Prayer offered to God in accordance with His will is one of the most common expressions of worship in the church that Jesus built. I am reminded of Acts 2:42, where we read, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." There are those who see in these words an order. The writer first mentioned the early Christians' devotion to the apostles' teaching. This, in turn, regulated their fellowship, their manner of partaking of the Lord's Supper, and their prayers.
In prayer we give voice to our reverence for God, and that is in a large measure what worship is all about. By taking our petitions and thanksgiving to God, we are freely admitting and acknowledging our absolute dependence upon, and trust in, Him. Paul exhorted the early Christians to fill their lives with prayer. Remember 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing."
In 1 Corinthians 14, we find the Apostle Paul seeking to regulate and give order to the Corinthian church's worship assemblies. The context actually begins back in 1 Corinthians 11:17-18 with the words, "Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it." Skipping down to verse 20, we read, "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper." In verse 33, Paul wrote, "Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another."
Chapters 12 and 13 deal with matters regarding the exercise and duration of miraculous spiritual gifts. Chapter 14 focuses once again on the assemblies, and how the Christians were to conduct themselves. We see in verse 4 the phrase, "edifieth the church." In verse 5, we find, "that the church may receive edifying." Verse 12 tells us, "Seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church." Move on down to verse 19, where Paul wrote, "Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice 1 might teach others also..." Then, as we move down to verse 23, it becomes even clearer that Paul is writing about times when they assembled. The verse says, "If therefore the whole church be come together into one place ..."
In his discussion of the conduct and activities that are to take place in the assemblies, Paul wrote, in 1 Corinthians 14, verses 15-16, "What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing that he understandeth not what thou sayest?" Prayer was a part of the worship of the first-century church, and at least a portion of it was public.
I felt a bit reluctant about writing this article for fear that any who were so inclined might misinterpret what I was saying. Prayer was undoubtedly a part of the pubic worship in the first-century church, but we need to be very careful about it. We must not make the same mistake as the Pharisees who tithed mint, anise, and cumin, "but neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith." (Matthew 23:23)
As we seek to the worship of the early church, and to a large measure we have succeeded in doing that, we cannot allow ourselves to be content with the mere duplication of the outward forms of prayer. Prayer must be more than just an item or act of worship that we perform in a routine kind of way. There is much to be said about prayer, but the scope of this article does not permit it. However, there are some things that must be said. Individually, prayer is a pretty effective measure of what we are as Christians. Many passages command us to pray. Are we personally obedient to that command? Prayer is a test of our humility. A proud man may pray loudly and at great length publicly, but does he go to God on his knees, literally or figuratively, in the privacy of his own home? Prayer is a test of our faith. It evidences our trust in a personal God who really cares about each of us individually.
What about prayer congregationally? How do we, as a church, compare with the early church? I would like to share with you a portion of a lecture Sewell Hall gave on this subject. He wrote:
"The first church was a praying church, and no doubt that had part in its rapid growth, both in numbers and in faith. If their prayers were not important they would not have been mentioned. I have had opportunity to observe some growing churches that are just as strong in denouncing sin, in demanding strong preaching, and in maintaining discipline as any that are stagnant, but I have often seen in those prospering churches more emphasis on prayer. There are churches that have fairly regular prayer meetings--meetings devoted entirely to prayer: prayer for sick people, for the lost, for God's will to be done in national emergencies, for evangelists being sent out to preach the gospel, and for other special needs. In addition, they meet together in the homes of members, just as the Jerusalem church met in homes for prayer (Acts 12:12). When such churches are growing, it just may be that they are growing because of their dependence on the Lord and the blessings He has promised. How does the congregation of which you are a part measure up?"
Hopefully, this will help us all to better understand that prayer is in fact a part of the collective worship of the church, as well as how important it truly is.
Brother Litmer has given us some serious food for thought on this important subject. I remember, in years gone by, hearing about churches that were having prayer meetings and thinking it sounded a bit denominational. Yet, as I examine what God's word teaches, I can see that such meetings could have a wonderful effect on a local congregation. How?
- Brethren grow closer together when they are praying for one another, the work, and of course, for those who are spiritually and physically sick.
- Praying together can help us understand why we need to depend more on God and less on ourselves. "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." (Ephesians 3:20)
Prayer helps us to remember the true source of our strength. Sometimes we dismiss different approaches because they are unfamiliar. Congregational prayer services could also go a long way in improving our personal prayer lives. Don't forget that prayer is our avenue of communication with our Creator. God is the one who has the power to answer the prayers we pray according to His will and what is in our best interest. May we, as God's people, never underestimate the power and blessing in praying to our Father. I have to add a hearty AMEN to Brother Litmer's article. (KMG)