The Prayer of Antioch

A 5-year-old said grace at family dinner one night. “Dear God, thank you for these pancakes.” When he finished his prayer, his parents looked curiously at him and asked him why he thanked God for pancakes when they were having chicken. He smiled and said, “I thought I’d see if He was paying attention tonight.”

For the past several weeks we have been looking many different prayers from different people that are recorded in the Bible. We looked at Elijah’s prayer, Daniel’s Prayer and Moses’ prayer. There are many others that prayed significant prayers. If you have been reading with us through the Bible this year, we just read in Isaiah where Hezekiah asked God to let him live longer and God gave him 15 more years. So there are many places in scripture where God’s people cried out to Him.

I hope that during this time your prayer life has increased. I hope that you are wanting a greater relationship with the Father. I hope that you are starting to pray some powerful, earth-shaking prayers. And God shows us that He does pay attention to us when we pray.

But here in Acts 13, we have a unique situation. We have several leaders fasting and praying and worshipping God, and they have unquestionably gotten God’s attention. So, if you have your bibles go with me to the book of Acts and turn to chapter 13.

Acts 13:1–3 NIV

1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

The uniqueness of this prayer is that we don’t know what they prayed. All we know is they fasted and prayed and the Holy Spirit spoke to them. Then, they laid hands on Barnabas and Saul and then sent them off on an adventure that would change the world forever.

We don’t know what they prayed, but they got God’s attention. I want to pray like that.

So, what do we know?

1. They Fasted and Prayed

People fasted for several different reasons. People fasted when they were grieving over the death of a loved one. People fasted when they were repenting of their sin or the sin of their nation. People often fasted when they sought protection from forces they couldn’t contend with, like Esther. The only about God that is mentioned in the Bible is we know that Esther fasted before she went before the king. But, if you look at the scriptures, most often people fasted when they were seeking insight. They want direction for something.

Antioch was a relatively new congregation, but it had experienced enormous growth. When the leaders at Jerusalem heard of this situation, they sent Barnabas and Paul to the church to teach these new converts about Christianity.

For a whole year, Paul and Barnabas taught a great number of people. And… they were so successful that they made a name for the church in the area. Look at Acts 11:26

Acts 11:26 NIV

26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Up to this time, Christ’s followers in the early church called themselves “believers”, disciples, those belonging to “the Way”, saints, and the church. It was not until the message of Christ spread to Antioch were Jesus’ followers called “Christians.” And it was probably from people outside the church.

The term probably originated as an insult to Christ’s followers, but they considered this name as a mark of honor because it directly identified them with Christ. The word “Christian” occurs only three times in the New Testament.

So, Antioch is a growing church with powerful teachers and all kinds of potential. What could they be fasting and praying about?

I’ve prayed and fasted about many things. At the Beginning of each year, I have the church fast and pray for 21 days concerning our church and the upcoming new year. We don’t know exactly what they were praying and fasting about but I believe that the leaders at Antioch felt uncomfortable about something. They were a dynamic church. They had marvelous leaders and great potential. However, I believe they were beginning to suspect there was something more, they believed that there was something bigger that they could accomplish. But they just didn’t know what it was. That brings me to the second thing we know.

2. There was a Message in Tongues, Followed by the Interpretation

Pastor, how do you know that. Look at verse 2 again.

Acts 13:2 NIV

2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

When they fasted and prayed they were humbling themselves to God. They were seeking spiritual insight. They were wanting wisdom concerning what God’s Will was for their church. So, they were being open to what the Holy Spirit was wanting to do.

At this moment they were sensitive to the communication of the Holy Spirit. When you fast you are going without food for a limited time in order to give greater attention to spiritual matters. So I believe that the Holy Spirit probably came through a prophetic gift.

A message in tongues is expressing oneself at the level of one’s spirit under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit in a language that you have not learned and you do not know. An interpretation of tongues is a special ability to interpret what is spoken in tongues.

When an interpretation is given to a congregation it can inspire deeper worship and prayer or it can serve a purpose similar to the gift of prophecy. The church body can then participate in and respond to this Spirit-inspired revelation. Interpreted tongues can be a means of encouraging and building up the whole congregation.

