Turn to Acts chapter 2.
Acts chapter 2, verse 42:
And they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and prayers.
Matthew chapter 6. We read from verse 9 through verse 13:
Thus therefore pray ye:
Our Father, Who art in the heavens, let Thy name be sanctified;
let Thy kingdom come;
let Thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth.
Give us today our needed bread;
and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but save us from evil.
Shall we pray?
Our Father, how we rejoice in Thy presence, knowing that Thou art our heavenly Father, and we are indeed Thy children. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee. Thou Who hast given Thy only begotten Son to us, wilt Thou not give everything to us?
As we come into Thy presence, our hearts do go out to Thee in love and in adoration. We do desire, Lord, that we may give more of ourselves to Thee, as Thou hast given all to us. And we ask that Thou bless Thy word as we meditate together, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
In the early church, we find that the believers persevered; they continued together in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles.
The practical, corporate expression that they were really continuing in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles was in the breaking of bread and in prayer. So I do hope, brothers and sisters, that we always remember that the breaking of bread and prayer are the two practical, corporate expressions of our keeping the teaching and fellowship of the apostles.
Last time, when we were together, we touched upon this matter of worship and the breaking of bread. I think this is very evident. This morning, we would like to touch upon worship and prayer.
If you read the Gospels, if you study the life of our Lord Jesus, you find that throughout the life of our Lord Jesus, even though He is the Son of God, while He was on earth His life was saturated with prayers.
It would be a good study if we went through the Gospels—and we cannot do that this morning; we will just touch upon it—and took out every place where our Lord Jesus prayed and made a study of it. You would find that His life was saturated, permeated, with prayers.
His prayer was not only an indication of how utterly dependent He was upon the Father. Even though He was able to do things that ordinary persons cannot do, our Lord Jesus said that He could do nothing by Himself. Prayer certainly indicates how utterly dependent He was upon the Father.
But we find in His prayer that it was also an expression of His constant communion with the Father. He never did anything without prayer. Prayer was His very life, the very breath of His life.
And you find that in His prayer there was always the spirit of worship.
The first mention in the Bible of our Lord Jesus praying was when He was baptized. In Luke chapter 3, we are told that after He was baptized, and as He was praying, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him as a dove, the heavens were opened, and the voice said, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom is My delight.”
Now, this is the first mention in the Gospel that our Lord Jesus was praying. Of course, He prayed before that, but this was the first mention in Scripture, and it was in connection with His baptism.
What was baptism to Him? When He came to John the Baptist to be baptized, John the Baptist forbade Him. Why? Because John said there was no need for Him to be baptized. The baptism of John was a baptism of repentance, and this Man, this Jesus, had nothing of which to repent.
But our Lord Jesus said, “Let it be so, for righteousness’ sake.” In other words, when our Lord Jesus came to be baptized by John, it was not because He needed it. At that moment, He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins.
He was willing to take our place of repentance. He was willing to go into the water, into death, that He might save us. In His baptism, He was offering Himself voluntarily. Nobody forced Him to do that. There was no reason why He should do it. He was not obligated in any sense.
And yet, He voluntarily, willingly gave Himself to God as a sacrifice for our sins. When He came out of the water, the Bible says He was praying.
Now, the Bible does not tell us what He prayed. But I do believe that, if you think of the situation, certainly when He was praying He was not asking God for something.
Oftentimes, we think of prayer only as asking, as petition. We want something, so we pray and ask God to give it to us. Certainly, when our Lord Jesus stepped out of the water and was praying, He was not asking something for Himself.
At that time, after He had just offered Himself as a sacrifice to God, He was worshiping God. His very baptism was worship: giving Himself to God, that God might use Him as He willed, that God’s purpose might be fulfilled. He was praying that His offering might be accepted and might please the Father.
He was completely selfless. We know that worship is a selfless adoration going out to God. That is worship.
So I believe that, even though the Bible does not record His prayer and only tells us that He was praying, we can understand that it was not petition as such. It must have been a going out of His whole being to God in adoration and in love, offering Himself as a sacrifice.
