A Praying Church
I have seen countless churches that desire to reach their communities for Christ execute strategy after strategy only to see their efforts fail miserably. Our churches today need less clever talk and more dependence on the invisible, convicting power of the Holy Spirit as they share the Gospel. When a church prays, the presence of God rests upon it and affects believers and unbelievers alike.
It’s exactly how corporate prayer coupled with a simple Gospel appeal yielded such a vast spiritual harvest in the early Church: “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (Acts 1:14). Soon after, the apostle Peter preached his first sermon with these results: “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’… and about 3,000 were added to their number that day” (Acts 2:37, 41).
Peter’s fishing trade didn’t really prepare him for public speaking. No doubt, his sermon was no oratorical masterpiece, but God’s invisible power transformed his simple words into fiery arrows that pierced the hearts of the crowd that day.
Are you and I seeing the results Peter did? Are we bringing thousands of men and women to Christ? If not, we need to get back to this fisherman’s power source—our greatest need today in churches. We’re overloaded with organizational machinery, Bible translations and sophisticated media techniques, and we’re lacking the Holy Spirit’s power and presence as we proclaim Christ’s message.
Pastors and churches have to get uncomfortable enough to say, “We are not New Testament Christians if we don’t have a prayer life.” Granted, this conviction may make us squirm a little, but how else will we see God break through to our churches and the people around us?
Prayer and Power
Throughout Scripture, you see this link between sincere, believing prayer and God’s power on earth. Remember the Church’s reaction when King Herod arrested Peter and planned to execute him? For those of us dealing with the challenges of evangelism that are so prevalent in the so-called “post-Christian” era, the first-century account packs quite a punch.
Acts 12:5 says, “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”
What were the believers doing when Peter was arrested? A steady stream of prayer ascended to God from a desperate church as Peter lay chained in a Jerusalem dungeon. The night before his mock trial, God responded to the fervent petitions of His people: “Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell” (Acts 12:7).
It’s a beautiful picture of the invisible side of outreach when God works with His people. Something from heaven suddenly appeared. No human power could manufacture or organize it. It was something from heaven, and I’m convinced it can still happen today when our churches pray.
The angel struck Peter on the side and “woke him up.” Isn’t this what all our outreach efforts are geared toward today? Don’t we desperately want to awaken the lost from their “sleep”? That’s what the Psalmist prayed to God for—to “come down” and awaken men and women to what really matters in life.
The story ends on a victorious note: “The chains fell off Peter’s wrists” (Acts 12:7). Peter—a chained prisoner guarded by four soldiers—was set free by almighty God in answer to the petition of a group of praying believers who couldn’t get within 100 yards of the man.
I’ve seen how God can still break chains today—drugs, pornography, compulsive immoral relationships, alcohol abuse. The Holy Spirit alone has brought “something from heaven” that illumines, awakens and liberates people God loves.
To see people like Ricardo transformed into new creations, the invisible side of outreach—whether it’s the heartfelt cries of a wife in a one-bedroom apartment or the shouts of a congregation in a Tuesday night prayer meeting—is essential. It’s life-giving. Apart from Him, we can do nothing.
Jim Cymbala is senior pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn, N.Y. The church has also planted churches throughout the New York metro area and missionary stations in impoverished places like Haiti, Peru and the Dominican Republic. Cymbala has written more than 10 books, including: Breakthrough Prayer: The Power of Connecting with the Heart of God
, the award-winning Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: What Happens When God’s Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People
and Fresh Power: What Happens When God Leads and You Follow
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