To God be the glory!

When the very first Christians began assembling together right at the start of

their Christian lives,

Luke tells us about their habit, or manner, of behaving:

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the

breaking of bread, and in prayers," Acts 2:42.

From the very beginning of not only their Christian lives,

but the life of Christianity, prayer was a central part.

To study prayer is to look at something that is a part of the public worship

assemblies, but also,

it's to be a vital part of our daily private lives.

"Prayer" is from the Latin word "prex,"

meaning "petition," "entreaty," "request."

And that's what prayer is.

It's "the sincere desire of the heart expressed in words to God,"

Romans 10 and verse 1.

It's not simply an attitude or desire, but an audible expression.

Jesus said in Matthew 7 and verse 7: "Ask and it shall be given unto you..."

Prayer is "pouring out the soul in words expressed to God,"

like Hannah did in 1 Samuel 1 and verse 15.

Long ago, someone beautifully, simply, expressed it this way.

"The Bible is God's way to talk to us;

and prayer is our way of talking to God."

In the days of the Bible, God sometimes spoke to man directly.

You might recall that He spoke to Moses through a burning bush.

He spoke to the prophet Balaam through a donkey.

He spoke to men through visions and angels, and even directly.

We read in Hebrews 1 and verse 1, that: "God, who at various times and in various ways

spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has

in these last days spoken to us by His Son..."

In ancient times, man, at times, was able to speak to God directly.

When Jesus walked the earth, men

who spoke to him were speaking to God in the flesh.

And when we approach God in prayer,

we are engaging in the highest honor that a person could ever hope to achieve.

What if you could speak to the person that you thought was the most powerful

and influential person to ever live?

Maybe Socrates or Einstein,

Thomas Jefferson, or Ronald Reagan.

In prayer you approach One endlessly, more wise, more powerful,

and more able.

It would be a thrill to be able to go back through time

and to visit a worship service of the early church.

To hear the matters of concern that filled those prayers;

to hear the ways that they praised their Heavenly Father; to hear their

dependency

as they pleaded with Him.

Did you know that prayer preceded

the establishment of the church, Acts 1:23 to 26?

It immediately followed the establishment of the church, Acts 2 and verse 42.

And prayer was

center stage

during the church's first crisis.

Luke records in Acts, chapter 4, verse 23:

And being let go, they went to their own companions

and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

So when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord

and said:

"Lord, Thou art God,

Which has made heaven and earth and the sea,

and all that in them is,

who by the mouth of Thy servant David has said:

'Why did the heathen rage,

and the people imagine vain things? The

kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered

together against the Lord and against His Christ.

For of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus,

whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod

and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered

together

for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determine before to be done.

And now, Lord, behold their threatening,

and grant unto Thy servants that with all boldness they may speak Thy word,

by stretching forth Thine hand to heal,

and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Thy holy child Jesus."

And when they had prayed,

the place was shaken where they were assembled together,

and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit,

and they spake the word of God with boldness.

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of the one

soul;

neither said any of them

that all of the things which he possessed with his own, but they had all

things common."

Notice that Peter and John had been threatened.

Then the church prayed.

They recognize God for Who He is: the Lord of heaven and earth. Verse 24.

They quoted scripture in their prayer.

Verse 25.

They recognized the eternal purpose of God on the earth. Verse 27

and 28.

They asked for God's help with their enemies, with their own courage,

and in showing that they were preaching the truth. Verse 29 and 30.

And I want you to see

that their prayer brought results.

After the prayer,

they spoke with boldness. Verse 31.

They were united. Verse 32.

And they were generous. Verse 32.

What an example this is for us.

Now, I want us to look at prayer in the life of the church,

and also in our lives as individual Christians. And to do this,

let's ask some questions about this very vital and basic part of our lives as

Christians.

The first question to ask

is: "Who should pray?"

When we're talking about public prayer in the church, then the answer of "who"

is restricted.

Paul wrote to Timothy, in 1 Timothy 3:15, and said:

"But if I am delayed,

I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God,

which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

This verse reveals the purpose of Paul in writing this letter to Timothy.

Timothy was the preacher for the church in Ephesus and Paul needed to help

a younger preacher to know

how to teach the church how to conduct itself.

And among the several things that Paul covers in the letter,

he teaches about prayer.

He says in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 8:

"I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere,

lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting..."

