Three Ways to Minister to the Lord: Individual, Church, and Group Prayer

But, brothers, this is not the point I’m working toward. The point is, a man has come and fellowshiped with the Lord, and heard the Lord, and spoken to the Lord, and the Lord has spoken to him, and the Lord has given a promise and answered it. What would you normally do at that moment? What would be your normal reaction? What would you do? You say, “Praise the Lord.” What would you do? Do you know what we do? We say, ” Praise the Lord,” and we go about our way.  What did Abraham do? He did something so wisely. The Lord got up to go, and Abraham followed Him. The Lord got up to go, and Abraham said, “Wait a minute; you may be through, but I’m not.” He went with him. He went with him. All the purpose and work of the Lord was over for that hour, but Abraham got up and went with Him.

Now, you don’t have to get up. I’m saying, brethren, that sometimes we miss the great work of the Lord, and let us now learn the lesson today. When the Lord comes and touches us, don’t be too quick to leave His presence, even if you realize it’s over; it’s done. Because Abraham, in that moment, did not want the fellowship to be broken, he walked on with the Lord, and the Lord looked back and saw the heart of Abraham. He sees someone who wants to go with Him, even further than necessary. He turned, and what does the Lord say? He asked himself a question. Well, will I hold back from Abraham that which I’m going to do?” Abraham didn’t need to know, and He just turned around and said, “Will I hold back from Abraham that which I need to know?” He said, “No, I will not.” He said, “Abraham, come here, I want to tell you what I’m going to do,” and the Lord revealed to Abraham some of his ways…some of the things that He would do soon. Why? Because Abraham followed the Lord in this way, the other two angels even went ahead to Sodom to carry out the destructive work there, but the Lord stayed and fellowshipped with Abraham and held nothing back from him; that which He would do.

Now, this is an experience of ONE MAN in prayer. I heard this morning in fellowship that one of the brothers got up and exhorted the brothers and sisters to spend time alone with the Lord. I really stand with that. I do not know how you can do everything you need to do here in Goleta. You need to have time with three or four brothers or sisters. You also need time alone. You also need time together, all of you. I don’t know when you’re going to do that. I honestly don’t know. You work it out. Maybe it means going to bed an hour earlier. There needs to be time alone, but brothers and sisters, don’t miss the Lord’s blessing. Sometimes we might call it the twilight blessing, after He has shown Himself in brightness, and the glory begins to fade; don’t be so quick to run off. Stay there before the Lord, and even as He goes, don’t let Him go so quickly. Follow him. Pursue him. “Lord, I realize you’ve given me the victory. Praise the Lord, I could jump up and go tell my wife, but Lord, I wish to just stay here and fellowship with you some more.

Brothers, it will be times like this…I testify it to you personally… that the Lord will really reveal things to you. I can’t explain to you what I mean. I can only say to you that there will be times when you’re simply quietly before the Lord, and suddenly the Lord will open things up to you. I know that you, brothers and sisters, are probably quite burdened about this matter of getting up and sharing things in the meeting. What are you going to do, read a book on “My 12 favorite sermons” and share them with the brothers and sisters here? Here is a way. When you have touched the Lord, stay there for a while. And while you are quietly before Him, just out of nowhere, the Lord will give you something utterly new of Himself that you have never considered, and He will open Himself up to you. He may take the last two or three years and tie a ribbon around them, making it all clear to you, and then you’ll see something of the mighty workings of the Lord.

There are times when I’m just before the Lord, and suddenly things of years past that I have just had to hold in obedience to the Lord…I don’t understand…but the Lord makes it so clear, and I see something of the ways of God. Be Alone with the Lord in prayer, and don’t be quick to run off. Stay, and if He goes to leave, pursue Him, and He will share with you some of His ways.

Number two. In Acts 12:5, Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. Verse 12, the last part. Where many were gathered together, praying. Brother Peter had been thrown into jail, and now the church comes together to pray. How do you figure they came together to pray? Let’s say the word got out. Peter’s been thrown in jail; James has been killed. The dear brother who wrote the book of James is dead. Now, how did the word get out? Well, we don’t know. Do you have the feeling that an announcement was made that the church should pray? I don’t. I have the feeling that the church knew it should get together to pray. By the way, I also appreciate that the verse says, “where many were gathered unto prayer.” There was nothing legal about it, not everybody. It didn’t say “everybody.” Where many were gathered to pray. There is a church sense of when to pray. There is a time when you know the church has got to come together for prayer, and I would like to leave it that way forever. I am afraid of Wednesday night prayer meetings. I really am. Prayer must never be on a certain night in the church. May the Lord be merciful to me. I said never – I don’t mean “never.” It may be that the church has to, but I would say the church has a sense of crisis and knows when it has to pray. “And they came together, and they prayed without ceasing.” Well, how long did they pray? An hour? Two hours?