Because of this, you find that the Holy Spirit came upon Him and abode in Him as a dove. Dear brothers and sisters, we all know what a dove represents.
Why was it that on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down upon the people as tongues of fire, but in this instance the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord as a dove? Because a dove is the sacrifice of the poor.
A poor person cannot offer a bullock. A poor person cannot even offer a sheep or a lamb. A poor person is allowed to offer a dove or a pigeon. Here you find our Lord Jesus offering Himself as a sacrifice for the poor.
The Holy Spirit came upon Him and dwelt in Him as a dove, because it was by the eternal Spirit that He offered Himself spotless unto God. The heavens were opened, and the voice said, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom is My delight.”
In other words, the Father was pleased with what He did. The Father was really worshiped through His action and His prayer.
So, brothers and sisters, let us remember that prayer and worship, worship and prayer, cannot be separated. Unless we pray with a worshiping spirit, it is no prayer at all.
Someone says that prayer can be resolved into five elements. The word prayer is such a comprehensive term. What is prayer? Someone says prayer can include these five factors.
First, prayer is adoration. Adoration is the soul lost in wondering worship of God.
This is the first element of prayer. It is a soul that is lost in wonder. When we approach God, when the sense of God is so real, then you are lost in wonder and amazement that He is such a God, that He can do such things.
It is almost speechless. Whether you express it in words, or oftentimes it is speechless, yet it is prayer. Prayer is the soul lost in rendering worship to God.
Second, prayer is thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the heart overflowing in gratitude for His abundant mercies.
Why do we give thanks? Because we are simply overwhelmed by what He has done for us. We are overwhelmed by His many mercies. That is the reason why we give Him thanks, and thanksgiving is prayer.
Third, prayer is confession. It is the expression in words of a genuine contrition, in the sense that we have failed God and that we have not attained to the divine standard.
As we confess our shortcomings, our failures, and our sins before God, it is prayer. Confession is prayer.
Fourth, prayer is petition. It is the laying before God of our personal needs.
Probably, to most people, this is prayer: we have a personal need, and we lay our needs before God and ask our heavenly Father to supply our needs. Certainly, this is prayer. It is petition.
Fifth, prayer is intercession. It is not only that we pray for ourselves and for our needs, but we make requests for other people—people who are not so privileged as we are, people who may not have such ready access to the throne of grace.
Therefore, we take it upon ourselves to intercede for other people.
A well-balanced devotional life, a prayer life, should be composed of these five elements: not only petition for ourselves, not only intercession for others, not only confession of our shortcomings, but also thanksgiving for all that He has done for us, and adoration for what He is.
These five elements compose what Scripture calls prayer. Of course, the first element is the most basic: adoration.
Here, in the first mention of the prayer of our Lord Jesus, you can see the spirit of adoration in Him—how His whole being went out to God, considering God worthy to have everything.
The next mention of our Lord praying was in Matthew. In Matthew chapter 4, verse 1, after He was baptized He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the enemy. The Bible says He fasted forty days and forty nights.
Even though the word prayer is not used, no doubt during those forty days and forty nights, when He was fasting, He was praying. Why? Because fasting is not something you do for fasting’s sake. You fast in order to pray.
You cannot separate fasting and prayer. You fast, you deny yourself, and, as the Old Testament says, afflict your souls. Fasting is afflicting our souls. Fasting is to weaken the soulish power so that we may concentrate on prayer in the power of the Spirit.
In the world, apart from Christianity, people practice fasting. Fasting is not something only Christians do. In other religions, you find fasting. But the fasting the world practices is very different from the fasting Christians practice.
Why? Because the fasting the world practices is to release soul power—not to weaken it, but to strengthen it. But Christian fasting is to weaken the soul power and to release the power of the Spirit. There is a vast difference between fasting in the world and fasting with Christians.
Why do we fast? Why do we afflict our souls? Why do we lay down our legitimate requirements of life? It is for the purpose of prayer.
It is not in any sense that, by afflicting our souls, we hope that our self-affliction will touch the heart of God. That is not the meaning of fasting.
