They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42
The early Church in Acts of the Apostle was a praying Church. They did not pray occasionally, they did not pay lip service to prayer, they prayed continuously in order to survive. They were steadfast in prayer and were not overwhelmed by the decrees and edicts passed by the ruling party. Prayer was part of their DNA.
Acts 1:14 tells us that,
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
Acts 4:24 tells us that when they heard the threat of the rulers, they raised their voice in prayer with one accord and prayed from the Word. We are told that their prayer was so powerful that the building shook and they were filled with Holy Spirit and spoke with boldness.
The leaders gave themselves to prayer – Acts 6:4
When Peter was in prison we are told that the church prayed earnestly. – Acts 12:5
In Acts 12:12 we are told that there were people praying for Peter in a house whilst Peter was in prison and the prison door opened of its own accord.
It was said of them in Acts 17:6 "These fellows who have turned the world upside down have come here, too"
Everything the early Church did was underpinned with prayer. Hence the Lord added to the Church daily new converts.
In Acts 4:4 – Many who heard the word believed.
In Acts 6:7 – And the word of God increased.
Being a praying Church they experienced victories after victories.
They experienced salvation, church growth, healing, deliverance and they saw miracles after miracles.
Yet the 21st century church has now departed from praying. We talk about it, we write about it and preach it, but fail do it. Some don't even believe in it any more.
I believe strongly in my heart that the Lord is calling us the 21st century church back to “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer”.
For us to experience what the early Church experienced we must now do it rather than talk about it.
Paul said imitate me as I imitate Christ, the 21st century Church must now imitate the early Church and pray without ceasing.
To borrow a statement from R A Torrey “Time and time again, the church has seemed on the verge of shipwreck; but just at the right time God has sent a great revival in the church as a result of prayer”.
People of God when we look around us, when we hear the stories of the atrocities among pastors, among believers, among top gospel artists and many more, we cannot continue to hide our heads in the sand. This is the time to cry out to God for revival.
God is calling the Church back to prayer because He wants to revive the Church.
R A Torrey says “There have been revivals without much preaching, there have been revivals with absolutely no organisation but there has never been revival without mighty praying”
We need what the early Church had and to get it, we have to pray. I am talking about intensified prayer with faith.
The Church needs God now more than ever before, we must see deep conviction, we must see genuine repentance, and we must begin to experience the power of the Holy Spirit again in our Churches and our cities.
We have to pray without ceasing.