Undoubtedly, when they came together, they prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed. Some went, some came, some went, some came. Maybe they all stayed there constantly, but they had practice in the matter of praying, and it was not difficult to pray without ceasing. When a crisis arises, you will know how to pray, and you will know how to do it without ceasing.

The church felt the need of coming together and praying, and it did. And every time I read this, I have that sense of divinity and humanity. That here is the church of the living God doing battle with a king. Herod the king, who has all earthly authority in Judea, has quickly slain one of the brothers without any notice of anyone knowing he was slain. But he made a mistake. He put Peter in jail, and that loosed the church. The church sicked the crisis. It came together, and it prayed. Brothers and sisters, two worlds are in collision. You know, in a real way, there are three worlds in collision. The first two worlds are right there in the church. It’s man, and God must come together, and over here, Satan’s instrument is in opposition. These two worlds have mingled together, and this one is bound to lose. When God’s people, with God, come together without ceasing, Satan is going to lose. Now, that is probably the most outstanding miracle in the Scripture, outside of the resurrection itself, recorded. I mean, as far as its propensity and the unusualness of it. Peter walked through several locked doors. He got off the chains and the pins on his feet, walked past several centurions, some of them standing even, and through a jail door, then the iron prison door. And then he came to the church.

Brother, the church must pray, and when it prays, it must not fear. I say to you to take the full liberty of God when you come together. Don’t hesitate to pray for anything…if there is an anointing. If Satan comes to the church and brings a crisis, then God opens the very gates of heaven and says, ” Take what you will.” It is one thing to sense the Lord’s anointing in the church to pray in that direction; it’s another thing for Satan to attack the church, for when Satan attacks the church, then God opens the storehouse. And He says, “Take what you will. Take whatever it is; there are no limitations. What you bind, I’ll bind; what you loose, I will loose.” Don’t hesitate to come together as a church and claim everything. Now, I am moving towards something, brothers and sisters. I don’t know how to say this. You should come in the morning and pray alone. You should come together in a little group and pray. You should come together as a church to pray. In each one of these, there is a different relationship to the Lord and a different experience. You see it progressing here, but I want to come to a final word.

Let’s now go to the third group: this precious, precious Acts 13. Now there were in the church that was in Antioch certain prophets and teachers. That part of the scripture will wreck 20th-century Christianity. There were in the church in Antioch certain prophets and teachers…and it lists them. This passage of scripture is diametrically opposed to everything we understand about Christianity. I believe it is even diametrically opposed, at this very moment, to some of your own understanding of the church.

What happened in this prayer meeting? They did this every day. What came out of it? Barnabas and Paul. In that meeting, God raised up two apostles. The first two we clearly see past the twelve. Now, listen to this: Who are they? Who are they? Prophets and teachers, in a little old church, just another church down the road, a church in Antioch. By now, Judea was full of churches. Why did the five come together? Why did they come together?
To minister to the Lord. Why did they minister to the Lord? This isn’t there, but I believe we know why they came together. They came together. It was interesting that they were neither deacons nor elders. What were they? Prophets and teachers. And they came together to do what? Minister to the Lord.

Well, brothers and sisters, when you minister to the Lord, what happens to you? When you minister to the Lord, you yourself are ministered to. And what do we minister? We minister Christ. What did these brothers do? They prophesied, and they taught. How? By going to seminary and getting a master’s degree in theology? By going out and getting “My twelve favorite sermons and how to preach them?” No. They were able to minister Christ to others by ministering to Him. You only minister what you yourself have experienced. You can only impart that which you have. The church can never be any bigger than you are, and life can never be any greater than you are. Now, that’s not totally true. Sometimes the Lord will, you know, He’s got to have an instrument, and he uses it, but generally, you need to minister to the church. You really do. You are concerned about whether you should study the Bible, what to do when the meeting comes together, and what you could do in terms of sharing. I think that’s so healthy for you to feel that way and not be religious. Don’t feel you should do nothing. Go ahead and do something. Don’t ever sit there and do nothing.