They Devoted Themselves: Thoughts on Sustaining Prayer

Later this month, we make the transition to weekly prayer services. I’ll be honest, I’m nervous about it. I have been asking myself questions like, “What if it gets old?” “What if people lose interest and stop attending?” It makes me nervous because I realize that whether I like it or not, entertainment is at the center of much of our “American” Church.

Will people attend a prayer service where music isn’t the feature? Will people stay interested when there isn’t programs for their children or creative sermons that teach life lessons? I pray I have not built a church that is shallow and consumer driven like that. But nonetheless, I worry about these things.

There is a Scripture, however, that is bringing hope and assurance to my heart. It is a small verse tucked away in Acts 1. I think it is the answer I have been prayerfully searching for. When I ask the Lord, “What will sustain an ongoing prayer gathering? A prayer service that is not for a few weeks or a few month and then fizzles out?” This is what I feel the Lord has given me.

Acts 1:14, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer…” This one statement is the key to sustaining prayer, both in the church and our individual lives. So now, instead of asking myself silly questions like, “Will people continue to attend?” or “Will the prayer meeting get boring?” Now I am asking myself the serious questions the Lord would have me ask. Questions like, “Am I devoting myself to true prayer?” “Am I in one accord with other believers and are we calling on the name of the Lord together?” Can you see the difference?

Praying Together
Who are the “All these” Luke mentions in Acts 1:14? Well, verse 13 tells us that after Jesus had ascended, those who were with him gathered in an upper room. Luke records the names of the Apostles who were there, naming Peter first. He also mentions in verse 14 that several women were with them, naming Mary, the mother of Jesus, as well as Jesus’ biological brothers. But then verse 15 notes that there were in all about 120 followers of Jesus who had gathered.

This challenges me to ask if I am praying in unity or “one accord” with other believers? Think about it, do you gather with other Christians for the sole purpose of prayer? Most of us do not. We gather for the entertainment of church, but do we gather for prayer? I realize that some people could walk into my church, grab a cup of coffee, get a weekly bulletin, enjoy the music and hear a sermon and walk out the doors without saying anything to anyone. Is that what God intended for His Church?

We are not to gather to hear good music and sermons only! We are to gather for the purposes of glorifying God, encouraging one another and praying for one another. Can this happen if I do not know the names of most people I attend church with? This bothers me greatly because I realize that most people in my church do not know each other’s names, let alone their situations and burdens in life. Then how can we lift one another up the way God intends? In my view, the only way this can happen effectively is through prayer services where the sole purpose is to pray.

So here were the 120 original Christ followers. Notice the series of events that they had experienced. Christ spent His final 40 days teaching them about the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit was coming upon them (Acts 1:4-5). He also said they would be given power from the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8) and then miraculously, they physically watched Jesus ascend into the Heavens (Acts 1:10). It was probably the most exhilarating few days they had ever experienced.

I would think that some thought it best to immediately set up a discipleship program, while others asked where they would gather on a permanent basis. How would they fund their operation? How would they expand their network of believers and communicate the important issues of the new, established church? You know what, Luke doesn’t record any of this. Instead, he tells us what the chief aim of the new church was in verse 14, “They devoted themselves to prayer….”

Devoted to Prayer
Now think about this, Christ gave them the game plan of the Church in Acts 1:8. They were to evangelize Jerusalem (the scene of the crucifixion of Jesus). Then they were to evangelize all of Judea, then Samaria and ultimately to the ends of the earth. I can only image what those type-A, organized and driven personalities were thinking.

I would have been the one saying, “How are we going mobilize, communicate, fund our operations and be effective in all of these places at once? We need to have strategy meetings and creative teams who can get the logistics of this figured out.” But according to Luke, they didn’t worry about logistics. They didn’t create strategy teams. They prayed! If it was this important to a band of 120 believers, how much more should it be important to us in today’s Church?

There are many things we can devote ourselves to. For many, they devote themselves to their career. The pressure that company’s put upon their employees today is crushing. Several times a year, I will attend management courses designed for the secular business world. I feel like it helps me manage my staff as well as our volunteer force more efficiently. I’m always the odd guy in the room being a pastor. I have attended many all-day seminars with executives from Coke-a-Cola, the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and Chick Fil-A restaurants just to name a few. These executives and managers are usually scratching their heads wondering what a pastor is doing at a management workshop, but so much of my job and weekly decisions is about managing, so it is beneficial to me.

I remember being in one workshop where a manager was venting his frustrations with the people he employees. I will never forget what the facilitator of the workshop said. In an angry tone, he instructed, “Tell your employees there are a thousand people in line to take their job at a moment’s notice and they will do it for less pay than you’re doing it.” I thought to myself, “What kind of pressure are the people who attend my church under who work for people like this?” Our job’s demand more and more of us.

Our families are demanding! For many of us, our kid’s schedules are busier than I our own…and we’re the adults! It seems that our society moves at such a rapid pace that we are pulled in every direction. So there is no shortage of things to give ourselves to. But in all of your busyness, are you devoted to prayer?

Think about it. What will give you strength to meet all of life’s demands? Prayer! What will sustain you when you are running on empty? Prayer! What will connect you to the heart, wisdom and energy of God? Prayer! So why do we neglect it?

Resetting Priorities
I think what it means to be devoted to prayer is that I depend on it more than I depend on my own strength or my own wisdom. Being devoted to prayer means that it is the chief priority of my life. It means I communicate with the Lord over everything. I remember when I was young in my faith I would only talk to God when I needed His help. One day, the Holy Spirit gently corrected me and said, “Chad, you only come to Me when you need something. I want you to talk to Me about everything…good and bad. Tell Me when you need help, but also, tell Me what is right and hat is good about your day.” That helped me so much to develop a relationship with the Lord. It really taught me what Paul meant when he wrote, “pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

I also think being devoted to prayer means that I give it the time it deserves in my life. Whatever we think is important is what will ultimately get our time. Think about this, the most important and powerful people in the world have the exact same 24 hours in a day that you and I have. Isn’t that remarkable? God does not give time based on money, power or influence. We are all given the same allotment. What we do with it matters to the Lord.

Were there busy people in Jesus’ day? Absolutely. There were businesses to build, families to provide for and incomes to be made. But these 120 followers got it right. Ultimately, they made prayer their priority. Yes, they had families. They all had to eat and they all had to live, but prayer is what marked their lives and here we are talking about them over 2,000 years later.

Will prayer be the difference maker in your life in 2017? I hope and pray that it is.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7