And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) (Acts 1:13-15, KJV)
And when the day of Pentecost was come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4, KJV)
Prologue
The church's glory has greatly deteriorated and is a poor, dull glory compared to its former glory. God promised that the latter temple's glory shall be greater than the former (Haggai 2:9). But why is the church's glory today a shadow of, and not greater than the glory of the former? That the Church is under attack is not strange, for the Lord warned that such would happen. But the church today is turning to beggarly elements for help, which should get every Spirit-filled believer wondering what is going on!
The church was birthed in the place of Prayer, and it has always surged or dipped depending on its engagement or otherwise in prayer. There has never been a revival anywhere in the world without prayer. Our Scripture texts reveal that there were one hundred and twenty souls gathered in the upper room, praying, from when Jesus ascended into heaven until the coming of the Holy Spirit, thus birthing the Church.
It is instructive to note that among those gathered in the upper room were known and unknown names, males and females, apostles and disciples, and biological and non-biological relatives of the Lord Jesus. And as divergent a gathering, the Holy Spirit, through Luke, documents that,
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.
In this series of articles on "A Call to Prayer", I hope to challenge Christians to return to prayer, and I will be using the above phrase to address this call to prayer.
All must be involved in prayer
They, all one hundred and twenty individuals, prayed. Without exception, they all prayed. The apostles did not pray while the others went about their business. Jesus' mother, Mary, and her children (Jesus' siblings) did not pray, while those not biologically related to Jesus minded their business. No! They all prayed!
When we gather in the house of God (and we are not necessarily talking of a purpose-built venue, but any gathering of God's children in any location), ALL, without exception, must be involved in prayer. Some men say, "My wife is the prayer warrior in the home", and by this, they say they do not need to pray because their wives are praying for them. This is a fallacy. As much as one's wife may be praying for him, he must also be praying if he is a Christian.
When Christians gather in a home, purpose-built venue, or any location, they must all be engaged in praying. Not one of the one hundred and twenty individuals in the upper room said, "When women pray, something happens, so let us allow them to pray while we engage in some other manly affair." They all prayed!
Revival may come when one person prays, but all should pray
Some individuals have devoted themselves to consistent prayer privately over some time. The outcome of such constant prayer has been revivals at times of utter helplessness and hopelessness in society. As these individuals secretly prayed to God, He sent an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them and over their immediate environment, resulting in revival.
In the days of Israel's apostasy and idolatry under Jeroboam and the kings after him, there was lawlessness, violence, turmoil, and great sorrow. But when the people turned to God in repentance and sought after Him with prayer, they found Him, and righteousness was restored to the nation (2 Chronicles 15:3-6).
Addressing the nation of Israel in its newly conquered territory, Joshua said,
One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. (Joshua 23:10, KJV)
And this held true when Gideon, with just three hundred men, defeated the host of Midian that were amassed against them—as the Bible put it,
as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number (Judges 6:5, KJV)
Joshua's statement, and Gideon's conquest, reveal today's possibilities through prayer by God's children, the Church.
If one person's prayer chases a thousand internal and external invaders, then when the Church as a whole pray, several thousand, even hordes, will be discomfited and society transformed. While internal invaders are our selfish desires, sexual immorality, spiritual insensitivity, unholy living, idolatry, etc., external invaders are the demonic forces arrayed against the Church, the land, and the citizens.
When we all pray, each one will obtain the power to live right before God, and the hordes invading the land and the church, will be destroyed. When the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, He came upon all who were present because they all prayed! Everyone who is involved in praying benefits from a revival when it comes, along with the accompanying spiritual blessings.
The power of concerted prayer
According to Matthew 18:18-20, there is tremendous power when we pray as a corporate body, much more than when we pray individually. In these verses, the Lord Jesus spoke about all those gathered engaging in prayer, noting that whatever they bind on the earth as a church will be bound by heaven; whatever they lose on the earth, heaven will also lose.
The Lord further noted that where two or three are gathered together in His name, and by implication, for His purpose, He will be with them, and their prayers will be answered. Hence, where people gather to gossip or plan and execute evil against someone cannot count as a gathering in Jesus' name. But if any two individuals—and it can be a man and his wife—shall come together in Jesus' name to pray, their request shall be granted by the Father. There are other considerations, however, which we shall discuss in the other articles under this series, but it must be noted that there is tremendous power in concerted prayer; hence all must pray!
