Plug in to the Power
This past Sunday, I shared some of the benefits of a strong personal prayer life.
The early Christians “devoted themselves . . . to prayer” (Acts 2:42). Throughout the Book of Acts, prayer is emphasized again and again as being a key to their personal lives, to their ministry to others, and to their survival in persecution.
Prayer! Why? Because prayer is the heart and soul of EVERY successful relationship with God! In fact, prayer is absolutely crucial to every single area of a believer’s life!
Prayer, for the believer, is NOT a religious duty. It’s part of our fellowship with a personal God – our Heavenly Father. The more time we spend with God in prayer, the closer our relationship will become.
I want to make a statement that is true 100% of the time without fail! Are you ready?
No one’s relationship with Christ will ever rise above the level of his or her prayer life.
In the first two chapters of Acts, the disciples were doing nothing but waiting on God. As they were just sitting there- worshiping, talking with God, letting God shape them, the church was born. The Holy Spirit was poured out.
In Acts 4, when the apostles were unjustly arrested, imprisoned, and threatened, they didn’t call for a protest or reach for some political leverage. Instead, they headed to a prayer meeting. Soon the place was shaking with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 4.21-31- the apostles’ instinct was: when in trouble, pray. When intimidated, pray. When challenged, pray. When persecuted, pray.
The Bible gives us some examples of how Jesus spent time praying.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16
His disciples watched Him, and they said, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” They never said, “Teach us how to do miracles, or to teach, or to love people.” The one thing about His life that was so fascinating that they wanted to imitate Him was His prayer life.
Richard Foster wrote, “To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ.”
I want our church to become a church of prayer warriors. That will be the catalyst for everything else that God wants to do in and through us.
- “The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history.” Andrew Murray
- God shapes the world by prayer. The more prayer there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces of against evil …” E.M. Bounds
- You can do more than pray after you have prayed; but you can never do more than pray until you have prayed.” A.J. Gordon
Jesus had this desire for His people.
…for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. Isaiah 56:7
Mark 11:17- Jesus is quoting Isaiah – “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Are you ready church? Are you ready to pray like we’ve never prayed before? Pray for God’s plan to unfold in and through our lives and the life of our church. Pray for courage and boldness to share God’s truth with a lost and dying world. Pray for the name of Jesus to be magnified in our daily lives. That is how we can change our city for the sake of the Gospel.
