August 5, 2007
Rev. Terry D. Campbell

The Importance of Prayer
Acts 4:23-31

“On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? ²⁶The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’

²⁷Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. ²⁹Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’

³¹After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Is it really THAT important that God’s people pray? Do our prayers matter? Does God use our prayers? What is the place of prayer in the life of a church congregation?

Sometimes churches must pray their way through. While churches should always be people of prayer, there are situations where churches must respond by praying their way through. Spiritual challenges demand spiritual responses and getting God involved is the ultimate spiritual response we can make. That’s where prayer comes in!

I. Spiritual warfare rages still today. (vs. 25-26)

“Through the name of Jesus” got them in trouble. they had preached in Jesus’ name, healed in Jesus’ name and were transforming society in Jesus’ name! Then came the backlash. There was, and is, a resistance to Jesus’ authority by society, the religious establishment and people in general.

People have spiritual illusions: “We don’t need Jesus Christ telling us what to do. We can live well enough by ourselves or using our own gods.”

Only about ½ of the population of Hancock County is churched. The rest act as if they could care less about Christ or being close to Him. Spiritual warfare rages still today. Who is praying for their souls?

People have spiritual delusions: We may say we have Jesus, but Jesus wants things done our way. The conspiracy against Jesus today includes more subtle attacks:

These are all strongholds the enemy has gotten. We need to bring our delusions to the Communion table, confessing our own sins and praying for the illusions and delusions that blind us to be removed and transformed.

II. The church must look to God for help. (vs. 29-30)

“Through the name of Jesus” was their hope in the midst of trouble. They had the choice of living in fear or faith. They chose to believe that there is hope, power and a future in the name of Jesus. They chose to live in faith—seeking God in prayer and asking Him to help them be faithful and to be able to accomplish what God wanted accomplished. “Enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’” God, keep doing Your “Thing” and enable us to do it, too!

Prayer is the church’s #1 tool to use in spiritual warfare and Kingdom building—followed closely by God’s written word. Remember what God has done and ask Him to do it again. Never forget that we are told in Hebrews 13:8-“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Prayer connects us with God. We must lean on God—lean forward not back. Be on the offense for seeing and doing God’s will—and God WILL help with that! 1 John 5:14-15-“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

III. After they prayed, the church could do God’s will well, (vs. 31)

“Through the name of Jesus” was their source out of trouble. “In Jesus’ name” is not a magic phrase, but the key to our being able to having access to the throne of God and defines the parameters of our praying (we are saying, God, do Your will, not ours).

The church in Acts prayed, not for themselves only, but for God’s work—They prayed to be able to continue to speak the word of God boldly. They got what they prayed for. They asked to be able to speak the word of God boldly and they were able to do it!

We need to pray about victory over three Pulls on people:

What will you do now?

Martin Luther said, “Pray as if everything depends on God, then work as if everything depends on you.” Prayer is of ultimate importance to Christians and the life of the Church. Through prayer we connect with God and become a part of the release of His divine power in this world. If a Christian or church wants to faithfully accomplish God’s will, we must remember and engage ourselves with God in prayer! Amen.