Approach To Prayer

Approach to Prayer

(Group Prayer Context)

• Prayer is essential

But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word (Act 6:4)

Here we see that Apostles give prime importance to prayer as much as they give to ministry of the word. One cannot go without the other. Ministry of the word is very important. But equally important is prayer, which will drive it.

therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Mat 9:38)

The Lord also instructs us to pray to him first for the sending out of laborers. Prayer needs to be made before every step of carrying out a mission.

• Prayer has to be regular

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Act 2:42)

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, (Act 2:46)

From these two verses it is clear that the believers met everyday for prayer. They were certainly not hermits. They must have had their daily responsibilites and would have needed to earn their livelihood. But still they met and prayed.

Result : God added to their numbers

• Functions of prayer: The things prayer accomplishes

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. (Act 4:31)

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. (Act 4:32)

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Act 4:33)

• Prayer fills us with the with the Spirit of God

God filled the believers with the Holy Spirit as a response to their prayer

(Being filled with Holy Spirit means that our spirit is completely under the control of the Holy Spirit. And the words that we speak are his and carry his power.)

Being filled with the Spirit is essential to carry out effective ministry

Eg.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; (Isa 61:1)

Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. (Act 6:3)

Being filled with the Holy Spirit gives us boldness

Boldness here means - confidence, fearlessness, freedom of speech to preach the word of God.

Do we need boldness for carrying out the EU ministry?

- We need boldness to enter into new colleges without fearing the authorities.

- We need boldness to share the Gospel plainly with students.

- We need boldness to face problems which may crop up as a result of witnessing.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit makes our testimony very powerful

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Act 4:33)

But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. (Act 6:10)

We have to be filled with the Holy Spirit before carrying out any work for God. And we will be filled with the Holy Spirit only if we ask for this in prayer

• Prayer aids in Fellowship

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. (Act 4:32)

It helps in making believers of one heart and one soul. We need to be united in Christ to carry on his ministry more effectively. If we are not united our testimony will fall as Jesus himself has said.

All this is made possible through prayer and also by just meeting together in a common place for prayer.

• Prayer increases our earnestness (burden)

Our prayers need to be characterized by earnestness. It has to be heartfelt and reflect my passion for the Lord.

So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. (Act 12:5)

therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Mat 9:38) (earnest phrase also comes in Luke)

As we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? (1Th 3:10)

I believe prayer increases my earnestness. As I pray more about a particular thing regularly, God increases my burden and zeal for it. It is not the other way round.

So when we meet together and pray regularly for the Student Ministry, this will increase our earnestness (burden) for the Student Ministry. And we will be praying more out of earnestness than out of obligation and out of duty.

• Summary and Conclusion:

Let us understand that prayer is essential and needs to be regular. Prayer alone equips us for ministry. Let us not give up meeting together (Heb10:25) for prayer.