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The First Prayer Meeting of the Early Church

The occasion of the first prayer meeting after the ascension of Christ is unmistakably clear (see Acts 1:13–14). The motivation for it came directly from Jesus, the Head of the Church. Although He does not specifically tell them to pray, the disciples knew full well that the time of staying (Luke 24:49) and waiting (Acts 1:4) was to be filled with prayer. “Stay” is a translation of the Greek kathizō, meaning “to sit down,” “settle down,” “stay.”

When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers (Acts 1:13–14).

The promised gift (see Luke 24:49; Acts 1:5) was well worth waiting for. The intensity of their desire for the promised power of the Holy Spirit is demonstrated by their obedient prayer: “They all joined together constantly in prayer.” The actual burden of their prayer is not recorded, except the later request for guidance in choosing Judas’ successor. However, their prayer as they waited must have related to the purpose for their waiting—the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them.

Praise was also an important part of their worship. Jesus during His appearances after His resurrection had opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). The meaning of the cross and the resurrection in God’s plan of redemption was now wonderfully clear to them. Consequently, their hearts were full of praise to God, praise they expressed continually in the Temple, probably at the morning and evening hours of prayer (Luke 24:53; Acts 3:1).

Thus, with open hearts and minds they remained in a state of readiness and spiritual harmony and expectation, waiting for God’s calendar to be fulfilled. The waiting was important, for God’s purpose in baptizing them in the Spirit was to make them powerful witnesses. On the Day of Pentecost the crowds were again gathered in Jerusalem, and with the 120 together in one place, they did indeed make a powerful impact when they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then the days of waiting were over. Never again do we read of believers being asked to wait for any period of time before they could be filled with the Spirit.¹

The Book of Acts portrays the community attitude of the Early Church with the descriptive [Gk.] word homothumadon—“with one mind or purpose or impulse” (GELNT [2], p. 566). The KJV often translates it, “with one accord.” It is interesting that 11 of its 12 New Testament occurrences are in the Book of Acts.… When people were in one accord, it often resulted in a demonstration of God’s power.³

Of special interest is the constituency of the prayer meeting. There is no hint of any kind of segregation. Apostles and disciples, men and women, they were all there as one body. “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:27–28). There was no suggestion of clamor or quarrel. It was almost a family affair. All who desired to be there were there. None was excluded. So it is in the household of faith.

And when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them, the same nonexclusiveness prevailed. All were filled. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). Prayer, too, is for all people. No one need ever feel left out of this glorious privilege and high responsibility. Prayer is the great leveler. Male or female, high or low, rich or poor—all believers meet on common ground before God’s throne.

The outcome of this first prayer meeting of the Early Church would forever affect the world. The Holy Spirit was now available to the Church in a way He had never been available before. That He was present in the world before this day cannot be denied. But for Him to come upon so many believers, clothing them with power to be His witnesses, had until then been unknown.

The events of the Day of Pentecost, prepared for by the praying which preceded it, were of tremendous consequence. “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). Wind, a common symbol of the Holy Spirit for any knowledgeable Jew, stirred great excitement among those in prayer.

And quick on the heels of the wind came fire. “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them” (Acts 2:3). Another readily recognized symbol of divine presence in the Jewish community (see Exod. 3:1–6; 1 Kings 18:38–39), the fire must have reminded them of the words of John the Baptist about the Messiah: “ ‘He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire’ ” (Luke 3:16).⁴

All this phenomena, all this remarkable manifestation, must have spoken loudly to the one hundred and twenty that the Holy Spirit was now given, whereupon “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). All this, and much more that was to follow, is traceable to the promise of God that the extended prayer meeting had been focusing on right up to the Day of Pentecost.

The lessons we learn are important: (1) Prayer is the major key to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (2) Extended prayer may be necessary to produce a Body in one accord. (3) Prayer is the prelude to mighty manifestations of God’s power.

In the midst of the Church’s first extended prayer meeting, the replacement of Judas, a grave matter of its leadership, arose (see Acts 1:15–26). It appears that the apostles were following the desire of Jesus himself when they concluded that their number should be twelve. Judas, one of the original Twelve, had ended his life and his apostleship by suicide. So it was now appropriate to replace him.

Two men, from among the many present, were chosen. Why or how, we are not told. Both of them must have been qualified according to the criteria that were set forth.

To fill the high office, one must have been part of Jesus’ company from the beginning of His ministry, and have continued until His ascension. He must also have been a witness to His resurrection (see Acts 1:21–22). Very likely, several of the Seventy (see Luke 10:1) met the requirements.

