Devoted to Prayer

Online Church Service – Devoted to Prayer - Part 2
^{by Adam Bream}
We’re now on our 9th and FINAL instalment of our ‘Devoted’ series. It’s been quite a journey!
A series exploring the impact that the Holy Spirit HAS on followers of Jesus and how He affects our devotion towards several very specific aspects of life.
At the end of Acts 2, we have a handful of verses that give us quite a short but powerful example of what God wants His Church to look like and to be prioritising. Devoted to, in fact.
Not just for the 1st generation Church, but for EVERY generation following = including ours today.
Where it’s easy to get distracted by our own personal likes and dislikes, it’s MORE important that we see what God wants / WHAT HE has planned for HIS Church to enjoy.
When builders are building a home, they refer to the drawings that the architect has created. The blueprints. Acts 2:42-47 are like the blueprints for the Church.
As these ordinary men and women began encountering the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, we read in Acts 2, that…

Acts 2:42
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

When God fills HIS Church with HIS Spirit, these are 4 things that appear to be IMPORTANT to God; and the 4 things that IMPACT their lives the most.
Things that are important to God THEN will always be important to Him now. I’d argue that there’s nothing in life more important than finding out what’s important to God.

.. there’s nothing in life more important than finding out
what’s important to God..

We’re looking at the topic of PRAYER again today.
Last week, we focused on WHAT prayer is, and WHY it’s important:
Prayer is speaking with God personally. It’s the means of communication WE can CHOOSE to take part in; by way of joining in relationship with GOD.
The Son of God - Jesus - has reconciled us with God the Father. The invitation / the ability we have to step into relationship with God has ONLY been secured through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. God’s Son is the One who FREES us to even use / understand terms like ‘relationship with God’.
And prayer is the universal language with which WE speak to HIM.

· We can offer our adoration OF God and thanks TO God through prayer.
· We can say sorry for our sinful thoughts and behaviours and ask for His forgiveness through prayer.
· We can lament and express our grief and loss through prayer.
· We can ask for His help or provision or healing or comfort through prayer.

Prayer is both wonderfully simple and intriguingly layered – all at the same time.
In preparing for these messages, I’ve found it helpful to picture prayer like a precious gem, with many beautiful sides – each giving reflection to God’s glory.
And WHY is it important? Because in the goodness of God’s grace, HE allows His heart to be moved by OUR requests. AND in the goodness of His grace, prayer ALSO impacts and empowers the way that we live too.
...

Having explored the WHAT and the WHY last time, I want us to consider today: HOW?

How do we pray? How do we develop a prayer life that reflects true devotion to this activity? How does prayer impact my life personally? How does it impact our Church community?

These are questions that have been swirling around in my head as I’ve sat with this theme recently. Maybe you have questions of your own?
And as I’ve considered my journey with prayer, I’ve found it helpful to acknowledge once more that there have been times when it’s felt like I’ve got into ENCOURAGING grooves with prayer, and other times when it feels like I’m stuck in a DISAPPOINTING rut with it.

· Prayer can be easy to develop good rhythms in. And it’s easy to fall out of those good rhythms too.
· Prayer has the ability to be so simple and so complex at the same time.
· And it’s important to recognise that I am not an expert and wouldn’t claim to be.

Of ALL the spiritual disciplines and practices that we might pursue, I would suggest that prayer is something that none of us are experts in.
Even someone with a generally healthy prayer life WILL go through seasons where they battle with maintaining HIGH levels of faith alongside consistent patterns of praying.
So how do we pray? Well, we don’t look to a variety of people or models and simply try to copy them. We look to Jesus, again and again. He’s our safest ground to build on when it comes to prayer.
We seek out the principles that HE demonstrated – as the only person who has EVER maintained a GREAT prayer life.
Jesus didn’t just teach about prayer, He truly lived it.
God reveals His heart and nature in the perfectly lived life of His Son, Jesus. And by looking to Jesus, we find that prayer is very important.
When the disciples and the first generation Church developed and practised a devotion to prayer, they started doing things that they had ALREADY seen Jesus doing.
When we ask the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, the Spirit helps us to live LIKE JESUS DID.
And I’ve spotted 5 things Jesus seems to do…each one both SIMPLE and INTRICATE at the same time:

Jesus made prayer a priority.

