Scripture Reference: Acts 4:23-31

Acts 4 is an account of a church at prayer. What wonderful things happened! An earthquake shook the building. Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit. Boldly they began to witness. There was unity in the church. The church had great power, and grace was upon every member of the congregation.

Have you ever seen God’s power released in and through a church—a local assembly of His people? If so, that church must have been a praying church, for the power of God operates through a praying church. We can pray, believe, and receive, or we can pray, doubt, and do without.

There is a church in Seoul, Korea, that has been marvelously blessed of God. The pastor teaches the people to do two things: pray and witness. They are short in every other area, but they are long in prayer and witnessing. What is the result? The church has nearly 500,000 members. The first Sunday service begins at 6:30 A.M., and the last service begins at 12:00 midnight. The sanctuary seats over 17,000 people. In every worship service there is standing room only. Often the members are asked not to attend the following Sunday so visitors can come and be saved. That is the power of a praying church! That is the pattern of the New Testament church in the Book of Acts.

It’s time for the church to have a new emphasis and a new entering into the spirit of corporate prayer. Just as individuals are to pray, the church is to pray as a body.

Problems have always faced Christ’s church:

• getting the gospel to the outsider;
• securing spiritual results from our ministry;
• finding the right leaders for the various activities of our church;
• finances;
• the lack of love and unity;
• discipling new converts; and
• some people failing to be submissive and giving themselves to spiritual authority and leadership.

But these are not the critical issues. The real problem is the prayer life of the church. If that problem is solved, every other problem will find a solution. Difficulties will soon disappear; obstacles will be removed when the prayer life of the church is powerful and effective. A praying church quickly becomes a revived church, a worshiping church, a soul-winning church, a giving church, and a spiritual church.

There is only one real problem in every church, and that is to get the members of that church together on their knees before Almighty God.

Luke recorded:

“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” (Acts 4:31).

So the church needs more than anything else to be a praying church. What are the marks of a praying church? The answer is found in our Scripture text in Acts 4:23–31.

Next we will discuss the attributes of a praying church.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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