The Church at Prayer, Part 1

The point: Think through the subject of corporate prayer right down to its biblical foundations and act wisely in the grace and power of the Spirit to give clear, assertive guidance to your people.

Martin uses the analogy that just as God-honoring public worship doesn't just happen, neither do God-honoring corporate prayer meetings; both require biblical thinking, careful planning, and dependence on the Holy Spirit.

And I give as my justification this. As surely as God honoring public worship does not just happen, but is the result of biblical thinking, careful planning, and prayerful dependence upon the Holy Spirit so it is with God honoring meetings for corporate prayer. They won't just happen. Now, granted, there will be exceptional times when the Spirit of God may sovereignly fall upon a group of people and God may, in a very real sense, directly take over the prayer meeting.

4:13 - 4:50 Read in full sermon

The point: Read the epistles in the light of them being letters to churches, understanding that injunctions regarding prayer primarily apply to the church obeying them as a body.

Martin shares his personal experience of realizing that the Bible, particularly the epistles, was primarily written to churches, not just for individual private devotions, which revolutionized his understanding of corporate prayer.

A broad range from corporate prayer focused on a general promise you're to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father corporate prayer fastens upon the promise a general promise to a fixed pattern of seasons of prayer Acts 2 they continued steadfastly in the prayers to occasional corporate prayer meetings precipitated by a crisis Acts 4 Acts 12 to an integral part of the common life of the church corporate prayer was an essential element of the apostolic church as it emerges under the guidance of inspired apostles and with this unusual measure of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. ...

25:00 - 26:28 Read in full sermon

The point: Make the prayer meeting most prominent in the church, giving it careful attention in thought and practice.

Thomas Murphy's quote is used to illustrate that prayer meetings can be 'so slow and cold and dull as to be positively repulsive' or 'so full of joyous animation as to prove the happy hours of the week,' emphasizing the pastor's role in their conduct.

Wise Thomas Murphy is saying, no, it must be prominent in thought and practice. The interests of the church are so vitally connected with its prayer meetings that the question of how they can be conducted so as to be made the most profitable is one which the pastor should carefully examine. Very much of the life and attractiveness and advantage of such meetings depends upon the mode in which they are conducted. They may be made so slow and cold and dull as to be positively repulsive.

37:12 - 37:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not allow prayer meetings to devolve into sessions of corporate whining for petty concerns, as remaining sin will lead people there if unchecked.

Martin uses the metaphor of prayer becoming a 'gimme game with God' to describe selfish, lust-driven prayers that James 4:3 warns against, highlighting how remaining corruption can pervert sacred privileges.

Prayer becomes a means of a gimme game with God. That's what James says and he says such prayers will not be heard. The great complaint of the prophet in Isaiah 58 all the institutions of God that were certainly in place even to fasting and keeping their feast days but they had all been turned inward and were a means of seeking to fulfill their own selfish ambitions and the prophet had to say no no stop this nonsense let your soul be drawn out to the needy and to the hungry then shall your light rise out of the darkness and your obscurity will be like the noon day. As an overseer you must not ...

41:16 - 42:45 Read in full sermon

The point: Ensure the ethos of your prayer meetings reflects the contours of the Lord's Prayer, with the advancement of Christ's kingdom as the overarching predominant concern.

Martin recounts Trinity Baptist Church's experience of crying out to God in corporate prayer when they had no land or building, yet continued to give generously to others, illustrating God's faithfulness in providing their current facilities without debt.

deviation a major moral crisis in the life of the church a crisis with respect to the physical properties economic concerns in the life of the church some of the most blessed seasons of prayer we've known in the history of the church with matters of brick and mortar back when we had no building no land we had a prayer meeting every Saturday morning this present Saturday morning prayer meeting that we'll gather at tomorrow is the extension and perpetuation of what started many many years ago about twenty years ago and we were still in the cracker box and we had no prospect of land no prospect o...

45:44 - 46:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not simply copy the structure of another church's prayer meeting; constantly bring biblical principles forward to analyze, assess, and prayerfully consider the most adequate expression for your specific context.

Martin toys with the idea of churches liquidating their properties every 25 years to force them back into a state of dependence and fervent corporate prayer, likening it to putting 'feet to their own prayers' and fostering spiritual health.

That's why I said, Wednesday night, I've toyed with the idea, if we could only have good moral grounds to do it. Liquidate all your properties every 25 years. And the people in the business start meeting in the school again, and then have to have their prayer meetings, and be willing to hock themselves and everything but their wives and kids. Just put feet to their own prayers.

48:13 - 48:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize and encourage those with a greater measure of grace or gift for public prayer, providing constructive feedback to enhance edification.

Martin shares a personal anecdote of lovingly correcting a brother who excessively used the term 'dear Father' in his public prayers, illustrating the need for pastoral input to enhance edification.

And when you get a dear brother who fills in every blank thought in his head, with dear Lord, you may have to go to him. As I've gone to people and said, now, brother, I've counted the times in the last two prayer meetings when you've prayed and you've used the term dear Father. Do you know you used it 17 times a week ago and 13 times tonight? You say, you're so unspiritual as to sit there counting?

55:09 - 55:31 Read in full sermon

The point: Provide hands-on, loving, pastoral input to help brothers refine their public prayers for optimum edification.

Martin describes seeking out a brother who prayed with unusual unction to understand the source of his help (connecting it to his devotions), illustrating how pastors can encourage and cultivate giftedness in corporate prayer.

Someone prays with unusual unction on a given night? Seek out that brother. I've done this many times over the years. Brother, were you conscious of particular help when you prayed tonight?

56:12 - 56:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Encourage nervous or stumbling brothers who attempt to pray publicly, affirming their effort rather than correcting them initially.

Martin illustrates how to encourage a nervous, stumbling brother who attempts to pray publicly for the first time, emphasizing affirmation and encouragement rather than immediate correction.

Let me encourage you to keep on doing that, brother. You encourage that, brother. The person who's not generally known, you don't recognize his voice and you sense that he stumblingly took the grand leap and you knew he was scared to death and nervous and feel he blew it. You go after prayer and put your arm on his shoulder and you say, Brother, it was so good to hear your voice.

56:52 - 57:14 Read in full sermon