In Mark 1:35, Mark tells us:

Mark 1:35
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Even though the 4 Gospel writers each give us snapshots of Jesus’ life, they present us with patterns of His behaviour and character that give us enough detail to form a broad and helpful PICTURE about Him.
So with verses like this one, even though it gives us an example of 1 day in his life, we can have confidence in the fact that Jesus regularly set aside time to pray, and that it was OFTEN early in the morning and alone.
Jesus chooses prayer quickly.
D L Moody once said:

‘We ought to seek the face of God every morning before we see the face of man.’

C S Lewis wrote:

'Relying on God has to begin all over again at the start of every day, as if nothing had yet been done.'

In Psalm 84, the Sons of Korah declare that God’s dwelling place is lovely; that our hearts yearn for it. That a moment in God’s presence is better than a thousand elsewhere. Well, the heart and the habits of Jesus display that truth.
I’m conscious that some people listening may have their day begin at different times. If you work nights or do shift work or on-call work, your day doesn’t necessarily start at the same time as someone who works a 9-5. Perhaps you or a loved one are in a season of poor health, and sleeping patterns are irregular. Maybe you have young children and your day could begin anywhere from 3am-6am!?

· Friends, we need to know and recall that God’s grace and love and delight surround us; no matter how well we’re doing OR how disciplined we are.
· But whenever your day does commence, how might you be able to make choices that help prioritise prayer?

For me personally, I set an alarm earlier than I need to. I don't manage that 7 times a week, but I’ve resolved to do that 4-5 times a week.
I try not to look at my phone when I wake, and certainly NOT at the internet, which is SO tempting to disappear into. Not checking my calendar or to-do list first thing is always a helpful decision, whenever I choose to make it.
Starting with prayer keeps us from defaulting towards – being pulled into - a life of hurry OR a life of procrastination.
Henri Nouwen described silence and solitude as ‘the setting for great encounter.’
When I wake, which for me personally is around 5.45am, I like to find a space at home that allows me to sit upright. NOT horizontal or in a big comfy chair, because I’ll definitely start snoozing again. I like to be able to see the time – not on my phone, but on a clock; just so I can keep some track of the time, whilst not having any distractions. I like to breathe deeply and sit in silence for a few minutes. Most days, I’ll often go slowly through the Lord’s Prayer in my head. This is the prayer that Jesus teaches in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.
Father in Heaven – your name is holy. May YOUR Kingdom come today and YOUR will be done today…
It helps me to be still and know that he is God. Prayer doesn’t NEED to start with speaking. It can begin even before that by recalling who God is. If I am going to love and serve those around me and navigate through a new day faithfully, I NEED to have a fresh revelation of the greatness and the wonder of God.
There’s a verse from Psalm 8 that I’ll often whisper in those quiet moments too: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
There are plenty of occasions throughout the day when I can and do pray and praise Him. In the shower, when I’m exercising, on the train, at the school gates. Plenty of opportunities. But I really want it to be the FIRST thing I do.
I think it’s true that the things we prioritise FIRST grow into being the things that we give our devotion to MOST.
I wonder - what practical steps will really help YOU to consent to His majesty and authority over your day?
Next thing I see about Jesus’ life of prayer:

