And I'm going to speak this morning, the Lord helping me, on the importance of the church prayer meeting, the corporate prayer meeting. So, we will survey the corporate times of prayer in the book of Acts, when the church was praying, when believers together were praying. And there are more examples of this in the book of Acts than we realize. By way of introduction, let me just say this. Any Christian in their church ought to view the church meetings, whatever meetings the church has regularly, they should view those meetings as having been ordained and called by Christ Himself, the head of the church. It's not just the elders deciding, Christ causes people to assemble for worship, for fellowship, for prayer. And when there are called meetings, it's my growing conviction. And I think by way of the example we have in the New Testament of the church being central and foundational and primary in God's purposes, it's my conviction that if I'm a Christian in a church, and my church has meetings that are regularly set, if I'm not dead, or in the hospital sick, or having to be at work, or ill, or a family emergency, you might think of something else that would justify. But if those things aren't true, Christ calls me to be at that meeting. Because I'm a part of the body. And I will miss out on some of the grace and blessings and growth He has for me if I neglect willfully a Lord's Day meeting or a prayer meeting. John and I were talking about this last night. What all does it mean when Jesus said, My house shall be called what? He didn't say a house of preaching, for we know He wants that. He didn't say a house of fellowship. A house of prayer. And if that means anything, it means that you think about someone and if you know someone well and someone else didn't know them and they've heard about them and they say, well, what's so-and-so like? Tell me about him. What would you do? You would describe mainly what characterizes that person's life. Well, he's a real man of prayer. She's such a servant. So, if Jesus says my house should be called a house of prayer, He's got to mean that my church, my churches, ought to primarily be characterized by real prayer. A church cannot fully be a biblical church. until they make prayer a corporate priority. If a church does not have a consistent prayer meeting, it's not really a biblical church. And there are so many churches widely in any area, in any communion or fellowship or denomination, They have all kinds of meetings and neat things. They don't have a church prayer meeting. It's incredible. I know a man in another state far away, and he travels in ministry all the time, and he's always preaching on prayer and the importance of the local church and prayer. But he's a close friend of mine, and I challenge him sometimes. I say, Brother, you really should practice what you preach. Because his church at home doesn't have a prayer meeting, and he doesn't attend a regular prayer meeting. So I kind of am a thorn in the flesh in a good way. And he and I can do that with one another. If a church does not have a consistent prayer meeting, and if a Christian Any Christian that does not regularly attend a prayer meeting when they could, but they don't because it's not a priority, or they don't have time for it in their life, then they're really not adjusting their life to the standards of the New Testament. The church prayer meeting is as important to Christ as the worship time. Because there is nothing as unique as this. Think of this. There is nothing as important in the earth ever. There is nothing as unique. There is nothing as special as when believers are gathered together and they are praying together to their Heavenly Father. There is nothing in the earth like that anywhere. You can talk about U.N. meetings. You can talk about political conventions. You can talk. You name it. There's no meeting on the earth ever as important and as special as the church when it's gathered to pray. So with that being said, I want to talk about the church prayer meeting. So let's turn to the book of Acts and I'm going to show you approximately 12 church prayer meetings in Acts. Now, a church prayer meeting, by that I mean at least believers gathered. You remember one time Paul gathered with a few and they knelt down on the beach and they prayed toward the end of Acts. So that's a church prayer meeting. Believers praying together. So let's just peruse this. I'm doing this because I want you to see it in the Scriptures and see how important it is in the New Testament. Acts chapter 1, I'm just going to show you the examples, and I may comment, I may not, and we'll keep right on through this. So, we're surveying, I'm giving us a bird's eye view of the book of Acts and the corporate church prayer meeting. In Acts chapter 1, verse 14, before the day of Pentecost, in obedience to Christ, the Lord Jesus had told them Wait in Jerusalem, tarry in Jerusalem until you're endued with power from on high. So they were doing that in verse 14. They were gathered together in obedience to the Lord Jesus' direction. And it says, these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women. Women, is it okay for you to pray in the prayer meeting? Well, I mean, I don't know what y'all's position is. kicked me out without lunch today. But right there, Luke mentions the women praying and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. That word is generic. It's his siblings, which proves to any Roman Catholic that Jesus had at least he did have at least seven siblings. You can count them. But anyway, So there you have them continuing in one accord in prayer and supplication. Acts 2, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And then we know the Holy Spirit's outpoured and the fruit of that is seen in relation to prayer in verse 42. They continued steadfastly as the church in some things. What did they continue in? the apostles' doctrine, that is, the preaching of the gospel, the teaching of biblical truth, the preaching and teaching, and in fellowship, breaking of bread, and in prayers. They continued steadfastly. They were devoted to it. It was a commitment. It was a practice. They were devoted to those things. When they gathered together, that's what the church did. Preaching. Teaching. true fellowship, loving fellowship, breaking of bread together, and prayer. And the fruit of that was, look at verses 43 and 44. