For the last several weeks, we have looked into the four major pillars of the early church’s worship together as a body. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42 NIV). Let’s look at Prayer now.
Prayer: When we talk about prayer, often we look at the power of prayer in our individual lives. But, how often do we think about the importance of corporate prayer in our gatherings? Lets look at a bit of evidence for this.
In Acts 12, Peter is arrested by Herod to please the general crowd. While in prison a messenger of God comes to him, tells him to get dressed, and has him follow— unharmed—out the prison doors without even bothering the guards. We then pick up in verse 12:
…he went to the house of Mary…where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and…Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her… But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. (Acts 12:12-17a)
Prayer is a powerful thing when we come together.