Fasting means that we are so intense before God, seeking His will and desiring to do His will, that we are willing to deny ourselves and lay ourselves aside so that we may not in any way interfere with God. That is fasting.
Here you find our Lord Jesus in the wilderness fasting forty days and forty nights. As He was fasting, He was afflicting His soul, as it were. He was laying Himself down completely. There was not a trace of self in Him through fasting and prayer.
That is the reason why, after forty days and forty nights of fasting, when the enemy came to tempt Him, you read the answers of our Lord Jesus and find that in every instance there is none of self, but all of God:
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Thou shalt worship God alone.
In every instance, you find it is God, none of self. Now that is prayer.
Prayer is the laying down of oneself and letting God and His will be everything. Brothers and sisters, oftentimes when we pray, we want God to do what we wish. In other words, if all our prayers were answered, it would simply increase the self-life.
When we pray, do we lay down ourselves completely? Do we want nothing but Him and His will? Do we want Him to be exalted and ourselves to be humbled? If that kind of spirit is in us, that is prayer.
You can never separate worship from prayer. It is in a worshiping spirit that you enter into prayer, and the result of prayer is worship. After you have prayed and your prayer is answered, you find yourself in worship to God.
Another instance: in Mark chapter 1, early in the morning, before the day broke, our Lord Jesus went out to the wilderness to pray.
When the day dawned, many people would flock to Him. There would be many things to do. He would be occupied every hour, almost every minute. Knowing this, He rose before the day broke. He went there early to pray.
Again, we do not know what He was praying; it is not recorded in the Bible. But, dear brothers and sisters, being the Son of David, I think we can use David’s words as a clue to what our Lord Jesus must have prayed early in the morning.
For instance, Psalm 5 is often called a morning prayer. In Psalm 5, verse 3:
O Lord, in the morning shalt Thou hear my voice;
in the morning will I address myself unto Thee, and will look up.
For Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness:
evil shall not sojourn with Thee.
In Psalm 57, again a psalm of David, verse 8:
Awake, my glory; awake, lute and harp:
I myself will awake right early.
I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the peoples:
I will sing praises unto Thee among the nations.
For Thy lovingkindness is great unto the heavens,
and Thy truth unto the clouds.
Psalm 63, a psalm of David, verse 1:
O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee:
my soul thirsteth for Thee,
my flesh longeth for Thee,
in a dry and weary land, where no water is.
Through the mouth of David, we can see what the Son of David, Who is also the Lord of David, would pray in the early morning. Certainly, in the early morning He was seeking the face of His Father.
“Early will I seek Thee.” You find how He longed for God; His soul languished for God. He was there seeking God. He was there declaring what a God God was—His lovingkindness, His justice, His tender mercy, and so forth.
In other words, the early-morning prayer of our Lord Jesus certainly was seeking the Father’s face: to behold Him, to gaze upon Him, in adoration, in love, in thanksgiving, and in praise. No doubt that was the main part of His morning prayer.
Now, brothers and sisters, it really is a good practice that we rise early in the morning. As the day grows and all the many things of life begin to crowd upon you, you will find it very difficult to set apart time to commune with God, to seek His face, to behold Him, and to worship Him.
It is good that we start our day with Him. It is good that, before we do anything, we come before Him; before we see anything, we see the face of God. It is a good practice that we rise early in the morning. As the psalmist said, “I will awake the dawn.”
It is not just early rising, but rising early so that you may have a time with God.
Our Lord Jesus, in His whole life, had that life with God, indicated in His early-morning prayer. How much we need this. How much we need to draw near to God in the silence of the morning, and there to behold Him, to give Him thanks and praises, because thanksgiving is prayer.
Another instance is in Luke chapter 6. You find that our Lord Jesus went to the mountain to pray, and He prayed through the night.
He not only prayed early in the morning, but He prayed through the night. Again, we do not know what He was praying; it was not recorded. But we can see what He must have prayed, because the next morning He chose the twelve to be His disciples.
