Devoted

2/2/2021

Acts 2:42 "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

I am currently reading a fascinating little book by Thom S. Rainer entitled Autopsy of a Deceased Church. He researched why churches die out to see of there were any common factors that contribute to their demise. Of course, he found common threads with the majority of them. Last night I read a chapter where he questioned people from a closed church. He asked if the church body prayed together. The answer was yes, but it was mostly done by one person in a very controlled environment. Corporate, fervent, powerful prayer - which was often done at some point of the churches' heyday - had all but stopped. 

This got a conversation going between my husband and me. We thought back to all the churches we have attended over the years, and one stood out to both of us as a place of powerful, concentrated, Holy Spirit-led prayer. Years ago, we attended an Assembly of God church. To say this was very different than his conservative Baptist or my Roman Catholic upbringing would be a vast understatement. This church almost pulsated on a Sunday morning. The worship time was long and prayer was always a focus. Oftentimes the minister would stop a service, if he felt so led, to have the congregation pray. These times were so dynamic, and yet intensely personal at the same time. We would break into small clumps with people who were sitting in the same area and we would just pray. We would pray unabashedly with overt joy pouring out or tears of sorrow and pain, and it was all okay. We never felt awkward or judged, whether we were loud or completely silent. Again, during these times, the church would pulsate with Holy Spirit power. We even experienced some metaphysical events during that time, but those stories are for another day.

This focus on prayer was not just a spiritually beautiful time, as prayer always is, but it was a time of truly sharing your heart and soul with those around you. It was a safe place and a time of common purpose before God, and it was always amazing. It is true that some people prayed in the spirit - or "in tongues" as you may have heard it called - and although my husband and I never did this, we never felt uncomfortable when someone did or uncomfortable when we didn't. People came before the Lord in prayer in whatever way they were moved, and it was truly powerful. I cannot express how connected we felt to our church community during our time there, and the focus on prayer was the glue, more than any program or class could ever be. It was like oxygen for the soul every time. 

Rainer uses Acts 2:42 to draw attention to the behaviors of the early church. The verse mentions being devoted to the teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer. Notice the word "devoted". These things were not done periodically or when time dictated, but happened all the time. The definition of devotion, according to Merriam-Webster, is the fact or state of being ardently dedicated and loyal. They were loyal to and dedicated to all of these things. One is not put higher than another, but are about the health of the body of believers. Acts 2:46-47 reads, "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of of the people. And the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved."

It is interesting to meditate on these verses in light of our current world situation, where Christians do not always have the best reputations. What if we got back to the focus of the early church, back to our roots as it were? What if all believers were once again devoted to the Word of God, fellowship, breaking bread together, and prayer? Would the Lord add to our numbers daily those who were being saved?