A Praying Church | What is Prayer? Why Must We Pray Together? | John Baker

Prayer is an intentional conversation with God where we express our dependence on Him and ask Him to do what He’s promised. It is expressed verbally or silently, personally or corporately, planned or spontaneously. From the beginning, God created humanity to experience the joy of a deep, personal relationship with Him. However, the sin of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 disrupted the perfect divine-human harmony. The once-easy relationship with God became much more challenging.In Genesis 4:25-26, seemingly out of nowhere, we have the first mention of prayer in the Bible that seems both personal and corporate.When offered in faith and aligned with God's will, our prayers bless the heart of God. As we pray, we join with the saints throughout history in petitioning God to fulfill His promises and bring about His kingdom.The Bible ends with a prayer of dependence and a petition for God to fulfill His promises. Prayer was never intended to be solely a personal endeavor! Prayer was intended to be expressed verbally AND silently, personally AND corporately, planned AND spontaneously. Praying with others gives us new windows into the worth of Christ. The early church was a praying church. They constantly gathered together to seek God's wisdom, deliverance, boldness, strength, and comfort. Their lives were centered around God's Word, relationships with one another, and prayer. The early church moved from: Pitiful > Prayerful > Powerful > Purposeful > Proclamation The disciples' journey from pity to proclamation demonstrates that God can transform even the most fearful and uncertain into bold and effective witnesses for Christ. We can and must follow in the footsteps of the early church and live a life that is marked by prayer, power, purpose, and proclamation. As we pray together, and are emboldened by the Spirit with a renewed sense of purpose, God will effectively use us as a powerful, gospel-proclaiming body of believers that sees God establish the work of our hands in the redemption of hundreds and thousands of people in Hazel Green, Meridianville, New Market, and the nations. We, as the body of Christ, are His workmanship created for good works. We are God’s children, laborers, ambassadors, witnesses, and disciples. Therefore, I implore you to pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send US out as fruiful laborers in His harvest!