Jesus often prayed alone

We see that in Mark 1, and also in Luke 5: He would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Jesus was incredibly relational. He LOVED people; more compassionately and carefully, and consistently than anyone else ever has. But intriguingly, He ALSO removes himself from the temptation of being constantly available and distracted by others.
Jesus seems to value quiet, uninterrupted communion with God. And it seems that THAT is NOT at odds with His love of others. It enables that ability to be available to others, rather than hindering it.
He was deeply INVESTED in others; yet NOT quickly INTERRUPTED.
In my context, that might mean that messages, emails, and notifications NEED to be on silent, or better still, turned off completely.
Personally, I often need to go out from my home OR away from my workspace in order to practise moments when distractions are subdued. I need to have moments in my day - rhythms in my week - where I am just alone with the Lord. No buzz, no clamour.
My head is a busy place. I can help that by practically quietening the environment around me. I believe we’d grow in prayer devotion if we detached ourselves more from our Smartphones.
I’ve heard it said often that ‘I can only really pray when I’m with others’. Well, from looking at Jesus, it seems pretty clear that praying privately AND collectively is an important balance to being devoted to this activity.
We shouldn’t only ever pray with others, and we shouldn’t only ever pray in isolation.
So that being said:

Jesus often prayed with others

The Church prays together, because we see Jesus praying WITH others and FOR others too. That’s demonstrated in Acts 2, and true for today.
Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, making the choice to join with others to pray is important to devotion and to growing in spiritual maturity.
There’s no getting around it: Praying with people who are not like you and who are at different stages on their faith journey will ALWAYS be an important thing to do.
In Luke 9, Jesus instigates prayer time with Peter, James, and John. He takes them to this quiet, probably quite picturesque setting, specifically to pray. And it’s in that moment that they ALL encounter the glory of God in a remarkably profound way.
In John 17, we read detailed descriptions of a prayer that Jesus prays. 26 verses long in fact. So that indicates that others were with Him as he prayed it; otherwise, how else would it have been recorded by John with such length and precision?
Everyday Church prays together. At Everyday Southfields - where I worship and serve - I observe a community who are committed to praying together. I constantly hear of small friendship groups meeting to pray; serving teams and Life Groups pray together every week; leadership gatherings ALWAYS involve moments of prayer; we encourage the use of Spiritual gifts very regularly; and make space in ALL our gatherings for prayer together.
Are we committed to making space for prayer? Yes. Do we want to grow in our devotion to prayer? Yes. Praying alone HELPS us to pray with others; AND praying with others HELPS fuel personal prayer life too.
Praying together joins the hearts of Christians. Getting to witness the outpouring of each other's hearts in prayer is an incredibly unifying thing.
I’ve started praying with a man who has recently welcomed Jesus into his life. When he prays, he refers to Jesus as: “My Lord”. i.e Thank you – my Lord. Help me – my Lord. I worship you – my Lord.
I can’t tell you how helpful I’ve found it to hear him say that little affectionate phrase when he’s praying.
Next up…
Looking to His devotion to prayer, we also find that:

Jesus prays through a variety of circumstances

In Luke 6, Luke tells us:

Luke 6:12-13
One of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.

Prayer influences how Jesus makes choices.

In Luke 22, Jesus prayed in times of distress. He’s in the garden of Gethsemane, facing arrest, trial, torture, and death. In suffering, Jesus turned to prayer—not as a LAST resort, but as His FIRST response. Luke tells us: And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Prayer helps him process his situation.
Throughout his ministry, whether it’s when distributing food, seeing healing works take place, speaking truth with those seeking it:

Jesus prays and gives thanks

In Luke 23v46, Jesus prays, whilst dying on the cross, for the sins of the WHOLE world: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
Jesus doesn’t hide his grief OR his gratitude before the Father. Prayer gives him the outlet – it opens the valve - for both human experiences.
When life looks good or when life looks bleak: there’s no use in us hiding it from God. There’s very little point in concealing our words or attempting to sanitise them.
God understands our hearts, circumstances, and needs more than we do.
Prayer doesn’t give Him awareness of what’s happening; it helps make us aware. It helps us process our realities with Him.
Therefore, very practically, when we pray, we don’t need to use a different voice or change our tone or drop in religious jargon. Don’t worry about trying to sound impressive.
Imagine how you might chat to someone you’re very close with – speak to God in that kind of voice.
Prayer talk is OFTEN the most REAL and sometimes most RAW talk we could engage in. And so we must always hold onto it as being the most RELATIONAL.
Sometimes I’ll think: I don’t want to trouble God with that – it’s too small a request. He’s got bigger things to deal with.
I arrive at that thought because in that moment, I’ve forgotten that prayer is DEEPLY relational and NOT trivially transactional.
Though MY faith may ebb and flow, though my pursuit of living a holy life may rise and fall - HIS delight over me and HIS willingness to BE WITH ME is constant.
SO - going through a season of great victory or accomplishment – we pray. Going through a season of sickness – we pray. Going through a challenge at school or college or at work – we pray. Struggling with debt OR working out how to be wise with money we DO have – we pray.
Overwhelmed – pray. Overjoyed – pray.

