The enduring practice of the earliest Christians was gathering for prayer. It was essential to their meeting together. They didn’t just demonstrate praying together, they also taught it. Consider a few passages that provide a foundation for churches to gather for prayer. Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” 2Continue reading “How can you spend more time praying with others? – Praying together, Part 5”
Tag Archives: prayer meeting
The effect of church families gathering for prayer – Praying together, Part 4
The first Christians spent the better part of three years observing Jesus’ practice of prayer. They heard him teach about prayer. Years later when they instinctively gather for prayer over and over and over, they demonstrate for us their commitment to do what Jesus did and taught. In Acts 4, as we saw in the previous post,Continue reading “The effect of church families gathering for prayer – Praying together, Part 4”
What happened when the first Christians gathered for prayer – Praying together, Part 2
In the previous post, we observed the prayer meeting the followers of Jesus held right after he ascended back to his father in heaven. The book of Acts tells us that at the 10-14 mark of their nonstop prayer meeting, something powerful happened. Look at Acts chapter 2, verses 1-4: “When the day of PentecostContinue reading “What happened when the first Christians gathered for prayer – Praying together, Part 2”
What kind of prayer meetings does God desire? – Praying together, Part 1
Do you remember the Asbury outpouring that happened last year? From February 8, 2023, all the way to February 24th, 2023, that’s 17 days, there was a continuous, 24/7, worship and prayer event at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. Throughout history there have been numerous such extended prayer efforts. In fact, the International House ofContinue reading “What kind of prayer meetings does God desire? – Praying together, Part 1”
Why I decided to cancel our church’s weekly prayer meeting, and why I told people I would not start it back up – Praying together, Preview
When I started as Faith Church’s Youth/Associate Pastor in 2002, Faith Church held weekly Sunday morning worship, Sunday evening worship and Wednesday prayer meeting. A few years later the Sunday evening service had dwindled to the point where maybe a handful of people attended, and we canceled it. At that time Wednesday prayer meeting wasContinue reading “Why I decided to cancel our church’s weekly prayer meeting, and why I told people I would not start it back up – Praying together, Preview”
Could prayer meetings and hand-raising be the worship that God really wants?
Last week I mentioned the massive investment Christians have made in building-centered, staff/program-heavy, Sunday worship. I wondered if God might evaluate us concluding, “I wish you would have done something different.” But how do we know what God would say? Most of us involved in leading church worship do want to know God’s evaluation of our worship.Continue reading “Could prayer meetings and hand-raising be the worship that God really wants?”
Why our church prayer meeting tripled in attendance this week
We normally have 8-10 faithful pray-ers at the Faith Church prayer meeting each Wednesday evening. This week we had 27. On Sunday night, a lady in our church family, who lives just a few doors down the road from the church building, was walking to a Bible study Christmas party, and she was struck byContinue reading “Why our church prayer meeting tripled in attendance this week”
Engaging Scripture 