No doubt, through the night He was praying and seeking the Father’s will concerning whom He should choose as His disciples—whom He should choose to be with Him, to be trained, and to be sent by Him.
Brothers and sisters, this is not a small thing. If we know these twelve whom He had chosen, or if we know ourselves, probably we would wonder whether He would ever choose us.
No doubt our Lord Jesus knew these twelve men. He knew every one of them so well. So far as His humanity was concerned, He knew choosing the twelve would be such a trial to Him. Humanly speaking, He might have been much happier staying alone.
Choosing these twelve to be with Him day and night, training them, and sending them out as His representatives—what patience He must exercise. It was not a small thing.
For our Lord Jesus to choose these twelve men, humanly speaking, He would never choose them—never. But there He was again, praying through the night, laying down Himself, giving up His life, seeking the Father’s will.
It was only then that He was able to come down from the mountain and choose these twelve precious men—especially Judas. He knew that this man would betray Him, but He chose him to be with Him and watched him day and night.
Brothers and sisters, this is prayer. Here is His Friend. There He was praying, and in praying He was giving up His will and taking the Father’s will, even if it meant trial, tribulation, and thorns.
Paul had only one thorn, but our Lord had twelve thorns in His body. These were thorns to Him, and yet He chose them. Why? Because it was the Father’s will, and that was done through prayer.
Oh, brothers and sisters, do we pray like this? When we pray, are we trying to twist the arm of God so that He will do our will? Or, when we pray, do we allow Him to put us to death that His will may be done?
Even if His will may be a hardship to us, may be a thorn to us, are we willing to accept it? Now that is prayer. That is what you find our Lord Jesus was praying.
Of course, you can go through the Gospels and find many more instances. All these instances indicate to us what prayer really is.
Prayer is worship. It is worship because it exalts God, gives God His place, lays down ourselves, glorifies God, and seeks for God’s will and His purpose to be done. So prayer is worship, and prayer has to be prayed in the spirit of worship.
In Matthew chapter 6—and this is also recorded in Luke chapter 11—our Lord Jesus was praying, and one of the disciples came to Him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Our Lord Jesus said, “When you pray, thus shall ye pray.” Oftentimes, we call this the Lord’s Prayer. But actually, it is the prayer of the church. The Lord is teaching His church to pray. Therefore, the Lord’s Prayer actually is the church’s prayer.
Let me use this opportunity to say something about corporate prayer. The so-called Lord’s Prayer is a corporate prayer. It is the prayer of the church. Therefore, He said, “Our Father,” not “My Father.”
So far as the nature of prayer is concerned, there is no difference between private prayer and public prayer, between personal prayer and corporate prayer. You do not pray in one spirit when you are alone and in another spirit when you are praying with your brothers and sisters. No. The nature of prayer is the same.
But there is a difference in the way of prayer—not in nature, but in way. In corporate prayer there is an added dimension. It is not only between you and the Lord; brothers and sisters are with you.
In corporate prayer, you have an added dimension: a horizontal relationship, beyond the vertical relationship you have in private prayer. That affects the way we pray and also the subjects and content of our prayer.
First of all, He said, “Our Father, Who art in heaven.” What does this word our mean? It shows that you are not alone. It is not me, my, or I; it is our.
When you pray, you do not pray as one person; you pray as representing a group of people. You cannot say “our” if you are not one.
The word our means that we share the same Father. We are one. He is our Father. As we pray, we pray with one accord. You cannot simply come and pray your own prayer, because when you come to pray, you pray the prayer of the church.
When you are praying, you are representing all the brothers and sisters. You are not just offering your personal prayer. Or, to put it another way, when you pray, you include your brothers and sisters in your prayer. Many, but one; one, yet many. This is the corporate nature of prayer.
When we come together to pray, brothers and sisters, remember: each time you pray, you do not pray on your own. You pray as representing the brothers and sisters who are there. You are simply a mouthpiece of the church.
Your voice utters the burden that is upon the church. This is one thing we need to remember. When we pray together, we pray as one, representing the whole company.
