SCRIPTURAL WORSHIP WITHIN THE CHURCH Prayer Is An Act Of Worship.

Introduction Recently we have had a lesson “What Is Worship”. And we had a lesson on the scriptural worship within the church. We used Acts 2:42-26 as the basis of our lesson. We discussed the teaching and doctrine of the apostles. We discussed the fellowship of the early church in sharing their combined efforts to promote the church. And we discussed the Singing in the assembly. Now, let us discuss prayer in our worship.

Prayer 1 Thessalonians 5:17,18 “pray without ceasing; in everything, give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus….(25)Brethren pray for us”. Luke 18:1 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” Ephesians 6:18 “with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,” and 1 Timothy 2:8 “Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath, and dissension”.

Prayer WHAT IS PRAYER? A heart's desire, Romans 10:1 “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation”. It is a heart's desire made known to God, including: desires or petitions, praise, adoration, thanksgiving, intercession, supplications, etc. TO WHOM SHOULD WE PRAY? Colossians 1:3 “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you”. Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed through the whole world.”

THROUGH WHOM SHOULD WE PRAY? As we just read in Romans 1:8, we pray to God THROUGH Jesus Christ; Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father”. WHO HELPS IN OUR PRAYING? Romans 8:26 “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

We are to ASK -- it is there to be HAD. We are to SEEK -- it is there to be FOUND. We are to KNOCK -- it is there to be OPENED. We should pray in FAITH, and pray in PRACTICE. Prayer is the KEY to God's treasures, and it is our fault if we do not become rich toward Him.

PRAYERS SHOULD BE: Counted by weight instead of length. Jesus described those who made long prayers to be seen of men in Matthew 6. Specific, by name and occasion, etc. Whether we are praying for a sick person or for safety in a dangerous situation. Importunate -- that is with urgency. In a forgiving spirit. Doing our part. Asking God to do something and us not doing our part is wasted breath and time.

THE POSITION OF PRAYER Christ prayed in Gethsemane, prostrating Himself, showing a need for body participation. In many places in the Old and the New Testaments, we find holy men of God taking humble bodily positions before the Lord in their prayers. They were not ashamed to kneel or to bow low or to prostrate themselves before the Lord.

Acts 4:24-30 We see a group of God’s people in prayer. In this prayer, we find that they were: UNITED -- "With one accord.“ vs.24 FERVENT -- "They lifted up their voice to God.“ vs.24 REVERENT -- "Lord Thou art God.“vs.24 BELIEVING -- "Who by the mouth of David.“vs.25 INTELLIGENT -- They knew whom they addressed and what they wanted.vs.28 MERCIFUL -- They did not ask for vengeance on their enemies.vs.29 HOPEFUL -- They had large expectations as to the future of Christ's cause -- by signs and wonders, vs. 30.

TYPES OF PRAYER: Praise and thanksgiving. Desires and petitions. Public and private. Intercession, such as for Simon the Sorcerer. Benedictions -- to speak well of, such as, "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word." Thanks before meals. And many other reasons for prayer.

PRAYER WITHIN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE SAINTS: Should be voiced by a brother on behalf of the whole congregation. In such prayer, the considerations of the congregation as a whole should be considered. This is not the time for private, personal prayers. These prayers should be spoken loudly, clearly and distinctly. This should be done, because it is actually the prayer of the whole congregation and not just for the one that is doing the speaking.

Sometimes a brother speaks so lowly or softly that I sometimes wonder if he can even hear himself. How can the rest of the congregation pray along and give their A-men, if they cannot hear and understand what is being said? Paul rebuked the Corinthians for using tongues that could not be understood in their prayers in the assembly. 1 Corinthians 14:12-19 He told them that it was alright to use the Spirit in their praying, but it was also most necessary to use understanding as well. He goes on to say that he could speak in more tongues than they all, but if the tongues could not be understood, what good were they going to do?

In other words, how can he that is listening give his Amen (let it be true) if he didn't understand what was being said? Even though we are not lead directly by the Spirit as they were in Paul's day, we still have information and examples of prayers given in the Bible to direct us in our prayers whether publicly or privately. So, brethren, we need to give more earnest heed when we pray, especially in the assembly, that others of the congregation may hear, understand, and give their A-men.

To Or Through? It is obvious that most of the denominational world is confused on who they are to pray to. Often their prayers are addressed to Jesus instead of God the Father. The scriptures teach and even command that we pray to God the Father THROUGH His Son Jesus. We have no examples of the disciples praying to Jesus. It just was not done. If it was allowed, we would have an example, but there is none. Praying to Jesus will no more be effectual in heaven than sacrificing an animal to God today.

Conclusion We have had many sermons on prayer, and there is nothing wrong about reminding us of the great privilege we have in prayer. Let us not take prayer for granted. Let us each be prepared and focused on how we pray to God.