pray together which (and I mean this quite seriously!) is a tiny foretaste of heaven itself.
Praying together... It's good for the individual, and it's essential for the church. When all is said and done, it's just a group of God's children coming together to talk to their loving heavenly Father. God loves to hear his people pray!
Are you in some kind of regular prayer group? No? Well, may I put it bluntly? It's time you were! Why deny yourself one of the joys of everyday Christian living?
Dear Father in heaven, thank you for the wonderful gift of prayer. And thank you for placing me in a community of people who are my brothers and sisters in Christ. May we know the joy of coming together regularly into your presence. Amen.
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