So, I believe that part of the reason we’re not told what Antioch’s leaders prayed is 1. they had no idea what God had in mind and 2. I believe they were praying in the Spirit. They just knew that there was something else that they weren’t involved with yet. There was something else that God wanted them to do. But when these Leaders prayed and fasted, when they opened themselves up to being used by God anyway He desired, I believe that the Glory of the Lord came down and it filled that place with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit began to speak, and they knew that God had something good that was about to happen.

3. They Laid Hands on Paul and Barnabas and Sent Them Off.

If you read the rest of Acts you could probably say that the rest is history.

It was in that prayer meeting that Paul and Barnabas were called to be missionaries.

It was in that prayer meeting that the world was literally turned upside down.

It was in that prayer meeting that Antioch became the jumping off point for worldwide revival.

It was from that prayer meeting that nearly a dozen new congregations were birthed and established all throughout Asia.

It was from that prayer meeting that Paul began a ministry of writing that resulted in the composition of 1/2 our New Testament.

And it was in that prayer meeting that Antioch was established as one of the central hubs of Christianity in the ancient world.

And it was all because these men humbled themselves before God to seek His will.

You know what? I believe that God has something in store for us. There is something stirring. There are people hearing about our great church in Fort Smith. There are people starting to wonder what is happening here. There are people that are starting to wonder what is going on.

Guess what? I believe that God is getting His people ready here at Cliff Terrace and it is time that we have a prayer meeting. It is time that we begin to fast and pray for direction. It is time that we open ourselves up to God’s will for this church.

Ephesians 3:20 NIV

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

Carl Bates, the former Southern Baptist President, and Pastor of several large Baptists churches, once wrote: “There came a time in my life when I earnestly prayed: ‘God, I want your power!’ Time wore on and the power did not come. One day the burden was more than I could bear. I asked ‘God, why haven’t you answered that prayer?’ God seemed to whisper back this simple reply: ‘With plans no bigger than yours, you don’t need my power.’”

I love what Mark Batterson said in The Circle Maker.

Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers. God isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less. If your prayers aren’t impossible to you, they are insulting to God.

I don’t know about you, but I want to pray the prayer of Antioch. I want to pray a prayer that gets God’s attention and leads us to even greater dreams than we can envision ourselves.

So, beginning this week, I will begin fasting and praying for this church. And I want to challenge you to do the same. Here is my plan...

There are two weeks between now and September 11th. September 11th is our fall Bring a Friend Sunday. We are planning a great Sunday for you to invite a friend to come to church with you. We are going to have a photo booth. We want everyone to wear their favorites shirt or jersey. And after service we are going to have a tailgate party in the fellowship hall. We will even set up the corn hole game. We are planning on having a big time and we want you to invite someone to church.

I have a sheet with the dates for the next two weeks on it. I have a spot for you to write your name next to either a breakfast, lunch or dinner on each day. That means there are 41 different spots for you to choose from. If you want to fast and pray on more than one day then sign up for more than one day. If the sheet gets to the end of the line and there are no more blanks put your name on the same line as someone else. I am asking you to commit to that day and that meal right now.

Normally I give you time to think about it. Not today. I challenge you to spend time praying and fasting for your church. Pray for the upcoming Bring a Friend Tailgate party. Pray that God will move in our services in ways like we’ve never seen before. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us in our services and to give us direction. Be bold in your prayers. Make your prayers, prayers that get God’s attention. Do you hear me? I’m passing this page around. Write the time you want. We are going to bombard Heaven with our prayers.

Let me close with this...

There is a story told about a strong, broad-shouldered young man that had just started working a construction site. He was obviously one of the strongest men there and he knew it. And he wanted to make sure everyone else knew it too. So, he began to brag that he could out lift anybody on the site. In his pride, he especially made fun of one of the older workmen.

After a few minutes, the older worker had had enough. He told the young man, “Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is. I will bet you a week’s wage that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that building over there that you won’t be able to wheel back.”

The young man just laughed, “You’re an old man, let’s see what you got.”

The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then he turned to the young man and said, “All right, get in.”

I can not sit here and tell you that I know everything that God has in store for this church. My prayer these next two weeks and I want you to pray the same way. Pray, “God, put us in the wheelbarrow and then we want you to wheel us where you want us to go.”