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together and had all things in common. Acts 4. Peter and John have been arrested. They're released. They go back to the church. And you look in the beginning with verse 31. No, not 31. 24. They go back and they have a prayer meeting as a response to this persecution beginning. Notice they're praying. So when they heard that, verse 24, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said, and then you see, they're praying. It was God-centered. They started, they focused on God Himself. They pray scripture, verses 25 and 26 from Psalm 2. They make it gospel-centered in their praying, verse 27, bringing in the Lord Jesus Christ. They view God's sovereignty in their praying, verse 28, to do whatever your hand and purpose determined beforehand to be done. And then 29, they bring it right down to the present. OK, Lord, here's the deal. Here's what's going on. God doesn't need us to give him advice or counsel or information. But he does need us to bring our current situations to him in prayer. Now, Lord, look on their threats and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word. So when they had prayed, verse 31, the place where they assembled together was shaken. That is not symbolic language. The house shook. That's happened later in church history among Scottish Presbyterians in the Hebrides Islands in 1949, 1950 when God poured out a mighty revival in the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. They were praying in a house and Duncan Campbell said, when a young man who was 24 years old finished praying, the dishes in the cabinet and the pictures on the wall began to shake. Acts chapter 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. Things happen when the church prays together that do not happen otherwise. And they don't happen when just individuals are praying in their own quiet time. Acts chapter 12 is the next one. One of my favorites. You'll be familiar with it. They finally get Peter. And James, the brother of John, the first martyr of the early church, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, they seized Peter also. He's in prison. But verse five, look at it, Peter was therefore kept in prison, but. Constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. Constant prayer was offered to God by him for the church. So the prayer, it was serious prayer. They gathered together to pray for Peter. And it was focused. It was for Peter they were praying. And it was unto God. They could have taken a fatalistic view. Well, God's sovereign. And the Lord took home His servant James. So we don't know what God's will is for Peter, but it'll be done. That wasn't their response. They prayed for Peter. And you know the story. While they're praying in the inner prison, God sends an angel, opens the prison doors. Peter comes to the place where they were praying, knocks on the door. The young girl, Rhoda, goes to the door, comes back and says, it's Peter. And they said, you're crazy. Don't interrupt the prayer meeting. We're praying for Peter. Well, he's at the door. So God mightily delivered. Some situations, that are desperate. Do we have to know God's will to pray for something? No, we don't. We're told to ask. Jesus said it six, seven times in the Upper Room Discourse. Ask, and you'll receive. Ask that the Father might be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I'll do it. Our job is to ask. God's job If he has a job, his responsibility is to answer sovereignly as he wants to. But it's wrong for us to be in unbelief and not be asking. And so, they ask, and Peter was delivered mightily. Some situations, God is only going to deliver and change situations through the church praying. Man's help, flesh and blood, is not going to get the job done. Acts 13. Now in the church that was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers. Verse 2, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, they were praying. The idea of ministering to the Lord means seeking Him. The Holy Spirit said, separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. In the context of a church that was praying, laborers for the gospel were called and sent forth. The gospel spreads by prayer. Why would we pray this morning for the Hamiltons if God didn't work and answer prayer? We're not on a fool's errand. We're not going through a dead ritual. God delights in the prayers of His people. The prayers of the upright are His delight. This is a confidence we have in Him. That if we ask anything according to His will, He's hearing us. And if we know that He hears us, we know we have the petitions we desire of Him. So the early church, as they prayed regularly, God called men to go out and spread the gospel. Acts 14 is the next example. Barnabas and Paul. Acts 14, 22 and 23. Really, 23. So when they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. I'm looking for this. It's Acts 16. Acts 16. You know, Paul's in prison in Philippi. Paul in Barnabas. And verse 25, But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying, singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. So here they are. Their backs are bleeding. They're in stocks, chains, and they have a prayer meeting. And the jailer and his house are converted. Lydia, the wealthy lady, is converted. The Philippian church is birthed out of a midnight prayer meeting when those guys probably didn't feel too much like praying. They were