Therefore, we have to pray with one accord. If we pray as one man, and if our prayers represent the whole church, you will find there is tremendous power in corporate prayer that you do not find in a personal, individual prayer.
Another thing: as we are praying together as one man, there is no need for vain repetition.
This does not mean that you cannot repeat. Even our Lord Jesus repeated in His prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed three times and repeated Himself. Paul, in 2 Corinthians, repeated himself three times.
So it does not mean that we cannot repeat. If repetition is for emphasis, you can do it. But it must not be vain repetition. What is the difference?
Suppose, in a prayer meeting, the burden is to pray for a conference. You feel burdened to pray for the ministry. You ask the Lord to give the word to those who will minister. As you pray, you represent the whole company that is there; you are not praying on your own, but with all your brothers and sisters.
After you finish praying for the ministry, perhaps another brother or sister is still burdened with it. The burden has not yet been fully discharged. Another one takes up the same burden and asks the Lord to bless the ministry, that it may truly speak out God’s heart and God’s mind for that moment. This is not vain repetition. This is emphasis.
But oftentimes, vain repetition is simply going through the motions without really meaning it. That is vain repetition.
For instance, when we come together to pray, we need to prepare ourselves to pray. Oftentimes, we say, “Lord, we come to Thee and claim the blood of our Lord Jesus,” so that the way to the throne of grace may be open.
After one brother prays this, another says the same thing, and then a third says the same thing—not in any sense of emphasis, but from habit. There is no need for it.
Why? Because we pray as one man. What our brother has already prayed, we prayed with him, so it has been prayed. You do not need to repeat it unless you deeply feel it. That is different.
In corporate prayer, we pray as one man. In order that we may do it well, it is better that our prayers are shorter.
In your personal prayer, you may spend an hour praying and going through all kinds of things that are upon your heart. But in corporate prayer, do not take up too many things. Why? Because you must allow your brothers and sisters an opportunity.
On the other hand, do not give all the opportunity to your brothers and sisters. Let your prayer be short and to the point. Do not take up too many things. One thing—perhaps one aspect of one thing—is enough.
In corporate prayer, because we pray together, it is important that we all pray. More people should pray, to the extent that there is no time. Everyone is a priest. Everyone should learn to pray. Everyone should learn to be an expression for the whole body.
Do not allow the enemy to shut our mouths. It is our privilege. In a prayer time, we urge that all the brothers and sisters will pray—not just a few praying all the time while the others never open their mouths.
Let all the brothers and sisters be open to the Lord, learn to take the burden, and be the vessel, the instrument in God’s hand, to utter it for the whole company. This is our privilege.
Another thing in corporate prayer: personal prayer is easier, because you pray what you are burdened with. But in corporate prayer, you have to learn to take burdens.
You may come to a prayer time, and when certain things are mentioned to be prayed for, you are not burdened with those things. Either you did not know them beforehand, or even after they are mentioned, you do not think they have anything to do with you.
How often we are so overburdened with our own burdens that we cannot take up more burdens. When we come to a time of corporate prayer, let us come with all our personal burdens already shared. Leave all personal burdens behind, and come with open hearts.
We should be ready to receive whatever burden the Lord may give to His church for that moment. We need to learn to take burdens.
You may not be burdened with something initially, but if you are open to it, and if the Spirit of the Lord gives the burden to the church, then, being a member of the body of Christ, certainly you will be burdened by it. Because of that, you will be able to discharge it in prayer.
It seems always true that when something very personal is the subject of prayer—a brother or sister is sick, or is in trouble—we can take up that burden very quickly. But when we come to bigger things, it seems too big for us to take. It becomes vague and general, and difficult for us to take up.
This is something we have to learn. We have to learn to have our hearts enlarged, that we may be able to take in more burdens—not only small things, but also bigger things—that we may really be a house of prayer for all nations.
Brothers and sisters, I have mentioned only a few things to show that in corporate prayer there is much we need to learn. We really look to the Lord that we may learn these things and truly be a house of prayer for all nations.
Prayer is the ministry of the church. It is a corporate expression of our continuing in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles.
