Praying Together
Great Prayers of the Bible • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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This summer, we have been examining Great Prayers of the Bible - prayers covering a range of topics and purposes. We have looked at Prayers of Intercession, Deliverance, Repentance, Wisdom and Love….prayers for times of trouble and prayers for mercy.
Our newly formed prayer team at Grace has been practicing scripture-based prayer over the past couple of weeks. Prayer based on God’s Word. We use the Bible to guide our praise and our petitions with the desire to align our will with God’s will - not just approach him with a list of wants.
Let me give you an example of what that looks like:
I’ll use part of a familiar psalm.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
So I may read that passage out loud and then allow it to shape my prayer.
Lord you alone are worthy of my praise. You are my shepherd. You care for and protect me. You provide for all my needs - help me remember that truth when I worry. Lord, in You I find rest. In you, I find refreshment for my soul. You strengthen me, you renew me. Lord, lead me in the way I should go since I belong to you. You are my Lord. Amen.
In your bulletin today, you should have received an insert which contains a list of 10 scripture passages and prayer points. These are prayers for the church - and I commend them for your use. Use these passages to guide your prayers this coming week.
If we are serious about fulfilling our vision, of being a Healthy, Loving, Vibrant and Bold church in Cambridge - and if we really desire to grow spiritually and numerically - fulfilling our mission to make disciples - it will require our obedience to God’s Word and our devotion to prayer.
Because God listens to His people.
Exodus 3:7–8 (ESV)
Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…
God saw their affliction and he heard their cry. The people, in their misery, cried out to God and in turn, God delivered them. And He did so in spectacular fashion.
God listens to His people! Never underestimate the power of praying together! While we are certainly instructed to take our prayers directly to the Lord when we are alone - this does not negate our need to pray together as a community. We need both personal and corporate prayer. When the Lord’s Church joins together in earnest prayer - you can expect mighty outcomes.
In the book of Acts, we read of the early church facing threats from Roman government authorities and from the Jewish chief priests and elders and so they gathered together to pray and this is what they prayed:
And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants 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.”
The pressure was on - to be quiet and to conform. The church came together and prayed for boldness and that the power of Jesus would flow through them.
And listen to what happened:
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.
They asked and they received.
The way to becoming a Healthy, Loving, Vibrant and Bold church is to ask for it - and we do so by praying together.
I found an entry in the devotional book Guidepost which was written by Connie Lee. She wrote on the power of praying together and this is what she said: “Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a banquet, rather than a table for two! Life’s important experiences are meant to be shared.”
I picture in my mind the painting the Last Supper by Leonardo DeVinci. The twelve disciples all gathered at the long table with Jesus at the center - breaking bread, conversing, contemplating what He has spoken.
This is the means by which His church moves forward.
We gather, we break bread, we pray and we seek clarity and direction. Jesus established His Church to be His presence in this world - He directs His Church, He empowers His Church.
That is why it is so important that we are seeking Him and listening to Him. The difference between a human-directed church and a spirit-led church is prayer.
Let’s consider the two scripture passages we heard read this morning. In both instances, the Church is faced with situations where specific guidance was needed.
First, consider the Matthew passage. If you have a Bible handy, I encourage you to turn to Matthew 18 and we are going to begin at verse 15. Jesus is teaching his disciples how they are to deal with sin within the Church.
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Does it sound like Jesus is being soft on sin? No. Sin leads to death, obedience to God’s Word leads to life. So sin must be confronted. It cannot be allowed to establish its roots within the Church. But look at how compassion and mercy are applied to correcting the sinner. Jesus says to go confront your brother or sister directly, discreetly, avoiding public humiliation and shame. For one, maybe the matter is a misunderstanding and by addressing it privately, truth can come to light.
Now if sin is present and the brother or sister is not willing to repent, then you are to bring it before one or two others and as a small confidential group, it is to be addressed again, this time with witnesses. This communicates the seriousness of the matter and minimizes miscommunication. This was also important for Jewish law: Deut 19:15
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
Again, the exposure of the sin is limited to a small group and the approach is one of leading the person who is walking in the wrong direction toward death back to the way of Life. Now, if that approach fails and the person is still unrepentant, then the matter is brought before the whole church. As one commentary states:
Matthew: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition 4. Restoring the Sinning Church Member 18:15–20
At this point, privacy and concern for the honor or shame of the offender can no longer be preserved. The sinning member has chosen to make the matter public by refusing to respond to the previous entreaties.