having a prayer meeting. Quite amazing. Acts 20 verse 36. Paul is saying goodbye to the Ephesians and the Ephesian elders. He calls for the elders of the church in verse 17. He's given them admonition, instruction. He's saying goodbye to them. And he commends them to God, verse 32, in the word of His grace. And he's not going to see them anymore. And notice verse 36. When he said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Wouldn't you have loved to have heard Paul praying there? These saints he loves, he's never going to see them again. What all would he have prayed? How would he have prayed? But when he said these things, He knelt down and prayed with them. Then they all wept freely and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him. So this was a benediction prayer meeting when he's leaving the Ephesian saints. Acts 21, verse 5, When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way. They all accompanied us. These were saints that they had met in Syria and Tyre. And it says in verse 5, they all accompanied us with wives and children until we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. A small prayer meeting. The apostle Paul, women, children, kneeling together and praying. Some friends of ours were on vacation this summer in Florida. In our church, two families went together. They went, I think, to Destin, Florida. And they said at night we would go on the beach and we would sit and we would sing hymns. And then they said we would always have a time of prayer, a group time of prayer. Some believers would be too embarrassed to do that. in public on the beach? Well, Paul and these saints weren't. They knelt down on the shore and prayed. Prayer ought to be natural. Prayer ought to be common, meaning we ought to be free anytime, anywhere to pray. Let's pray, brethren, right now together. You could say that in a Panera Bread, in a restaurant, in a parking lot, stop in Walmart with a friend and pray with them. We knelt down on the shore and prayed. Then Acts 28. Acts 28. Prayer is not mentioned particularly here, but by inference you can probably safely presume. Acts 28. 23. through the end of the chapter. Paul is at the end of his ministry. This is the last record. He's under house arrest. And so, verse 23, "...when they appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and the prophets, from morning till evening." How would you have liked to have heard that sermon? Being in on that Bible study. It'd be a toss-up on the road to Emmaus, Jesus expounding about Himself on all the prophets. I think I'd choose that one. But this wouldn't have been a bad one to be in either. Paul from morning to evening expounding the things of the kingdom. So look down in verse 30. Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him." So, if I was a betting man, which I'm not, I would put money on the probability that they were praying to Paul was leading in prayer. So, that surveys the book of Acts. You see these twelve examples given of believers praying together. Sometimes it's a whole church. Sometimes it's believers together. But they were a house of prayer. The early church was a house of prayer. Now, let me move on quickly to to just talk about principles of prayer in relation to a church prayer meeting. And one of the most important is we can't when we're together praying, we can't pray in a corporate prayer meeting the way we do have our private devotions. You just can't do it because you might pray 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes when you're alone praying and you're more free and transparent to pray things when you're alone that you would never pray publicly with others. And one of the quickest ways to quench a church prayer meeting is for somebody to start praying too long. And they go on and on. Spurgeon said, one brother began to pray in our prayer meeting. When he started out, we prayed with him. But the longer he went, we began to pray for him. And finally, we begin to pray against Him. And when He said, Amen, we all in our hearts yelled a Hallelujah. A person can be in the flesh and pray carnally, pray self-centered, and can quench the spirit of a prayer meeting. No one ought to stand out in the praying of a prayer meeting. So, let me talk about principles. And I'll give you an example. I'll just give you a testimony of how our church in Denton prays. We're not a pattern for anybody, but it's how God has led us to do it. On Sunday morning, we open our worship with a corporate time of prayer. And it is not taking prayer requests for needs. It is God-ward. We invite the brethren, anyone who will lead out in prayer, They learn to do it. They develop an attitude and a heart of not being self-conscious and praying in public. And so, we make this a time to seek God together in prayer. We ask Him to come and meet with us. We ask Him to bless His Word. We thank Him for the privilege of worshiping together. We thank Him for the Lord's Day. We invoke Him to come and bless us together. It's all God-word. There's no praying for anyone except maybe whoever's preaching. That's about a ten minute time of prayer and then we go into hymn singing. We have two mid-week church prayer meetings in our church. One's in Denton. Another is in other locations because geographically some people live too far away to make it to the Denton prayer meeting on Wednesday. So we have two prayer meetings every Wednesday. And those times of prayer are strictly horizontal. They're strictly petition. We'll pray for the Hamiltons. We'll pray for Paul Washer. We'll pray for missionaries. We'll pray for sick people. We'll pray for burdens. We'll give an opportunity for someone to share a need. And if they're burdened and weighed down, we'll say, well, come here, sit here. Sisters, you come and lay hands on her. Brothers, you come and pray, gather around this brother or this couple. Let some of you pray for them. We always strictly