Now we come to the so-called Lord’s Prayer, which is actually the prayer of the church. How does the Lord Jesus teach us to pray?
Everybody knows that the Lord is not teaching us merely to repeat these words. You can repeat them if your spirit is there, but what the Lord gives us is the principle.
The principle begins with worship:
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
That is worship. “Our Father, Who art in heaven”—when you mention that, it is as if we turn our eyes upon our Father Who is in heaven. We look at Him with wonder and adoration.
“Hallowed be Thy name.” We exalt Him. We see His worth. We declare His worthiness. That is worship.
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In other words, it is for the Lord’s will and for His kingdom to come. That is worship.
In corporate prayer, it begins with worship. In that worshiping spirit, we are led into petition, intercession, and confession.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” That is for the physical needs of God’s people.
“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” This concerns the soulish needs of God’s people. In our soul, there must be peace and rest. If we have an unforgiving spirit—something we will not forgive—it affects our soul.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” That concerns us spiritually. Here you find our physical needs, our psychological needs, and our spiritual needs all brought to God as petition and intercession—not only for ourselves, but for the whole church and for all God’s people.
In some manuscripts, it says:
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
It ends again with worship. Brothers and sisters, let us remember that you really cannot separate prayer from worship. A person who is not in a worshiping spirit cannot pray. Prayer that is answered is prayed in the spirit of worship.
In the early church, you find how true this is. Even before the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter 1, the one hundred and twenty gathered together. They gave themselves to continued prayer with one accord. That is how the church began.
Here you find one hundred and twenty people giving themselves to prayer. They were not passively waiting for power from on high, but actively giving themselves to pray.
As they were praying, they were guided by the Holy Spirit to fill up any deficiency that might be in their midst. Through prayer, they were ready; they were prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
If you read on through the book of Acts, you find, for example, in Acts chapter 4, that when Peter and John came back and reported what had happened to them—how they had been persecuted by the council—the whole company, the whole church, prayed with one voice.
I often wonder, how can you pray with one voice? How can you pray with one accord? How can you really agree in prayer? This seems to be one of the most difficult things in corporate prayer.
In personal prayer, you only need to agree with yourself. But in corporate prayer, you have to agree with your brothers and sisters, and your brothers and sisters must agree with you. The question is: how can we agree?
Of course, this is not agreement by negotiation or compromise. Certainly not. But how can we come to one voice, one mind, one thought, agreement, and one accord?
Notice this: when they prayed together, they lifted up their voice and said, “Lord, Thou art the Creator of the heaven and the earth.” What is that? That is worship.
Then they referred to the word of prophecy and asked, “Give us boldness that we may witness and testify for Thy name.”
When these people came together to pray, they were all fully committed to God and to His testimony. Nobody came and said, “O Lord, persecution is coming. Help us to escape it. Do not allow it to become worse.” No.
Nobody was praying for himself. Everyone was concerned with God’s testimony. They were people fully committed to the testimony of God, no matter what happened to them. They were not thinking of themselves; they were thinking only of what would happen to the testimony of God.
So they asked God to give them boldness—not to retreat, but to advance. That is the reason why they could pray with one voice.
Oftentimes, when we cannot pray with one voice, it is because we are not fully committed. Dear brothers and sisters, praying is not playing. If we are not fully committed to God and to His testimony, there is no use in praying, and we cannot pray with one accord, because everyone has his own thought.
But when we come together as a people committed to God and to His testimony, then, brothers and sisters, I believe it is easy for us to pray with one accord. Why? Because we all agree with Him.
You do not need to ask people to agree with you, nor do you need to agree with people. We ought to agree with Him. As we agree with Him, we can pray with one voice as we are moved by the Spirit of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, remember this: they could pray together because they had a worshiping spirit. With such a spirit of worship, they could pray as one man.
So may the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, we do ask Thee to impress upon our hearts that we cannot pray without a spirit of worship. Oh, we ask Thee, O Lord, that we may always pray in a worshiping spirit, whether we pray as individuals or pray together as Thy people.
Do bless us. Do lead us into this expression of the church in prayer, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.