A House of Prayer

As I was thinking last week about the four devotions of a local church I was struck by the commitment of the New Testament church to corporate prayer. If you grew up in the church as I did you no doubt have memories of a variety of “prayer meetings.” Some churches have regular Sunday evening or Wednesday evening prayer meetings. I don’t have a lot of memories of these times as a kid – I think I must have slept through most of them. I have been a part of churches that had a regular practice of “pre-service prayer,” i.e., a regular prayer meeting 30 minutes before every service. I’ve also had the privilege of being a part of a congregation that viewed the prayer room as “the engine of the church” where intentional, focused corporate prayer took place simultaneously with any and every church event, a ministry that extended out into the parking lot, the neighborhood, and the city.

Unfortunately, I’ve also experienced the gradual falling off of regular, consistent participation in “the prayer meeting,” whatever and whenever that was, ultimately resulting in the abandonment of any attempt at intentional corporate times of prayer. In some cases we have replaced corporate times of prayer with a variety of “prayer chains” or virtual prayer meetings. Any form of prayer is always good, or as a good friend of mine says, “More prayer is better than less prayer.” But I’m challenged by the commitment of the church in the book of Acts to corporate prayer.

We’ve already noted that even before the Day of Pentecost, “They all joined together constantly in prayer” (Acts 1:14), and that the church devoted themselves “to prayer” (Acts 2:42). Peter and John encountered the crippled man at the gate to the temple because of their regular observance of “the time of prayer” (Acts 3:1). We’ve also seen that the church responded to every new challenge with prayer (Acts 4:24) and that the local elders viewed their primary function as giving their “attention to prayer” (Acts 6:4). It was the prayers of Cornelius that got God’s attention (Acts 10:4, 31). Every leadership decision in the church was accompanied by prayer and fasting (Acts 13:1-2; 14:23). The church was so devoted to corporate prayer that the apostle Paul was always able to locate “the place of prayer” (Acts 16:13, 16). Paul’s ministry was accompanied by prayer (Acts 28:8).

Why was regular, consistent corporate prayer so important to those who participated in that first church? Remember how the church was birthed. Jesus told his disciples to wait until . . . they were clothed with power from heaven. On the Day of Pentecost the church experienced a supernatural visitation from God paralleling that of the birth of the nation of Israel in Exodus 19-20 with miraculous signs and wonders. It was as though God was emphasizing the fact that the church, if it is the church Jesus is building, is a supernatural, Spirit-led, Spirit-filled community, dependent in every way and at all times on the specific, personal leading and energizing of God’s Spirit. Thus, the need for prayer! In fact, it is only those who still believe they can do the work of God’s Kingdom on their own who have difficulty establishing a regular practice and lifestyle of prayer, both as individuals and as a local faith community.

After all, Jesus is the Head of the church, abiding in the midst of the church, giving specific instructions and directions to the church. We often say that the church is not about the building but it is about the people, but in the end, the church is about the Head – it is about Jesus. It’s that reality that was the basis for the teaching of Jesus about corporate prayer: “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:18-20). When we are gathering “in his name,” representing Jesus, with Jesus at the center, Jesus in the midst, we become a place where heaven and earth literally intersect, at a specific time and place. It’s at the point where heaven earth meet, where Jesus and some of his followers are gathered, that the power of corporate prayer can best be seen. The authority of heaven then partners with God’s kingdom representatives, so that “binding” and “loosing” can take place as a result of their prayers. I suppose that can happen virtually, but it seems to me (maybe I’m just old fashioned) that an actual gathering at a specific time and place is called for.

The local church that does not have a regular practice of corporate prayer has given up its spiritual authority, and is relatively ineffective as a result. The good news is that a variety of “prayer revivals” are happening around the world. Groups of young people are setting aside places where they can maintain a 24/7 prayer vigil (www.24-7prayer.com). Some have established an “International House of Prayer” (a new kind of IHOP) devoted to corporate prayer (www.ihopkc.org). It appears as though the Body of Christ worldwide is rediscovering the truth and power of corporate prayer – a book of Acts church indeed. What about us? How will we respond to the work of the Spirit in the church in our day? “Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7).