Duncan Christian Reformed Church

What's in a Church? The Prayers

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). We've been looking into the four corners of the church. This article will look into the last corner, what is literally "the prayers." The word translated "devoted" is used elsewhere, and often is associated with prayer.

They all joined together constantly in prayer (Acts 1:14).
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12).
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful (Colossians 4:2).
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18, using a word related to "devoted").

I like what Jim Cymballa says about prayer. Referring to Revelation 5:8, he points out that prayer is so valuable to God that he keeps them, held by the representatives of the church in all times and places, in a golden bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of the church. God keeps our prayers in a bowl, a golden bowl! Our prayers are that valuable to him, that precious! May God give us all an delight in such things!

Jesus calls the temple - and we, the church are now the temple in which God dwells by his Spirit (Eph 2:21-22) - he calls the temple a house of prayer for all nations (Mark 11:7). If the church is to be anything in the world, it is to be a place of prayer. From the verses above, we can state what this will look like. It is a place where people gather in groups to pray for each other, for the lost, for the world! It is a place where, if we do anything at all, it is for certain going to involve actually praying to God! In other words, we will not just talk "about" prayer to God; we will pray! It is a place where we devote ourselves to prayer, and while we're praying keep watch to see where God is at work - and praying for a blessing on that; and also keep watch to see where the devil is at work (trying to be an angel of light, even in the church) - and praying against that. The church is a place where leaders lead, mostly in the area of prayer. It is a place where the cry of our hearts is, "Lord, teach us to pray," and learning to listen to the Holy Spirit as he leads us into the presence of the living God; the Spirit, who helps us in our weakness, teaching us to pray. We don't know what to pray, but he intercedes for us, and gives us the words to express our needs to the Throne of grace (Rom 8:26).

The four corners of the church: the apostles' teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. When we think of corners, we think of squares, or perhaps rectangles. I'd like to suggest that we think of the church as a triangle. The top of the triangle reminds of the Father, the left corner of Jesus his Son whom he sent, and the right corner the Holy Spirit, also sent. Or again, the top reminds us of the apostles' teaching, the left corner the fellowship, and the right corner the breaking of the bread. In the centre of all of these, there is prayer that draws them all together, close and near. Prayer needs to be the centre of all we do. We need to begin with prayer, end with prayer, and at the points between be in prayer. In this way we will grow in our dependence on God, which is what the church is all about!

Pastor Walt Vanderwerf