Monday, October 20th

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Monday, October 20

Acts 4:23-31

When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, "'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'-- for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

We have a door frame in our house where we measure the growth of our four sons. Year after year the little lines are etched higher and higher as we track their physical height. I’m pretty sure that most of us would agree that the growth of a child is a good thing!

And yet with that growth come certain inevitable problems. Those growing bodies are almost constantly in need of new clothes and shoes. The grocery bill climbs ever higher. There are trips to the emergency room and to the orthodontist. Then comes driving and girlfriends and college...you get the picture!

The Book of Acts is the story of the birth and early growth of the church. In Acts 2 we see the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and 3000 people respond to the preaching of the gospel. In Acts 3 we see the lame man healed and the number grows to 5000 who have come to faith through the name of Jesus.

Then in Acts 4 the growing pains start. Peter and John are arrested and thrown in jail overnight. The next day they are interrogated by the authorities and ordered to cease teaching and preaching in the name of Jesus.

This is a very real threat to the early believers. Imagine if the police showed up at your home today and threatened to arrest you if you went to church again! How would you respond if being caught reading the Bible could land you in prison?

Here’s what these early followers of Jesus did:

When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God...

They gathered together and they prayed.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the content of their prayer, but for today just notice that they prayed together.

I think we tend to see prayer most often as a private, personal experience. We see prayer as something we do when we are alone; and, of course it is. But prayer is also, according to the New Testament, a relational experience. We are to pray when we are alone, but we are also to pray when we are together.

We remember from Acts 2 that the early believers were “devoted to the fellowship.” The Greek word is koinonia; meaning, the sharing of life together. Here we see that being devoted to the fellowship included prayer.
We live in a much different culture than the people we are reading about in the Book of Acts. We are much more isolated from each other; we live at a greater velocity; we struggle to find time for our families let alone for church. Yet the blessing of corporate prayer is also for us!

So how do we experience “prayer together” today? Most of our church’s midweek ministries include a time for group prayer. Those committed to C-Groups gather in one another’s homes regularly for fellowship and prayer. We have groups like “College Moms in Prayer,” or a group for parents of children serving in the military that meets regularly to pray for their children.

Do you have anywhere in your life where you gather with others for prayer? If not, I encourage you to make an effort to find and connect with a group of fellow believers with whom you can share the great blessing of prayer!


Pastor Brian Coffey