The hope is that this would bring about confession, repentance and restoration. But if not, they were to be treated as an outsider - a pagan or a tax collector. And yet there is still compassion and mercy even in this response. They were not to be included in the fellowship of the church, but they were not to be forever excluded either. If they come to their senses and repent, they could always come back and be restored.
Matthew, the author of this gospel, was a former tax collector - he knew of God’s grace and that no one was too far gone.
Here we have a big issue in the Church that requires careful discernment, proper interpretation of God’s will, and the boldness to deal with it in the proper way. This is the context of today’s gospel passage to which we hear Jesus say:
Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
When two or three are gathered, and make their petition to the Lord, in accordance to His Word and they are in agreement - then it will be done. That is the power of praying together.
To bind and to loose was language used by Jewish rabbis when they decided whether or not to allow or disallow a person’s conduct based on their interpretation of God’s Word.
Roger Hahn, in his commentary on this passage, states:
Matthew: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition 4. Restoring the Sinning Church Member 18:15–20
In this context, the binding and loosing describe the church’s responsibility to interpret the meaning and consequences of a sinning member’s behavior. The Greek grammar suggests that Jesus believed the real decision regarding the offender’s sin and consequences of that sin had already been made in heaven. When united in prayer and obedience, the church will affirm on earth what God had already decided in heaven. This can happen if two on earth agree about something they might ask God because it will be done for them by the Father in heaven (18:19).
Since Jesus is the Word of God, when 2-3 of us come together over a matter and we consider Jesus Words and teachings, and we seek Him in prayer, and we are of one mind over the matter - then we will know how to properly respond to whatever the situation may be.
I believe a strong, recent example can be found in our discernment, as a Church, to break ties with our former denomination and to align with the Global Methodist Church. We allowed Scripture to guide us, we prayed together over the matter, we listened, we were of one mind, and we followed through. And we can see how the Lord has blessed us.
The other passage to we heard read this morning was Acts 1:12-14, where those who had witnessed Jesus’ ascension to heaven, returned to a home in Jerusalem where we read:
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
They were instructed, by Jesus, to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father - which was the imparting of the Holy Spirit.
During this time of waiting, they prayed together. One of the matters they had to discern was - who would replace Judas Iscariot? The core twelve disciples were now eleven. The number 12 had meaning - there were 12 tribes of Israel. There were to be twelve Apostles (which means “those to be sent out”) - twelve witnesses to the life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord.
We read in Acts 1:21-26
“Therefore, we must select one of those who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus lived among us,” beginning from the baptism of John until the day when Jesus was taken from us. This person must become along with us a witness to his resurrection. So they nominated two: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. They prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s deepest thoughts and desires. Show us clearly which one you have chosen from among these two to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” When they cast lots, the lot fell on Matthias. He was added to the eleven apostles.
Another big issue in the Church that needed careful discernment. The selection of a leader. Not who they thought would be a good leader, but who the Lord was calling to step into that role.
Reflecting in this chapter, the reformer John Calvin commented, “there are two essentials for true prayer, namely that they persevered, and they were of one mind.”
When we pray together, as Church, we must be of the same mindset. We persevere in prayer - we seek and we listen until we know - and we are of one mind.
Now I want to close with an exercise. Let us practice what we learn.
If we are going to be a Healthy, Loving, Vibrant and Bold church that makes disciples - then we need others to come alongside us.
Think of someone local who currently does not attend a church. Neighbor, co-worker, family member - whoever. I want you to turn to someone near you and share their first name. Once you exchange names, I want you to pray together a simple prayer. Something like this:
“Lord, in one accord with my church, I pray that your Spirit would move these two people, Frank and Charlotte, to come to Grace within the next month and experience your truth and your love. Amen.” And then, I ask you to lift up the two people you have prayed for during your daily prayer this month.
Pray and listen and respond to what the Lord leads you to do.
Ok - let’s get at it.
Amen.