After Jesus ascends, His disciples gather in an upper room in Jerusalem (a “high place”) to devote themselves continuously to prayer (1:14). They keep praying throughout the book:

• They pray before they choose Matthias as a replacement for Judas (1:24).
• After Pentecost, they assemble for teaching, fellowship, meals, and prayer (2:42).
• When the Sanhedrin opposes Peter and John, the disciples pray Psalm 2 (4:31).
• The apostles’ main work is prayer and the ministry of the word (6:4).
• The apostles pray as they commission the Seven to care for widows (6:6).
• Samaritans receive the Spirit after the apostles pray (8:15).
• After Jesus appears to Saul, he goes to the house of Judas to pray (9:11).
• Peter raises Tabitha from the dead through prayer (9:40).
• Peter and Cornelius meet after both receive visions during prayer (10:9, 30).
• The church prays during Peter’s imprisonment, which leads to a jail break (12:5, 12).
• The church of Antioch prays for Barnabas and Saul as they send them on mission (13:3).
• Elders are appointed with prayer and fasting (14:23).

And that’s only from the first half of Acts! Clearly, if we want to be a biblical church, we must be devoted to prayer.

Many Christians find prayer difficult. Here are a few practical suggestions to help you develop a more consistent prayer life:

• Set up a specific time for prayer each day – early morning, lunch, evening, all three. Do it long enough to form a habit.
• Use Psalms or a prayer book. It’s OK to follow pre-written prayers.
• Get a prayer app to keep track of needs. I used Prayer Prompter for personal prayer items and Operation World to pray for the global church.
• Pray through the Immanuel prayer list that Cindy compiles every week.
• Find friends to pray with on a regular basis. Start a neighborhood prayer group. Pray with your family at your evening meal.
• Cultivate the habit of praying as needs arise during the day.
• Don’t think you need to pray for hours at a time. A few minutes of prayer is infinitely better than none.

My challenge is simple: However you do it, pray. Pray for your family, neighbors, friends, Immanuel Reformed Church. Pray for Birmingham, our nation, our leaders, the world. 

There’s never a lack of things to pray for. As C. S. Lewis said, “I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping.”

Don’t get discouraged. Pray.

Blessings,
Pastor Leithart