The danger of not praying when others are
In Luke 9, we see the danger of being in a place where others are praying, and we are not or are busy engaging in something else:
And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. (Luke 9:28-33, KJV)
Four people—Jesus, Peter, James, and John—went up to the mountain intending to pray. But only Jesus prayed while Peter, James, and John were sleepy. And as Jesus prayed, His countenance and clothing altered, and He was transfigured. Meanwhile, Moses and Elijah appeared to Him and discussed where and when He must accomplish His mission of dying on the cross.
What happened to the Lord could have happened to Peter, James, and John, had they also prayed. When Jesus walked on water and Peter asked Him to bid him come to Him, and Jesus did, Peter walked on water, albeit for a few seconds, until he doubted! (Matthew 14:25-31) Just as Peter could walk on water, he and the others could have been transfigured if they had been praying.
As Moses and Elijah were departing—having accomplished their mission—Peter asked that they build three tabernacles for the Lord and His heavenly guests. The Holy Spirit, through Luke, noted that Peter did not realise what he was saying! When we are not praying but sleepy or busy with other things, we make utterances contrary to what is necessary. Did Peter think the Lord brought them to make tents for Him and His heavenly visitors? No, they went there to pray. And had they been praying, they probably would have heard a word from the two heavenly visitors.
The Lord did not take Peter, James, and John along to sit and be spectators; neither did He take them with Him to tend to His needs. They were there to pray! A similar thing happened in Gethsemane. While Jesus agonised in prayer, they slept. In the end, Peter denied Jesus (Matthew 26:36-46, 69-75).
Some people accompany others to pray, ostensibly, but instead of praying, they engage in other things. For instance, church workers (like ushers, singers, and even ministers) easily become spectators in many church meetings. While ushers are getting those sleeping to stay awake, they are not listening to the message or even participating in the prayer. While ushers are getting those sleeping to stay awake, they are themselves not listening to the message or even participating in the prayer. While prayer is being said, some choristers and even ministers stroll outside, engaging in chit-chatting. Such acts mean that not all are praying! Hence, those who prayed are blessed, and those who did not pray are not.
The church must be a place of prayer
A church meeting should not just be a gathering where people come to sing, dance, and make merry (sounds more like a party than a church) and hear the word of God, but one where Christians come together as one to pray. Jesus said,
It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer (Matthew 21:13, KJV)
Indeed, nothing of value, including preaching, teaching, the worship of God, etc., can be effective and beneficial without prayer—concerted and concentrated corporate prayer.
The focus of our church meetings must first be prayer. There was a time when the church gathered primarily to pray, even before preaching or teaching. At those times, we witnessed streams of revival that brought several thousand into the Church—most of who would have perished. Today, many Christians focus on preaching, miracles, healing, prophesying, etc. Yet, without prayer, none of these will have any lasting impact.
This is why the church has lost steam and is spending more time complaining, trying to legislate righteousness through lawsuits to compel society to be upright, and even foraying into the murky waters of politics to influence governance. One wonders how the apostles and, indeed, the early church would respond to our utter reliance on self-help, and abandoning dependence on God. Like Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, today's church is acting like one drunk with sleep—staggering and mumbling gibberish!
What we must do as a matter of urgency
In Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43, the Lord told a parable in which He spoke of how God planted good seed in the world—Christians—but while men slept, the devil sowed tares—false brethren and false teachers—and went his way. The Church must come to terms with the truth that while we slept, 'tares' have been sown among us and are now outgrowing us. If we must get back to our mission and sanitise and sanctify the Church, we must return to prayer, not just individual prayer, which is a good start, but corporate prayer—all must pray!
It is time that we get back to praying in our churches and leave out those fanciful things we engage in. We need to re-order our meetings and make prayer the anchor. Indeed, pastors should not preach nor teach until the church has spent considerable time praying. Our churches are filled today with 'tares', but through concerted and concentrated corporate prayers, they will either be converted or wither. We must urgently return to corporate praying: all, without exception, must be involved in praying.
Let us pray!
Shalom.