Yet only two, Joseph, called Barsabas, and Justus, also known as Matthias, were selected as candidates. “Then they prayed, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.’ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:24–26).

We wonder what may have preceded this prayer and casting of lots. Was an actual vote taken with each candidate receiving an equal number of votes? Or had some other mutually acceptable process been followed?

In any case, two men had equal qualifications as far as the one hundred twenty could tell. How should the choice between them be made? Recognizing that only God knew their hearts, and that in the final analysis it is the heart of a person that qualifies for service to God, these pioneers of the Christian faith resorted to prayer. And after prayer “they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias” (Acts 1:26). The casting of lots, the placing of fleeces, and the use of any other such device are not God’s chosen means of guidance today, however, since we have the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to direct us.⁵ Yet we can believe that God honored the simple faith of people who turned to those processes for His direction and for confirmation of His will. They recognized that “the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:33).

The Regular Discipline of Prayer

The importance of prayer is seldom disputed by believers. But the lack of a regular discipline of praying often contradicts the verbal assent. The disciples in the Early Church practiced a consistent commitment to prayer, and from that discipline came signs and wonders, the miraculous intervention of God, and a mighty growth in the Church (see Acts 2:43). Luke cites an occasion when the apostles were involved in a miracle (see Acts 3:1–8) on their way to the temple for prayer. “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon” (Acts 3:1). In this brief reference to prayer, we find no mention of a particular burden that may have been compelling them to attend temple prayers; we note only that they were regular in their habit of praying. They had a particular place, the temple, and a particular time, three o’clock in the afternoon, for prayer.

Every believer does well to have a specific time and place for praying. But even more important are the sincerity and conscious communion with God that must infuse the praying. An overly regimented discipline can engender bondage, as it had for the Jewish community with its three established times for daily prayer: nine in the morning, three in the afternoon (the ninth hour of the day), and nightfall (1 Chron. 23:30 speaks only of two times daily; but cf. Ps. 55:17; Dan. 6:10). While such regular practice is commendable, one must always be on guard lest the set times deteriorate into mere form or into an outward show of piety. For there is no substitute for sincere and meaningful communion with God at regular times of prayer.

Of special note is the fact that Peter and John went to the place of prayer together; consequently, they were together for the remarkable miracle that occurred. Once again we are reminded of Jesus’ teaching, “ ‘If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven’ ” (Matt. 18:19; see pp. 211–213). Evidently there was an affinity of spirit between these two men that resulted in the blessed and holy kind of agreement that attracted the eye of the Almighty.

The lessons to be learned from this brief reference to prayer are important: (1) The discipline of prayer is vital for all believers. (2) A specific time and place for prayer are part of that discipline. (3) The door of possibility is opened by joining another in prayer.

Prayer in the Face of Persecution

Peter and John had been God’s special instruments for bringing a most remarkable healing to a man who had from birth been crippled and unable to walk (Acts 3). Incensed at what the two were teaching and doing, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees had cast them into prison (Acts 4:1–3). The next day Peter, filled anew with the Holy Spirit (v. 8), preached fearlessly to all of them. Finally, after being threatened by the authorities, Peter and John were let go. They returned to their fellow believers, to whom they reported the prohibition of the chief priests and elders: that they neither speak nor teach any more in the name of Jesus. That edict sent the Early Church to its knees in prayer.

When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly (Acts 4:24–31).

How the company of believers prayed is not described. One may have led while the others gave affirmation with their “amens.” Or several may have led in turn. Possibly all quoted Psalm 2 in unison (see Acts 4:25–26). Whatever the case, the unity of their prayer was the key: “They raised their voices together in prayer to God” (v. 24). Their prayer is introduced with due recognition of the God they were addressing: “ ‘Sovereign Lord, … you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them’ ” (v. 24). The Greek word here for “Lord” is different from the one used in other passages. This one means “master,” “sovereign,” or “supreme authority”; hence NIV’s “Sovereign Lord.” Such acknowledgment honors God as Creator of the universe, and at the same time it generates faith in the hearts of those who pray to so great a God.

