Praying In One Accord (part II)
The second goal of corporate prayer is unity with one another. When the Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost, they left no detailed descriptions of that famous upper room prayer meeting that preceded it - only the terse inscription of Acts 2:1 - "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." These brothers and sisters were operating out of 40 straight days of fresh encounters with the living Christ. In this place of unity with the living God, they moved into unity with one another. It is good and pleasant when brethren dwell together in unity! As Psalm 133 declares, it is "like the precious oil upon the head...for there the Lord commanded the blessing - life forevermore" (v.2-3). Once the anointing flows from the Head of the church, Jesus, on to His body in prayerful unity there comes with it a mighty blessing from the Father Himself.
This may sound foolish and impractical, but the best way to maintain unity with one another is to maintain unity with God. See part 1 of this article for information on that. It is really true - horizontal unity without revelation and unity with God is pointless and ineffective in the place of prayer. This is why many prayer groups can be dry and unfruitful - they bring their laundry list of needs but never seek connection with the Head.
There are, however, practical outworkings for more effective and united prayer. For instance, music is a powerful tool in prayer that should not be neglected. My friend is currently serving in a denomination that does not believe that any type of musical instrument is appropriate in the church. They only sing a cappella. The other day I told her, "I know you guys really love Jesus, but I really feel sorry for you. You're really missing out. Music is awesome!" Truly, music is God's gift to the prayer movement. Prayer is effective without music, but prayer is enjoyable with music. God is raising up 24 hour houses of prayer with sustained and enjoyable prayer, and music will be the oil in the spokes of the machinery. Is it any wonder that King David, the founder of the most famous 24/7 prayer movement in history, was an anointed musician? His nation affectionately called him the "sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Samuel 23:1). And when Jesus Himself takes the scroll from the hands of the Father in John's experience in Revelation 5, the elders in heaven burst out in spontaneous song, "each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (v.8). These overcomers responded to the new revelation of their Savior by immediately whipping out their instruments and playing songs of worship! This sets the precedent for the ages to come - it is acceptable and wonderful to praise God with whatever genre and dynamic of music that will exalt His name on high.
Besides music that enhances worship and energizes intercession, there are rules of thumb to follow in a general way in larger prayer meetings. My friend and mentor, June, calls these "prayer manners." For starters, when someone is praying, listen to their prayer and agree with them in your heart or out loud. When the meeting turns from corporate worship to intercession, let one person pray at a time. Do not abruptly switch topics; allow a pause between prayers until it "feels okay" to move on to something different. Sometimes the Spirit will anoint a particular prayer and the group should follow this lead for a time. The prayer leader should help these transitions as the Spirit leads. Do not pray long prayers; it is more powerful to pray a quick and potent prayer in a group setting, and besides, nobody is listening to you any more after 1 minute anyway. Remember, the point is unity with one another. This is not dogma; these are just helpful ways to be kind to one another in the corporate prayer meeting and effectively pray God's prayers.
This may sound foolish and impractical, but the best way to maintain unity with one another is to maintain unity with God. See part 1 of this article for information on that. It is really true - horizontal unity without revelation and unity with God is pointless and ineffective in the place of prayer. This is why many prayer groups can be dry and unfruitful - they bring their laundry list of needs but never seek connection with the Head.
There are, however, practical outworkings for more effective and united prayer. For instance, music is a powerful tool in prayer that should not be neglected. My friend is currently serving in a denomination that does not believe that any type of musical instrument is appropriate in the church. They only sing a cappella. The other day I told her, "I know you guys really love Jesus, but I really feel sorry for you. You're really missing out. Music is awesome!" Truly, music is God's gift to the prayer movement. Prayer is effective without music, but prayer is enjoyable with music. God is raising up 24 hour houses of prayer with sustained and enjoyable prayer, and music will be the oil in the spokes of the machinery. Is it any wonder that King David, the founder of the most famous 24/7 prayer movement in history, was an anointed musician? His nation affectionately called him the "sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Samuel 23:1). And when Jesus Himself takes the scroll from the hands of the Father in John's experience in Revelation 5, the elders in heaven burst out in spontaneous song, "each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (v.8). These overcomers responded to the new revelation of their Savior by immediately whipping out their instruments and playing songs of worship! This sets the precedent for the ages to come - it is acceptable and wonderful to praise God with whatever genre and dynamic of music that will exalt His name on high.
Besides music that enhances worship and energizes intercession, there are rules of thumb to follow in a general way in larger prayer meetings. My friend and mentor, June, calls these "prayer manners." For starters, when someone is praying, listen to their prayer and agree with them in your heart or out loud. When the meeting turns from corporate worship to intercession, let one person pray at a time. Do not abruptly switch topics; allow a pause between prayers until it "feels okay" to move on to something different. Sometimes the Spirit will anoint a particular prayer and the group should follow this lead for a time. The prayer leader should help these transitions as the Spirit leads. Do not pray long prayers; it is more powerful to pray a quick and potent prayer in a group setting, and besides, nobody is listening to you any more after 1 minute anyway. Remember, the point is unity with one another. This is not dogma; these are just helpful ways to be kind to one another in the corporate prayer meeting and effectively pray God's prayers.
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