Prayer is like a muscle that cannot be overstretched or overloaded. So like Jesus demonstrates, and Paul emphasises in 1 Thessalonians 5, we’re invited to pray through ALL circumstances.
And when we do, let's remember: Jesus prays with expectation.
Jesus has confidence in Kingdom power publicly, because He’d drawn from it privately.
He prays for Peter’s faith – Peter’s heart changes. He prays for a young boy's lunch to multiply in order to feed a large crowd – provision comes. He prays for the blind, the sick, the marginalised – healing and recovery and reconnection occur. He prays for the Father to forgive his enemies – sin is forever dealt with, and the whole of history changes!
Friends, when we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, we’re not just to be spectators in God’s Kingdom on earth - His work of Recreation. We’re also invited to be participants in it. And prayer is one of the key ways we PARTICIPATE with God in His recreation work.
Devotion to prayer leads to an expectation that God WILL move; and expectation that God will move, leads to devotion to prayer.
There are loads of things we can practise to help us become like Jesus. But as soon as WE start praying, we’re immediately practising a way of life like Jesus lived it. A life of expectation that the Kingdom of Heaven is on the move and available.
I hope what I’m saying is stirring an affection towards Him.

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And I want to wrap up this message by briefly speaking into what impact prayer has on our life as a WHOLE Church community, following of Jesus.
Well, perhaps no surprises, prayer impacts everyone at EVERY LEVEL
Prayer is not on the edges, it’s at the centre. Interwoven into every gathering, every ministry– large or small. Not as a formality but as a vital part of our dedication, our dependency, and our decision-making.
Next time we have an opportunity to gather to pray together, I want to encourage you: be there! Don’t assume others will pitch up and carry the responsibility – you do it.
If you’ve accepted Jesus into your heart and invited His Spirit to fill you, that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in you. THEREFORE, your prayers really count - they really matter – even a faith the size of a mustard seed has real power attached to it!
I doubt there has ever been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did NOT begin in united prayer.
Let's pray for those in leadership over our lives; pray for the neighbourhoods around our venues. Let's pray for how much we give; pray for activities that happen within Everyday Church; pray for our gatherings.
Prayer needs to impact the way we spend our money; how we organise our priorities; how we practise hospitality; how we serve others; how we participate in our neighbourhoods.
Wonderfully, our prayers have an impact on how God is choosing to move and build and establish on the earth - in OUR day; OUR generation.
Lastly, prayer is not without cost, it’s sacrificial.
Prayer might bring COMFORT, but it’s often NOT CONVENIENT. It can cost time and effort, and emotion. So if someone sends you a text asking you to pray for something, can I prompt you: don’t just send a ‘praying hands’ emoji in response! Pick that thing up and carry it in prayer! Let's be deliberate and determined, with a renewed resolve.
To be “devoted to prayer” in Acts 2 meant the first generation Church made prayer a non-negotiable. It was the daily rhythm of their lives together. It shaped their new identity as bearers of His image; it sustained their new purpose as bringers of His Kingdom on earth.
When a church is devoted to God’s word together, to being together in fellowship, to breaking bread together and praying together, it’s a community that can expect the presence of the Holy Spirit; and evidence of lives that are being healed, helped, and held.
Guess what? The same is true for Everyday Church today.
So friends - let’s truly be devoted to these things.
Father, may my words today be truly edifying to your people. Horrifying to the Devil. And glorifying to the Saviour Jesus. Amen.