"All these were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers. (Acts 1:14 HCSB)
A great way to get people to church is to have a potluck dinner. Nothing brings people in quite like food. If the fellowship after the meal carries on too long and you need to get people out, call an impromptu prayer meeting.
I learned a long time ago that the quickest way to get a pastor to quit asking you to join some type of ministry is to tell the pastor, "I'll pray about it." I was called out on this once. I explained ad nauseam that I was not called to the ministry we were discussing. To end the conversation I fired my shot. "I''ll pray about it."
Without missing a beat, the response came, "Most people who say they will pray about something never really do."
What makes people reluctant to pray? What makes them more reluctant to pray in public? If they have a good private prayer life then it seems praying in public would be a natural extension of an established conversation with God.
The first church--before it could be considered a church--was a praying church. The prayers of this gathering united them. The disciples that followed Jesus, except for Judas Iscariot, were gathered and united in prayer. Along with them were women, including Jesus' mother, as well as Jesus' brothers. His brothers were skeptics about their older brother's deity during His earthly ministry and now they were praying leaders within the emerging church.
The Christian faith is divided among denominations. Our country, a nation abundantly blessed by God, is divided along political parties, race, religion, and ethnicity. Only prayer can heal this country. This does not mean interfaith prayer meetings hosted by celebrities. It means the Christian church must set the example and become, once again, a church that is united in prayer. If we become a praying church there are two possible outcomes. One outcome, the unity of the praying church will draw people to God. The other outcome, the church will be strengthened and ready to endure the real persecution that sits on the horizon. Or, it could be both.
The praying church will grow. Souls will be won to the Lord and names will fill the Lambs book of life. The church will grow numerically and in spiritual strength and the enemy will be rallied to increase his attacks. The end times will draw closer and the church will suffer genuine persecution. All this sound ominous but fear is not a factor. Our Lord and Savior has already secured the victory.