Now this verse and the verses that follow, shows God's will that the men

of the church lead in prayer.

Now, this is not because men are superior to women in God's eyes, or in

the eyes of those

who are part of the body of Christ.

But, our Lord specified who it is He wants taking this leadership role,

including in the practice of public prayer and worship.

But you will notice that the Lord's commands are even more specific than just

the male members of the church.

First of all, He says "men with holy hands" should lead us in prayer.

Now, while many find from this guidance for

swaying and raising their hands in worship, they miss

the significance of what Paul is actually urging here.

He's not commanding a certain posture.

He is calling for men who lead pure, committed and righteous lives, to be before

us leading prayer.

A man whose attendance is woefully or willfully inadequate,

should not lead us in worship and prayer.

A man whose sinful habits, his lifestyle, or language away from the building, is known

to a few or some or many, should not lead us in prayer and worship.

Domineering, divisive men

whose attitude in handling a brother is ugly and unChristlike, should not lead

us in prayer and worship.

We have lost sight of what God wants from our worship when who leads us in

prayer is reduced to whatever warm bodies happen to be in the building at that

given service.

God requires men with holy hands

to lead us in prayer and worship.

But second, "men without wrath" should lead us in worship.

Now, wrath is more than anger. It includes the concepts of violence and bullying.

It's from a word meaning "to cause to go up in smoke," and it denotes

"a violent movement of air, water, the ground, or animals, or men."

It's the one who is out of control and without the people skills

needed to lead in any sense.

A wrathful prayer leader negatively impacts not only himself,

but those that he leads.

It would be a major distraction to try and follow such a volatile leader.

And third:

Paul says "men without dissension" should lead us in worship.

The idea is of one feuding and disputing.

We may forget that God sees our conduct when we're not behind the microphone.

God is surely displeased when promoters of strife and disharmony,

have the audacity to stand before us and to try to unite our hearts in worship

to God.

Now, if a man is still leading us in prayer,

it is implied that the rest of us are quietly following that lead.

When you're being led in prayer, then

let your mind be engaged in what is being said.

In this way, you are engaging together in that act of worship.

Acts 4:31 says

that: "They prayed."

Acts 12 and verse 12, mentions that many were gathered together praying,

in somewhat of a prayer service.

It would have been confusing for several to pray at once. And so,

the obvious implication is that one man at a time

led the congregation in prayer, and they silently participated with him.

If we are called on to pray,

even as a new Christian, we should remember that we have

the joyful anticipation of our Heavenly Father receiving that prayer,

and the love and support of our spiritual family who are praying with

us.

A brother in Christ once said that new members of Christ's body, especially the

men,

are especially anxious to learn about public prayer.

And he said,

"Shortly after my own conversion, I was called upon from the pulpit to lead a

closing prayer without prior notice.

I began falteringly but

became so involved in my prayer with the Almighty God,

that I choked up and could not finish.

After an embarrassing silence,

a beautiful brother near me finished the prayer.

This true story I tell to illustrate love and patience

of the brethren."

And how right he is.

Now, when we talk about prayer in the life of the individual Christian,

everyone should be faithful.

The psalmist said in Psalm 32 and verse 6 that: "... everyone who is godly shall

pray to the Lord..."

The New Testament urges the Christian to have a devoted prayer life.

It should be constant. 1 Thessalonians 5:17: "Pray without ceasing."

Colossians 4 and verse 2 says:

"Devote yourselves to prayer,

keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving."

And in Romans 12 and verse 12,

we are admonished to "continue steadfastly in prayer."

Paul, after talking about the

whole armor of God says in Ephesians 6:18:

"... Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,

being watchful to this end

with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints..."

And then there's the parable of Jesus.

In Luke 18 and verse 1, Jesus spoke a parable to them that: "... Men always

ought to pray and not lose heart..."

God, like any good father,

wants to hear from His children.

He wants to be acknowledged and appreciated,

and addressed lovingly, respectfully, and frequently.

And here's what's going to happen when you invest

in a regular, heartfelt and faithful, prayer life.

You will feel a greater sense of dependency upon God

in your daily walk.

You're going to more consciously consider what the will of God is

and the decisions that you make in life.

You're going to

have a better sense of God's providential care in actively working in your daily

Christian life.

Rick Hoight was born with a severe physical disability from birth,

that left him unable to talk or walk or use his hands.