Believing Corporate Prayer that Can Change Nations

believing corporate prayer

BELIEVING CORPORATE PRAYER. Corporate prayer can go through high seasons and low seasons. In Acts 4:32, for example, “the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul.” And in verse 31 it says, “And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.”

That kind of prayer eventually launched missions to disciple many nations, as in Acts 13:2-3. “The Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” The rest is history.

But in Acts 12, about 14 years after Acts 4, at John Mark’s house, they were also praying. Yet when God answered their prayers by releasing Peter from prison, they wouldn’t believe it. Even when he actually showed up at their door. They went from boldness in praying to unbelief in praying.

So how do we get motivated for believing corporate prayer? Because there will be crises when nations need corporate prayer to survive. Christians need to come knowing why corporate prayer makes a big difference.

1 Tim 2:1-4. “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— For kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Four stages of prayer engagement

We see in verse 1 four kinds of prayer, which show four stages of engagement.

1 “Request” means cry for help out of a deeply felt need. That’s how most believers begin their prayer life. Because they have a deep urgent needs which makes them cry out: “God, where are You in this?” But they cry out without knowing how to connect with God.

2 “Prayer” means specifically “prayer addressed to God.” They’ve gotten to know God. They know who they’re crying out to & they’ve witnessed some of His faithfulness. And that increases their belief in God and in prayer. This kind of prayer is connecting with God.

3 “Intercession” means you’re connecting with God and praying for others, having wider and wider impact.

These three kinds of prayer move from a cry for help to a prayer connecting with God. And then to prayer connecting with God for others. The more you pray like that, the more God will answer, and the more you’ll have to thank God for.

So that leads to the fourth kind of prayer—thanksgiving. We won’t have much to thank God for if we don’t connect with Him in intercession. Not just for ourselves but for others. “for everyone — for kings and all those in authority.”

God wants us to form the habit of not just thinking about other people and government issues. He wants us to be praying for them. Because thinking without prayer can become negative thinking.

These four kinds of prayer come with three motivations to pray.

Three motivations to pray

First,in verse 2, “that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” We can’t expect peaceful and quiet lives if we aren’t praying for those who keep the peace. Or for those who disturb the peace. If we don’t pray for them, we can expect to get harassed by government, by gangs, by LGBTs, etc.

We can’t live in godliness and holiness if government mandates prevent us from meeting. Right now WHO is trying to get nations to agree to stricter pandemic restrictions. So pray against the kind of restrictions that keep us from effective prayer against pandemics.

The second motivation we find in verse 4: God “wants all men to be saved.” The more people get saved, the more friends we have and the less enemies.

The third motivation, also in verse 4: “to come to a knowledge of the truth.” The media floods us with fake news and lies. Certainly, we don’t get enough truth from the media. But the more time we spend connecting with God in prayer, the more truth we get from Him.

So the more we connect with God in prayer for others, the more peace we get, and not harassment. The more saved friends we get, and not enemies. And the more truth we get, and not lies.

The more we motivate our members to pray in these ways, the stronger we’ll be when the nation needs the kind of corporate 2 Chron. 7:14 prayer that will heal the land.

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