The 4 Pillars of the Church: Prayer

READ Acts 2:41-47

The Importance of Prayer

ILLUSTRATION: I went out to mow our yard the other day and the Lawnmower wouldn’t start. The battery was dead.

It’s tough to get something to go if it doesn’t have any power - try turning on a light without plugging it in. Or starting a car with no battery.

And the same is true of the spiritual life. The early church understood this. That’s why they were continually devoting themselves to prayer.

Prayer isn’t just something to do when we’re feeling lost or distraught or hopeless. It’s the engine of the Christian life - and of the Church.

This is what united the early church. It’s what compelled her to boldly proclaim the gospel. It’s how they lived that gospel out. We’ve already seen this in Acts 1-2.

But how did they “devote” themselves to prayer? What did their prayers look like?

Acts 2:42 hints at an answer.

Corporate Prayer

The first thing we ought to notice is that these prayers were not private. Everything in Acts 2:41-47 is done as a community.

Discipleship. Fellowship. Worship. AND prayer.

In other words, the early church viewed corporate prayer as invaluable for the life of the church.

And why? Because we learn to pray from one another. And there’s something about praying with a group that’s encouraging. It reminds us that we are not alone - that we’re joining our voices with others. And we’re not just praying with those in this room, or even in every church in the world. But our prayers are being joined with all of the saints, those on earth and in heaven.

Think of all those who have gone on - parents, grandparents, children, spouses - when we pray, our voices join with theirs.

And that’s why corporate prayer is important - it reminds us that our faith is not a solitary thing. We’re in this together.

The “Prayers”?

There’s a little footnote in the NASB right next to the word “prayer” in this verse. And if you look at that footnote, you’ll see that it says this could also be translated… “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.”

THE PRAYERS? What could Luke mean by this? It sounds as if he’s talking about more than prayer in general.

There are a couple of possible reasons that Luke says they were devoting themselves to THE PRAYERS rather than just to prayer.

Temple Prayers

One reason is that he could be saying that they were committed to the regular temple prayers that took place each day.

Every day at 9AM and 3PM, the priests would take a lamb and sacrifice it at the temple. This was an act of worship and an expression of Israel’s dependence on God. And it had been commanded in the law. As the sacrifice was being made, people would gather. The men could go into the court of Israelites and watch as the sacrifice was made. But whole families would come to the temple at this time and pray during these sacrifices.

But this wasn’t all. Many Jews prayed every day at 9AM, 12PM, and 3PM whether they could get to the temple or not. In a sense, they were making appointments with God each day.

In other words, for Jews at this time, each day had a rhythm that included prayer at set times. A Jew who was devoted to “the prayers” wasn’t just praying when he felt like it. He built his life around set times of prayer that happened each day. This was then the foundation of the rest of his prayer life.

It’s been said that if we fail to plan, then we plan to fail. Perhaps, if we planned and penciled in our time with God, we would be a little more successful when it comes to spiritual things.

There’s a possibility that this is what Luke means by “the prayers.”

Set Prayers

One day, Jesus’ disciples came to him and asked if he would teach them to pray. You see, Jesus was a man of prayer - the gospels record him praying over 35 times. So, his disciples wanted to learn his secrets. How could they stay connected to God like he did.

And when they asked, Jesus gave them a prayer that’s come to be known as The Lord’s Prayer.

It goes like this: RECITE THE LORD’S PRAYER

This was a set prayer that early Christians prayed. And there’s evidence of other pre-written prayers in the New Testament that the church likely used.

In other words, the early church would actually pray these prayers. The Didache, an early Christian book on worship, encourages Christians to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times per day.

But why? Why not just talk? Isn’t praying pre-written words less meaningful than merely speaking from the heart?

There are some people who have felt that way - as if the only way to really pray is by speaking. But think about it like this...

ILLUSTRATION (No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus): I remember several years ago - had been going through a tough time, felt alone and abandoned. And I was at a worship service where someone sang a special - ‘No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus.’ As I sang along, I was overwhelmed with God’s love. And those words became my words - my prayer.

We don’t see a problem with singing words that have been written by someone else. But we sometimes have a hard time with praying words written by someone else. But what’s the difference? These kinds of prayers can have tremendous meaning IF WE MEAN THEM. The issue is how we’re praying.

So, it’s possible that when Luke writes that they were devoted to “the prayers”, this is what he means. There were certain prayers that they prayed regularly.

A Life of Prayer

Personally, I think the “the prayers” includes both of these ideas and more.

They devoted themselves to “the prayers” as a way of life, following in Jesus’ footsteps. In other words, prayer permeated everything they did.

They prayed off-the-cuff. They prayed formal prayers.

They prayed during service. They prayed at prayer meetings.

They prayed together. They prayed individually.

Because that’s how Jesus prayed. And Jesus is the one who gave us this gift of prayer. Have you ever considered the cost of prayer? How much did it cost for us to be able to approach God as ‘abba - father’?

It cost his life to reconcile us to God and give us the ability to pray what we pray.

That’s the cost of prayer. Christ’s body and blood. His sacrifice doesn’t just give us forgiveness of or power over sin. It’s opened the door into God’s presence so we can pray and be heard.

Perhaps that’s why the early church devoted themselves to prayer as they did. They understood the cost.

May we understand and pray accordingly.