petition at our prayer meetings. We start out, we'll sing a couple of hymns, we'll share our hearts, and people learn I'm responsible in these prayer meetings to have an open heart with my brethren, to be transparent, because I'm among family, I'm among friends. They're not going to, God willing, saints that are mature and loving and are taught right, won't go out and share it. So we share and we have a prayer secretary writing down every request. We may have 20 requests. We may have 10 of any nature at all. Then one of the men will share for five minutes out of the word something to help prepare us to pray. And then we start praying. Somebody is designated to close the time. Somebody is designated to open the time. And I often say, if you're a Christian and you're in this prayer meeting, you ought to pray. Get over your shyness. Get over your timidity. Nobody's impressed by your praying. Your audience is Christ, and your brethren are going to agree with you, so learn to pray in the prayer meeting. And it has revolutionized our prayer meeting. We have 15-year-old girls and 19-year-old girls praying for missionaries, praying for their dad. And they're over their timidity and their fear about praying in the prayer meeting. And when we start praying, one will pray. And they'll pray brief because they're not going to dominate the time. They'll stop. Somebody else will start. And we go for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes nonstop. And it's life-giving. It's phenomenal. And we have seen babies healed of cancer that we prayed for every week over two years. Philip Neely's mother-in-law, Brenda Mosley, had terminal bone cancer. We prayed for her for three years every week and she came into remission. Now God doesn't always heal, but how much would He heal if we regularly called out to Him? You have not because So, here's some thoughts about when you pray together. I liken it to choosing between the shotgun effect or the rifle with the scope on it. We don't pray shotgun prayers. Lord, bless the world and save a bunch of people. How do you know if God has answered that? But make your prayers like a rifle with a scope on it, and aim at things, that is, specific, tangible requests. Lord, we want you to bless the Hamiltons in Nepal this week. Have mercy on Clyde. What we did this morning. You target things. You focus on things. We regularly have individuals praying for lost children and lost extended family. And they're always coming back. Lord, we bring Bill again to you this week. We've asked you to have mercy on him. We're coming again. Lord, arrest him. Get him. Convict him. Save him. Paul did this, targeting people in things and needs, and for more of the Holy Spirit, always. Paul said, pray for me that a door of utterance may be opened. He didn't just say pray for me. Pray for me that a door of utterance may be opened. Colossians 4, Epaphras, he's always struggling on your behalf in his prayers. Well, what's he pray, Paul? That you may stand mature and fully assured of God's will. Specific things you ask for. Targeting things in prayer. Ever coming back to them. Keep crying out regularly. If Luke 11 and Luke 18, which both teach Christ's teaching on prayer, teach anything, it is praying for specifics and praying with perseverance. And you keep praying until God answers somehow. Men ought always to pray and not faint. Paul said, be devoted to prayer at Thanksgiving. We keep crying out regularly. We do not have to know God's will about something to keep asking for it. And here's another aspect of it. Praying Scripture. In Acts 12, they were praying Psalm 2. Praying Scripture. There's a little book I want to recommend. Praying the Bible. by Don Whitney. It's very small. Any young Christian could read it and benefit from it. And he talks about how Scripture is there for us to use in prayer. Because when we pray Scripture back to God, we're praying perfectly. We're praying His mind. We're praying His words. If you need revival, get along. Pray through Psalm 19 and make it your own and be sincere. You'll get revived if you pray from the heart. It's amazing. The Psalms were the early church's prayer book and song book. And how much we neglect fuel for prayer, ammunition for prayer, creativity in prayer, when we don't use the Bible to pray Scripture more. Young people, let me say this to you. If you're a Christian, you don't have to be an older Christian or saved a long time to pray with others. One of the greatest revivals in British history, 1859 revival in Ireland. You know how it started? Teenage boys met at a haystack, began to seek God, began to pray. God heard their prayers and a national revival swept Northern Ireland. Mighty, mighty things happened. when people are serious about praying. Why do some Christians not pray with others or when they have an opportunity to pray in a prayer meeting? Let me give you some reasons why. Number one, fear. Fear. Fear of others. Fear of what others will think. You know, when Peter was walking on the water and he started to sink, he didn't say, O thou God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, thou that dwellest in the heavens, I'm sinking right now. No, he said, help! Save me, Lord! The most eloquent prayers in the Bible can be simple ones. Have mercy on me, Lord. And you can take baby steps to learn to pray with others by just praying a Scripture, choosing a missionary, choosing a name, and saying, you've never prayed in public, get over the fear. And you come to a time of prayer, And you may pray for 15 seconds. Lord, thank You for the Lord Jesus dying for me. And I pray today for the Hamiltons in China. You bless them. Amen. It may be your prayers that God will work in them. Not John's or mine, but yours if you learn to take steps. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a power love and a sound mind. And it's pride that causes us to give in to fear about praying with others. Wrong views of prayer will also keep us from praying. Like, well, I can't pray like he can or like she can, so therefore, I shouldn't pray. That's wrong thinking. Well, I can't pray as long as they can. You're not supposed to. Well, people will think I'm not spiritual. Who said that? It's not true. A spiritual person is somebody who from the heart prays from the heart. The simplest prayers. So take baby steps. If you are a Christian and you're in prayer meetings where there's an opportunity for you to pray, conquer your fear and take a step and pray. It will change everything. We've seen our prayer meetings go over the last ten years from only a few praying and some being shy to virtually everybody in the prayer meeting prays. Because they've gotten over the fear and they've learned to do it. And it's so exciting. Specific praying. You choose. Just like you do in your private devotions. When you have a prayer meeting together, if any setting where everyone can pray, You come prepared and bring something to pray. You have a friend getting married soon. Pray for them. You have someone who's sick. Pray for them. Target things. Pray for different missionaries, different churches. Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pray for God to bring new saints to your church, for Him to give increase. Another thought. Prayers that kill prayer meetings. Number one, prayers that pretend to address God, but they're intended to correct others or preach to others. That is of the flesh. Our motive cannot be toward preaching or correcting others in prayer. Our motive has to be toward God alone. Secondly, prayers that are all about self. When you're alone in your private devotions, you ought to pray a lot for yourself. But when you're in a church prayer meeting, don't just pray for yourself, about your struggles, making it all about me. Self is the focus of your praying when you're alone, but that can dominate the corporate atmosphere of a prayer meeting. Corporate prayer ought to be about others and about God working. Here's another thing will kill a prayer meeting or hinder a prayer meeting. Prayers that no one can hear. If a group has a time of prayer, somebody sits there, they're sitting down, their head down toward the floor, and they're praying like they're alone, and a brother back here can't hear a word they're saying. Now, you're not praying with them as your audience, but anybody who prays in a prayer meeting should stand up, lift up their voice to God, where all can be edified and all can agree together. You're conscious about making your contribution edifying for the church. So, another thing that hinders prayers in a prayer meeting, I alluded to, is long prayers. And so, you ought to target. Pray for somebody and then stop. And then give time to your brethren. And then come back Pray later. Sometimes we'll have people pray two or three times in a prayer meeting. So, sometimes prayers that are just ritualistic, that aren't real, can hinder prayer meetings. The church that I was saved in in West Texas, the Baptist Church, on Sunday night, my closest friend and I noticed this. There was a deacon. He was the sweetest man in town. But he would come and he did the offertory prayer for the offering every Sunday night. I don't know why they didn't spread it around, but that was his job. And every time he would pray this, and my friend and I would start saying to one another, I wonder if he'll do it again. He would stand up at the offertory prayer Same words, same thing every time. Lord, we thank You for the gift and the giver. And we remember the words of our Lord who said it's more blessed to receive than to give. Now what's wrong with that? It's not more blessed to receive than to give. It's more blessed to give, right? He always misquoted it. He had such a dead ritual, He never got out of the rut. It's not real praying. Brethren, be creative in your praying. Be specific in your praying. Have this corporate consciousness that the prayer meeting is for God's people, not for one person. Now, I want you to look in closing at hymn number 531. We're not going to sing it again. We could probably, but listen to what John Newton said in the first two stanzas. 531. And I'm going to close in prayer after I read this. John Newton. Come, my soul, thy suit prepare. Now, just meditate on that. There ought to be a preparation of the heart for prayer. In private prayer, we're ready to read the Bible, we're ready to pray. We ought to say to ourselves, Think of the privilege that I have right now. The living God is my Father. And I have an audience with the King. That's preparing your heart to pray. Come, my soul, thy suit prepare. Jesus loves to answer prayer. When a saint comes to the Lord in prayer, the Lord is not saying, man, here he is again. I guess I'll have to listen. No. God delights in the prayers of the upright. Jesus loves to answer prayer. He Himself has bid thee pray, therefore will not say thee nay. Therefore will not say thee nay. Thou art coming to a king, large petitions with thee bring. For His grace and power are such, none can ever ask too much. None can ever ask too much. Not only an individual Christian, churches that pray can never ask too big. Our praying ought to exceed and go beyond what we humanly see could be answered. Unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think. May God make us pray in churches more and more. Father, thank You that we can just catch a glimpse of the church at prayer. Make us a house of prayer. Make our churches more praying churches. Teach us to pray. Father, it's the only thing the disciples ever ask the Lord Jesus. Teach us to pray. So we ask You that this morning. Have mercy on us. Give us a spirit of prayer and supplication. A heart that's devoted to prayer. That's consistent in prayer. That's real in prayer. Make us men and women, boys and girls, of prayer. In Jesus' name we ask, Amen.