In this prayer of the Church undergoing persecution, the believers further recognize God’s omniscience and His predetermination of all that had happened to their Master (4:25–28). The suffering and death of Jesus were still at the forefront of their minds. The knowledge of God’s omniscience and complete control of all that happens is just as vital for believers today. We are assured that God is fully aware of all of life’s vicissitudes and is never taken by surprise. He is still the Majesty on high, the foreseeing, predetermining Sovereign of the universe, who also gives us free choice and lets us know we can fully entrust ourselves to Him. In verse 29 the prayer departs from recognizing God as God of the past and describes Him as God of the present also. “Now, Lord, consider their threats.” This small group of persecuted believers knew that the God who demonstrated His control in the past was able also to control the present, the crisis they faced notwithstanding.

All Christians face threatening times when troubles seem about to overwhelm. The concern and prayer at such times should be less for removing or preventing trouble and more for gaining strength and resolution to meet the troubles with cheerfulness and confidence. To that early band of Christian soldiers the answer to the threat was not retreat and silence, or even a plea that God would stop the threats by bringing judgment on those making them. Instead, they prayed for boldness and power to declare their message. Knowing that God was aware of their situation, they could face the opposition with courage and confidence. The God who had commissioned them to declare His message could be asked to authenticate their ministry with signs and wonders: “ ‘Enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus’ ” (Acts 4:29–30). Miraculous manifestations, they knew, would be a divine amen to their devoted efforts, testifying that God was indeed working with and through them.

The answer even today to an insipid, powerless, apologetic witness is still the power of God manifested in demonstrations of Holy Spirit power and God-given healings, signs, and wonders. We must take courage and implore God for such effective witness, never allowing Pentecostal evidences to be relegated to the past.

We are not left to wonder if the prayer of this early group of Christians was heard. The answer was dynamic: (1) The place was shaken where they were assembled together. (2) They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (3) They spoke the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31). God’s answer came by way of the Holy Spirit, even as Jesus had indicated earlier, “ ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you’ ” (Acts 1:8). These disciples had received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Yet that special enduement of power did not preclude the need for “fresh fillings, fresh anointings, fresh moves of the Spirit, new manifestations” of the Spirit’s power and gifts, and perpetual dependence on the help of the Spirit.⁶ The first-century apostles could not subsist in their Christian walk without frequent communion with Deity; neither can twentieth-century believers. God gives grace for the moment, but no reservoir for the future. His followers must practice a constant communion. A consistent and overflowing prayer life is the means to that end.

The ordinary reaction when the Holy Spirit comes upon people is that they speak out (cf. Luke 1:42 and Acts 2:4; 4:32; 10:46; 19:6). Acts 4:31 declares that after these believers were filled with the Spirit, “They spoke the word of God boldly,” exactly what they had prayed for (v. 29). It should be noted that their boldness to speak sprang from their being filled with the Spirit, not from their request for signs and wonders. Signs and wonders, however, did come in answer to their request, confirming the Word which was preached boldly, plainly, and openly; but boldness in witness is a work of the Holy Spirit as well.

The lessons to be learned from this notable passage on prayer and its consequence are many: (1) When persecutions and threats come, get with the people of God and pray. (2) As you pray, strengthen your faith by confessing the greatness of the God you pray to. (3) Pray on the basis of God’s Word as it applies to your situation. (4) Don’t pray merely for self-preservation and escape when persecutions and threats come, but pray that you will have effective ministry in spite of those persecutions and threats. (5) Pray that God will enlarge your capacity to be filled full with the Holy Spirit and that God will confirm His Word with miraculous signs.

A Priority of Prayer

Unless those called to spiritual leadership and ministry exercise great care, they find themselves so quickly entangled in the affairs of people that prayerful waiting on the Lord goes begging. This same problem faced the fledgling Church. In the midst of all the excitement of a rapidly growing church, a problem surfaced: One group of new converts complained to the leadership that their widows were being overlooked in the administration of necessities. A move of the Spirit that began in unprecedented unity was suddenly confronted with serious discord.

The apostles were concerned about providing support for destitute widows. But they had a higher mission, which they could not set aside. Consequently, they grappled with a question that comes to all spiritual leaders: Shall we allow ministry to temporal needs to supplant ministry to spiritual needs? Their decision was a good one for this day as well as that: “ ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on [money] tables’ ” (Acts 6:2).⁷ This conclusion in no way suggests that the church is not obligated to care for its own; but it does teach that others, besides those engaged in the preaching ministry, must be charged with the benevolence functions of the church (v. 3). Otherwise, the most important function of the ministry, that which deals with the eternal, is exchanged for a less important concern, the temporal.

