For the next four Sundays in our church we plan on looking in some detail into the Scriptures asking God to teach us to be a church that prays. I plan to add to the sermons during these four weeks by posting blogs on this website on the subject of prayer.

I am convinced that we are not yet experiencing all that God has for us as a church. I know that this is somewhat subjective. I can’t measure it exactly. But I think it is true.

When I say this, I do not mean that we are not seeing the blessing of God on our lives as individuals or as a church. God is indeed blessing us!

But I think that there is more to come.

And how do we line ourselves up with the purposes of God? Through Christ enabled, Word lead, Spirit empowered prayer.  And might I add, this prayer needs to be together.

We in America tend to look at certain verses in the Scripture that speak of prayer and immediately assume that they are talking about praying individually. Some of them are. But some of them are not. Our culture programs us to try to apply the teachings of Scripture to ourselves as individuals - often without realizing that much of what is taught in the Bible is meant to be applied to ourselves in the context of relationships with other Christians.

So it is with prayer.

But the early church didn’t live in a culture like ours and their assumptions were different. When we see them praying in the book of Acts we see them praying together! In Acts 4 Peter and John had been arrested and told by the authorities not to preach again. The gathered church cried out in prayer,

“And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said…” (verse 23)

They strove in united prayer together. And do you know what happened?

“And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” (verse 31)

God stepped down and met with those young Christians! The room shook. The Spirit filled. The Christians boldly spoke.

I may risk being misunderstood, but I want to say that I think that this is what we are missing - unmistakable visitations from God that result in an irrepressible urge to speak to the unbelievers in our lives about our Savior.

Would you join with me in praying that God teach us to pray as a church, and that God answer us in powerful and unmistakable ways?