Transformed to Transform: Priority of Praying Together

Veterans Sunday November 11, 2018

“Transformed to Transform: Priority of Praying Together”

Acts 6:1-6

We continue our Transformed to transform conversation today… still pondering the meaning and significance of empty to full marble jars.  Several of you have made some interesting guesses… Stay tuned because the reveal will be on Sunday November 25th.  This morning we will talk about how praying together is a priority of being/doing church. 

Let’s pray… Come Spirit of the Living God, infuse us with the power of your love, conviction and boldness so that we can do and be your witness in the world in which we live.  Come Spirit of God, come.  Amen. 

Little prayer, little power.  Much prayer, much power.  You and I are transformed by God’s grace in Jesus through the power of prayer…the praying of our own prayers, the prayers of those who labor in love on our behalf, and the prayers of Jesus on our behalf.

So prayer doesn’t need to be an activity, it can be a lifestyle.  But how can we walk in this world and have power-packed prayers?  No worries, God’s Word proves all children, youth and adults can have this.  We were made by God with that fuse intact.

People want power in their life, but they don’t want to pray.  That’s like wanting fireworks but just throwing the rockets up into the sky – you need the match.  I remember when I was ignited to pray.  Do you remember when you were ignited to pray?

I was a novice pastor while serving as one of four associate pastors at Carmel UMC in Carmel, Indiana.  Our congregation was invited to participate in Celebration of Hope (an ecumenical worship celebration move beyond racial, cultural and societal barriers)!  I was the ‘sent’ associate to the planning meetings.  And there I fell in among a group of believers from a variety of background, ethnicities, and denominations.  As any planning meeting has- we were ‘invited’ to sign up for teams. 

For whatever reason, I cannot recall now, I put my signature on the ‘Prayer Team’ sign up list.  Remember I was still a green, wet-behind the ears pastor freshly graduated from one of the most challenging theological schools around… and I was in a prayer group with women and men I never met.  It was intimidating, uncomfortable, and awkward for me for lots of reasons.  I was without a doubt the youngest, most blonde, etc. 

Quickly I learned that this group of praying folks did not talk about minute’ theological points, nor political strategies.  No, rather, they got into a room, closed the door, and opened a portal of love from heaven itself!  They taught me it wasn’t about fluffy prayers stuffed with vocabulary and eloquence of spiritual ascent. It wasn’t about prayers that were required to out-do, not at all; prayer was about the igniting hearts to the fiery love of the Lord. Subsequently, this made the conversation with God in Jesus and Holt Spirit simply pour out with ease.

The fire was ignited… I had experienced it means to BATHE a church, a gathering, an event into one holy missional purpose!  Dang, I thought, as I drove home from each gathering, if this is one small little taste of what heaven’s full-on-worship will be like… I am gonna LOVE it!

We spoke last week about our changed cultural context.  This ain’t our grandma’s world nor our grandma’s culture of church.  What is unchanged is our Grandma’s God remains all powerful, all loving, all knowing, all good, forever & always and unchangeable. 

“The culture in which our church exists is a changing river, charting it’s own path without regard to the preferences of previous generational or culture systems… Given this situation is it not surprising that many churches in the US are now focused mostly on survival.  These churches are no longer storming the gates of hell.  They are simply trying to outlast the onslaught of secularism that threatens their existence”(Milfred Minatrea Shaped by God’s Heart).

But there are other churches (of different shapes and sizes) who are beginning to understand the key to a revived spirit is both a focus inward and a move outward into the world- being & doing church so that the faith community of Jesus will not just merely survive, but thrive!  Thriving, by the way, looks like being energized to reconnect with God and His mission… and reconnection well, that looks like igniting a spark!

Ignition is prayer… little prayer, little power.  Much prayer, much power!  God has chosen us for His Missional purposes.  Appointed you and I.  We are to go and bear fruit.  I appreciate the formula: “Prayer + Faith = Power, Power + Obedience = a changed world.” (leave slide up)

To thrive as the church out in the world… we need to recognize that 1) Corporate prayer is on par with preaching and teaching as a priority.  2) Praying together is a vital key to opening God's presence and work among His people in unique ways. 3) The tendency among believers, is to think of prayer gatherings as the extra-curricular activity.  A car’s engine may be built to perfection but, that engineering marvel will not power the transmission to move your car… unless the spark is lit!

God wants you and I to experience much power to fuel our lives and our witness in the world.  Yes, we are called to pray personally… but also as a body of believers… so that God’s mighty workings increase exponentially and His purposes are accelerated. Understand that I am not minimizing personal prayer. Instead, this is a reminder that in order to thrive and not just survive in our context personal prayer alone will not result in the working of God to the degree needed for spiritual transformation in our lives, our church, our cities, and our nation.  Being and doing church means praying individually and TOGETHER.  Much prayer, much power.

Consider the story from Acts 6, the Church in Jerusalem faced one of its first dilemmas. As the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The Twelve Apostles summoned the whole company of the disciples and began to problem solve.  Now I've always heard that this meant that the apostles delegated ministry responsibilities to others so that they would be freed up to spend time in personal prayer and receive a fresh word from the Lord to preach to the people. But that is not accurate.

The apostles are not referring to the need for personal, private prayer. Instead, they are talking about the ministry of mobilizing the people of God to pray together. They were marking out the two ministries they must especially do as church leaders.

Think about this -every occurrence of prayer in Acts preceding Chapter 6 (1:14, 24; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31) pictures the apostles leading others in prayer. Not one reference points to their private prayer time; the focus is on God's people praying together.  So by testimony and by example, it is plain that the apostles placed a high premium on the people of God praying together. They considered guiding the corporate prayer life of the church just as critical a priority as the preaching/teaching of God's Word. Ever wonder how they could do amazing things? Fuel was ignited through their praying together. 

And the apostles prayed together because their Jesus did it!  The apostles learned their leadership patterns from the Master. Ransack the Gospels for Jesus' teaching and practice of prayer, and you will identify 37 verses, sometimes repeated in more than one Gospel. Of those 37 instances in which Jesus refers to prayer, 33 of them were addressed to a plural rather than singular audience. In other words, Jesus' instruction decisively leaned toward praying with others, not just praying in private. 

God in the Spirit uniquely and powerfully works- where 2 or 3 are gathered in prayer.  So the apostles made it a practice and a priority to teach about praying with fellow believers and to practice it because they had heard and seen Jesus emphasize the same thing. 

Moreover, consider this… in almost every quarter of the globe, Christianity is advancing... except for four primary areas: North America, Japan, Australia, and Western Europe. Guess what one of the common denominators is everywhere Christianity marches forward? Christians spend time in prayer together. Track what God is doing in Korea, in China, in India, in Eastern Africa, and you will find behind the scenes prayer meetings. 

I know what you're thinking. Our prayer meetings, when we have them, don't seem to convey that sort of power. And you're right.  God’s Spirit is calling us to strategic shifts in how we spend our time together.  Maybe one of you has the burden on your heart to start a prayer group. Or a calling to begin a focused prayer team on our ministry together. So, as we progress in that direction, you be the change that's needed.  So let’s begin by praying differently and praying together for a little practice…