And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and
the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2.42)
Over the past 4 months, we have shared numerous “prayer requests” with
praying friends. We’ve seen God answer many of these prayers in visible and
dramatic ways – such as healing and physical recovery; but we’ve also seen God
give us patience and grace to trust him when our prayers are not visibly
answered. Either way, God responds and intervenes in our lives.
For many Christians, a “prayer request” is a familiar term – it
represents a request that the community of believers ask God to act behalf of a
person or a situation. Prayer is a Christian community effort. It is more than
a “hope” or “keeping someone in our thoughts.” A community “prayer request”
assumes that God is alive, and wants to act in daily or real-life situations.
Asking for “prayer requests” is an ancient practice in the Christian
Church. Just a quick review of the scriptures will reveal that the early church
had a habit of praying as a community. It was something they were devoted to: And they devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and the prayers (Acts 2.42) Here are just three examples of how Christ’s
community prays.