We are not told the specific petitions voiced by the apostles, but it seems evident that there was a balance between their praying and their preaching: “ ‘We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word’ ” (6:4). Each complemented the other. Without prayer, preaching is an exercise in futility; without proclamation, prayer is deprived of a major opportunity for fulfillment, especially in the life of a minister:

A school to teach preachers how to pray, as God counts praying, would be more beneficial to true piety, true worship, and true preaching than all theological schools.… Preachers who are great thinkers, great students, must be the greatest of prayers, or else they will be the greatest of backsliders, heartless professionals, rationalistic, less than the least of preachers in God’s estimate.⁸

Every form of prayer should be familiar to the preacher. The preacher must learn to plead with God before standing to plead with others. The preacher must delight in communion with God before seeking to communicate the glories of God and the gospel. The preacher must learn to make earnest intercession and supplications before inviting others to come and know the Savior. Speaking of David Brainerd’s praying, Jonathan Edwards observed:

His [life] history shews us the right way to success in the work of the ministry.… Animated with love to Christ and the souls of men, how he did “labour always fervently,” not only in word and doctrine, in public and private, but in prayers day and night, “wrestling with God” in secret, and “travailing in birth,” with unutterable groans and agonies, “until Christ were formed” in the hearts of the people to whom he was sent!… Like a true son of Jacob, he persevered in wrestling, through all the darkness of the night, until the breaking of the day.⁹

How do we resolve the conflict that continues to rage in the present-day church about how much effort should be spent in meeting physical needs and how much in preaching the gospel to lost souls? Those in the preaching ministry must not permit themselves to be sidetracked into becoming caretakers of material needs at the expense of their God-given ministry. Top priority for those called to preach must ever be praying and ministering the Word.

Prayer at the Point of Death

Stephen had just delivered a searching, scorching message to his Christ-rejecting fellow Jews (Acts 7:2–53). He had denounced them boldly, declaring, “ ‘You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!’ ” (Acts 7:51). In response, they “gnashed their teeth at him … covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, … dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.… While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:54, 57–60).

How should we react to persecution and abuse? Should we curse the opposition and call down heaven’s wrath on them? A lesser person than Stephen might have responded in that fashion, but not this Spirit-led lay preacher. He was no ordinary worldling, for in him dwelt not “the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God” (1 Cor. 2:12). In humble response to the horrible violence that he was now the victim of, he displayed no hint of retaliation in his redeemed spirit. There was only compassion and tender concern for those who in the next instant would snuff out his life.

Stephen’s prayer expressed two concerns: (1) the destination of his spirit and (2) the welfare of his enemies. He could hardly have followed his Lord’s example more closely. Only a few months earlier, as Jesus was dying at the hands of evil men, His words had echoed from the cross, “ ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’ ” (Luke 23:46). Now Stephen cries, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He had already glimpsed the other world (see Acts 7:55–56), and its glory seemed to alleviate the pain of the moment. He also knew that “to be away from the body” was to be “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).

It is of note that Stephen asked for no physical deliverance, no miracle to effect his release. Just as Jesus died according to the will of God, at the hands of wicked men, so might also His servants die. The will of God may be accomplished in dying just as much as in living. His servants, like Stephen, are to be wholly submissive to that will, whatever the outcome may be. Though Stephen did not verbalize the words, he was indeed praying, Your will be done!

Having tended to his own spirit, Stephen then directed his sincere concern toward his violently sinning countrymen. He kneeled down, no doubt with his face heavenward, signifying both his great humility and his prayerful approach to the God of heaven. Stephen’s prayer, “ ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them,’ ” echos the Lord’s prayer on the cross: “ ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’ ” (Luke 23:34). It must have been an exceedingly sharp sword piercing the hearts of the observers. While they were killing him, he was pleading for them. Unbelievable! Unthinkable! Yet there it was, loud and clear. Surely he was fulfilling his Lord’s command, “ ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven’ ” (Matt. 5:44–45).

What was the outcome of this unusual praying and this exemplary kind of dying? In that vicious and blood-thirsty crowd was at least one man who was, body and soul, bent on destroying not only fearless Stephen, but also the whole Church. He was the ruthless Saul of Tarsus (see Acts 7:58). If Stephen had not prayed the selfless prayer that he did, the church of Jesus Christ might not have listed the apostle to the Gentiles among its heroes. Stephen was a “grain of wheat” that fell to the ground and died, only to bring forth “much fruit” (see John 12:24). This martyred seed did indeed bear much fruit: first Paul, as the repeated mention of him in Acts 7:58 to 8:1 seems to imply, and then the vast multitude of both Jews and Gentiles who came to Christ through the ministry of Paul himself.