History’s Greatest Prayer Meeting

History’s Greatest Prayer Meeting

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”

Acts 1:14

“And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.”  Luke 24:52, 53

The opening two chapters of Acts find the disciples in the “Prayer Room” waiting for the PROMISE. When we enter our “Prayer Place”, we are going there to wait for an ANSWER.  “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”  (2 Corinthians 1:20)  Also read Matthew 7:7-8.

Did you ever notice how Jesus prayed? (Matthew 14:23) We see about seventeen instances of Jesus praying in the Gospels. Jesus generally made a distance between himself and His every day distractions.  It is so important for us to have a designated Prayer Place where we can talk to God.  Jesus called this our prayer closet  (Matthew 6:5-7).

Many times we call an all night prayer meeting, but this was more than just a one night stand.  They continued in prayer for ten days.  Most of us would have a difficult time in having ten days to set aside for prayer.  Some find it hard to pray for ten minutes or one hour. 

We say, “I am too busy to pray.” As one individual said, “If you are too busy to pray, then you are simply too busy.”

The Agenda for the Prayer Meeting was set by the Lord.  He said, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”  (Luke 24:49)

As we come to the Lord in prayer we should also have an agenda from the Lord or a prayer list of what we are praying for. Fill out a list of things to do in your prayer room. Plan your schedule for the day in your prayer room. List down everything that is going to happen during the day and go down the list one by one and submit it to God and His will. 

As they continued in the “Prayer Place” they prayed and worshipped. There is an unbeatable formula for drawing close to God.  It is: Praise and Worship + Prayer and Supplication = Drawing Near to God. 

Jesus said that the Church was called the “House of Prayer.”  It is so fitting that His Church started in the midst of a prayer meeting.

When the disciples had come into the Upper Room to pray they had no idea how long that they would have to stay there praying. The only hint that Jesus had given them was that they “shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”  (Acts 1:5)

They prayed, and they stayed until the promise came. This is persistent prayer: praying until you have received, without any doubt in your mind, an answer from God. Sometimes He assures you that He has answered your prayer and sometimes He lets you know that the answer is on the way. He usually has three answers to prayer requests, “Yes, No, or Wait.” 

I wonder if God would have responded to their prayers if they had stopped praying?  Would He have poured out His Spirit? 

They continued in one accord.  Any reason for disunity had been put aside. 

Praying together is called Corporate Prayer and is more effective, at times, than Solitary/Private Prayer.

Of course, when we pray alone God hears; however, there is something about two agreeing together that is powerful.  “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:19) This demonstrates for us that there is power in corporate prayer, especially when the people agree together on what they are praying.  This is sometimes called, “The Principle of Agreement.”  In one part of the church world the people say “Let’s touch and agree!” 

Why is corporate, united praying so powerful?  The secret is told in Matthew 18:20, “FOR where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”  If two are better than one, one hundred and twenty must have been something else!

Synergy Power

One of the advantages of corporate, unified prayer is called “Synergy” by the World Network of Prayer.  This simply means that “whenever there is cooperation, the result of the efforts expended will be greater than the sum of what each can do separately.  As many a surprised farmer has discovered, one horse can pull six tons of weight, but two harnessed together can pull not twelve, but thirty-two tons!  The Old Testament equation is one can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight!  If two agree on earth - all heaven is behind them!” 

In prayer we get the attention of God and then God begins to reveal Himself by getting the attention of man.

 A man named Hopkins has said, “Our prayer and God’s mercy are like two buckets in a well; while one ascends the other descends.” 

In the Book of Acts

They prayed...

Þ      In a Group                          Acts 2:42

Þ    In Private                           Acts 10:9          

They prayed for...

Þ      Outpouring of the Power

                            Acts 1:13-15; Acts 2:1

Þ      Specifically for people       Acts 9:40

Þ      Situations                         Acts 13:2

Þ      Effectiveness of

      the church                            Acts 14:23        

Þ      For rulers and leadership   Acts 28:8

With the importance of prayer so evident, it is still surprising to note that the prayer meeting is one of the least attended meetings in the churches’ weekly program.  Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ was last seen in the Scripture at a Prayer Meeting (Acts 1:14). The explosion that rocked the world and set the church off at Pentecost was an answer to prayer at History’s Greatest Prayer Meeting.