A Family that prays together stays together.

This is written in the context of my own congregation

Have you ever heard the saying ‘A family that prays together stays together?

When Logan and I got married we had a book for people to write and two or three people wrote that quote for us.

A family that prays together – stays together.

There’s a lot of truth in that because when we pray together about certain things in our family – things happen.

There are two scripture I want to focus on today, the first is:

Acts 4: 21-37

This particular passage in Acts happened around a time of much persecution and Peter and John had previously arrested and thrown in jail for a night, they were released  the next day.

Verse 23 says:

As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.

Now listen to this

Verse 24:

When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer….

Now imagine for a moment – surely they could have been angry about what happened – Peter and John had been arrested unfairly and trialled for something they didn’t do. Surely their reaction when Peter and john got back could have been ‘well, we need to seek revenge, eye for eye, let’s go get them – but no – they didn’t – they prayed!

And surprisingly they didn’t even pray for God to kill them or do anything to them they prayed this – and straight from the scriptures:

Verse 25:

“Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ 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?
²⁶ The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.^[b]’^[c]

²⁷ 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. ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. ²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

They prayed for the people who had wronged them, the prayed for God to make it right, but in a positive way.

Verse 31 then says:

After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness

Do you see what happened? They prayed together as a family of believers – and something happened! God moved! They had a boldness to preach the gospel the way God wanted them to. They had a boldness to step and say ‘‘I am a follower of God and I will let nothing stand in my way”.

God not only made promises in the past and kept them but he also did something that he can do for you and me.

This takes me to my next point in 1 Thessalonians which is a similar story –

Paul wrote a letter to the Thessalonians who were going through hard times also and in chapter 5 he says this:

1 Thessalonians 5 from verse 11 says:

¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

¹² Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

Paul was encouraging them that despite all the trials and suffering going on for them they were to stick together and encourage one another.

And then at the end of the passage it says:

AND PRAY CONTINUOUSLY –

Paul had told the family of believers encourage and build each other up just has they had been doing. So they were already doing it but he wanted to encourage them to continue that – they were already doing it right but that boost for them would have meant they were encouraged to keep moving forward rather than focussing on the other stuff going on.

So what does all this mean for us today:

 There are three things I want to highlight and encourage us all to take away with us this week:

The first point is: We become one heart and one mind.

When we become a Christian we become adopted into God’s family. We grow up with the same spirit of God and hear the same word of God. We have the same rules and the same values that He teaches us. We are still different from each other as humans but we have that same spirit.

We are one.

Point 2: - When we pray together, something happens.

Going back to Acts 4: 31 it says:

After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness

As I said: They had a boldness to preach the gospel the way God wanted them to. They had a boldness to step and say ‘‘I am a follower of God and I will let nothing stand in my way”.

When my grandma was living her last moments, Logan and I went up to be with her and my family. Now, my family are not Christian but they have supported us in everything we do, we are a family through thick and thin, we encourage one another and we work things out when things are not right, they are my family.

I had a nudge from God to go to Grandma to anoint and pray for her in her last days. I was really looking forward to having that moment with her but once I got there I was a nervous wreck. But I knew I had to do it. My sister encouraged me to go ahead and then my brother followed in that and then my Mum. So I had no choice but to step out of my comfort zone and go for it.

The most amazing thing happened. My family accepted me and became one with me in that moment. When we prayed together God moved – my family experienced a sense of God in that moment. While they didn’t understand what was happening they were still moved in such a way they couldn’t deny what was happening. In that moment I felt like we were all together in one heart and one mind, but most of all, we prayed together and something happened. All of a sudden I had this real boldness that ended up guiding me throughout the week as things progressed and my Grandma passed away I became the minister to my family. And I now have the boldness to be completely open with my faith and share with them.

Something happened in that moment – for a moment we were united as one as the Holy spirit did some work in my family as we prayed together. Now I look at our relationship and our family unit is so much stronger than it ever has been. And I have this new boldness in me to not only pray for them when they aren’t there, but I am able to be so much more open with my faith.

 When we pray together – something happens.

When we pray together we encourage one another and the Holy Spirit moves to create a boldness in us that we may not have felt before.

Point 3: - Pray without ceasing

Thessalonians 5:17 says “pray without ceasing”

The word ceasing means:

to stop; discontinue:

to come to an end:

to pass away; die out.

Paul was telling the Thessalonians to NEVER STOP ceasing – so never stop or discontinue – never let it come to an end – never let it pass away or die out.

DON’T STOP PRAYING TOGETHER!

And this doesn’t mean you are to stop living life to find a place of solitary confinement just pray. Never stop ceasing to pray means that you can live your life but learn to practice the presence of God meaning as we go about our day whatever it is we are doing – pray about everything. Don’t miss opportunities to pray with others. And don’t miss opportunities to build relationship – to build family.

Today I want us to take the opportunity to pray together.

For the next 15 minutes I want us to get into small groups of three or four and pray. Pray for each other, pray for this corps and where God is taking it, pray for things happening in the nation, pray for things happening in the world.

We received a letter from Samuel’s family this week (Samuel is our sponsor child) and they have written ‘please pray for us’ so pray for them, they are just as much a part of our corps family as well.  

Pray for whatever it is on your heart – Pray together.

Ending prayer:

Lord, thank you for this time we have shared together. Thank you for the word you have spoken through me this morning. I pray that as we have prayed together you will bless each prayer that was spoken and hear each prayer on our hearts that wasn’t spoken. Interpret the prayers we feel we need to pray but just don’t know what to say.

As we live our lives this week, be with each of us and remind us to spend every moment praying and listening to you. But most importantly help us to take the opportunities to pray with and for each other.

Amen