Small Group Fireplaces #5: Prayer Produces Growth

For my four children–all now teens and young adults–growth is natural. As long as their mom and I provided the right conditions–good nutrition, a safe environment, opportunities for exercise, as well as schooling, spiritual disciplines, the power of example, and so forth–we knew growth would be automatic. Lack of growth would have meant something was terribly wrong.

The early church grew and grew and grew. Growth was natural for them because all the conditions for growth were right. They were the body of Christ, and that body was, and is, made to grow. The Book of Acts shows what those conditions were. Acts 2:42-47 summarizes the rest of the book; they were a learning, worshiping, praying, sharing, unselfish church. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

It’s fascinating to see how often prayer is mentioned through Acts. The disciples joined together constantly in prayer (1:14). In fact, there was a regular time of prayer at 3 p.m. (3:1). Luke records the powerful prayer of the believers and reports that the place where they were meeting was shaken and then the believers began to preach the word of God boldly (4:23-31). And, of course, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God in prison (16:26).

When we pray, we are taking things out of our own hands and putting them in God’s hands. It is God’s power, not our own strength that will build His church.