PARTICIPATION GROUPS, PART 4: PRAYER

Acts 1:14 and the whole book (selected)
David Bruce Linn, Pastor-Teacher
7 November, 2004
All Rights Reserved

In The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien there is a character named Denethor who is the ruler of the land of Gondor. Gondor is about to become the scene of the greatest battle of the age. The combined forces of the evil ruler Sauron are already on the march. Gondor is out manned many times over, and it cannot help but fall--and Denethor will not send for help. He has an obvious need and an obvious source of help but he will not use it. In fact, Denethor has become hopeless about the future and at the same time vicious in defending his hopelessness. At that point the character Gandalf decides that the king has been overtaken by a fatal deception of some sort and sends one of the hobbits to light the signal fire. The signal fires relay from mountain top to mountain top until they reach Rohan. Aragorn sees the signal, runs into the King's chamber, and blurts out: "Gondor has called for aid!" King Theoden's face hardens with resolve as he replies: "And Rohan will answer!" The church of Jesus Christ is engaged in the war of the ages with the forces of unrighteousness. Many of us seem to be caught in some deception, and though we desperately need aid, we rarely resort to prayer with other members of the church. Look at the picture of the early church being born in a small group where everyone participated: These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers (Acts 1:14).

This is part four of a study on participation groups, or p-groups. The church was born in a p-group. What ministries, what works of God might be born in our p-groups if we were to engage kingdom ministry through prayer the way the early church did? The Book of Acts reveals the energetic dynamic of prayer in the early church and serves as a model for our p-groups.

1. Prayer is an avenue for worship in participation groups (Acts 2:42). In this text the Greek term for prayer is actually plural, and was a reference in that time not just to praying for requests but to worship done in a small group environment. Do you worship in your participation group?

2. Prayer is the means for overcoming resistance to the good news. Peter and John were arrested for preaching. They refused to be silenced, and Acts 4:27-31 reveals how they prayed and what God did [READ]. Do you ache because of the resistance to the good news of Jesus Christ? I do! Do you not have in your circle of family, friends, and neighbors many people who will not even converse with you about Christ? Resistance is normal in this world so we must go to God to take hold of the only power that can overcome that resistance and empower us to speak boldly in the face of even a poor reception. Pray for this in your p-group and see if God will not grant signs, wonders, and the empowerment for bold speech!

3. Prayer is the context for setting people apart for ministry (Acts 6:1-6). Notice that deacons, not just elders, were being commissioned this way. The word deacon just means servant. If you are a leader anywhere in Christ's church have you been set apart for ministry by the laying on of hands and prayer? If you are p-group leader, have you been set apart? You should be, and our p-groups should be places where visions for ministry are born, nurtured, and launched.

4. Prayer and the laying on of hands is a means--not the only one--for people to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17). Some commentators want to make this the only way people receive the Holy Spirit, and others want to say that the only reason this was necessary was because the church was just starting. But I ask you, doesn't the church of Christ today have Christians who are not yet manifesting the Holy Spirit? Yes we do! We can pray for people to receive the Holy Spirit in large group worship, but if it comes up in your p-group there is no reason not to pray for it there.

5. Prayer is a means for God to raise the dead (Acts 9:36-41). Some of you are saying; "Now we are certain that our pastor is daft!" I do not say that God will certainly raise the dead when we ask, but he did do it and we have no record of him saying we should stop believing in him as Lord of the living and the dead. The main problem for most of us is that we have to overcome our embarrassment at asking God for something so great! I have sat with a family in the private waiting room in the hospital with a relative in the next room who had passed away, and we have prayed for God to raise the dead. Name your own embarrassingly large need. Is God not great enough for you as well? Tabitha opened her eyes and sat up when Peter prayed and called her name! Use your p-group to pray for similar great things.

6. Prayer can set captives free--physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional. Listen to what prayer did for Peter in Acts 12:1-11 (The Message). Peter was physically a captive and got released by prayer. Some people are bound up intellectually because they think false thoughts about God and themselves. Some people are bound emotionally because they have been wounded so severely in the past that it affects their relationships every day. Some people are bound spiritually because they have some stronghold at work. In my last church I had a strong Christian woman who was nevertheless not thriving spiritually. I could not figure out how to help her and eventually I described the scenario to another pastor. After asking a few questions he hit the nail on the head: "This sister has a stronghold of resentment which keeps her from growing in the Lord." How do we deal with that? There is counsel to be given, but Jesus is the one who came to set the captives free, and prayer is how we engage his work in someone's life. Participation groups ought to be the scene of captives being set free.

7. Prayer can bring the healing of God into someone's life (Acts 28:8). You may not be an Apostle, you may not have the gift of healing, and you may not be an elder who has the calling to anoint the sick and pray for them. But who said you should not lay hands on people and pray for their healing? Healing is the work of Jesus anyway, not you or I! Participation groups should be places were people receive healing from Jesus Christ through the laying on of hands and prayer.

King Denethor of Gondor was lord of the realm and responsible to defend the land from barbarians on his doorstep, yet he had fallen under a deception that sending for help was hopeless. Do you feel that way about any of the needs in your life or in the lives of those you know? Do you feel that way about prayer? What good can it do after all? Do you ever think that its only purpose is to make you feel better? That's the kind of hopelessness that comes from the pit of hell. It's the Devil's work. He would like nothing better than for you and I and those we know to have the help we need available from Almighty God--and not even ask for it.

When Gandalf saw the mindset of Lord Denethor he finally concluded: "If he will not send for aid, I will!" Do you have someone you know who is faltering in prayer even as their need is great? You pray! Do you have a need of your own which seems beyond all hope? Don't stop praying and ask your p-group to pray for you. Light the signal fires which reach all the way to God, and the angel will run into the throne room of God and call out: "David has called for aid! Sarah has called for aid! English Road Alliance Church has called for aid! The p-group at Jimmy's house has called for aid!" And God will look back at the angel, his face hardened with resolve to thunder out: "And I will answer!"