A certain pattern of prayer has become real to those who walk with God; it has been revealed and put into action.
The book of Acts gives us the pattern of prayer in the early Church. They were all in one accord, in one place (Acts 2:1).
When the apostles were released after being threatened, they all lifted up their voices together, and with one voice they spoke a prophetic prayer (Acts 4:24). The day may come in which we will all lift our voices as one, the whole prayer coming forth in unison, simultaneously from every voice. We should be contending for this pattern of prayer that belongs to the Body. No one should be sitting back, just listening.
Some of the old-order prayers were more to the people than to God. They were a kind of sermon or eulogy: “O gracious Father in heaven, we pray for all those in authority.” With their heads bowed in reverence, they spoke the same old cut-and-dried phrases instead of something that was real to them. That was the day of the individual, when each man did his own thing, and prayer became a kind of spectator sport.
I want you to lift your heads and your hands to the Lord. When a burden is voiced by the Spirit of the Lord through one brother after another, all should voice it, breaking out spontaneously, praying in the Spirit over the same burden. In that way the prayer becomes a prophetic expression of prayer from the whole Body. Wait until they finish before you go on to the next burden upon your heart.
We ought to see our family altars change too. That is another area where we have tried to follow the customary old-order pattern of reading a Bible story and each one taking a turn praying. We will accomplish much more if we can teach everyone in the family to respond with the same faith as the one who is voicing the prayer. Look for the Lord to lead and to give the prayer, and then let everyone agree and violently enter in, so that it becomes a unit participation with everyone involved and praying the same prayer, with all believing together. Wherever there is unity, wherever two or three are gathered together, there should be a crying together to the Lord if we are to be really effective in what God wants now.
You may object to this kind of prayer and say, “I hold back; I’m the timid type.” You were the timid type! “I don’t like this particular style.” You seek the Lord until you do like it, and He brings you to the next level. The day of the loner is over. If you came from a long line of individuals, this is the end of the line—everyone out!
We must not forget that God wants us to work and also to be diligent in battle. When the Israelites built the walls of Jerusalem, they had a building tool in one hand and a weapon of war in the other. There is a combination of activities in the end-time restoration. We do more than just build; we must displace principalities and powers that have usurped many areas. We battle against them, and at the same time we build—not the church as it used to be, but the Church that is to be the instrument of God in bringing forth the Kingdom. God is judging the church as a whole, but this is the vanguard—the Body of Christ that is coming forth, the remnant that will press into the things ahead. We must continue the pattern of labor and prayer. Waiting on the Lord and working as hard as we can are both very essential.
God keeps us humble. We have never seen a people sacrifice or work so much as we are witnessing in this day. If a person did not believe in anything else of this walk, but only saw it in action, he would know that only the reality of God meeting hearts could bring about this kind of dedication and work for the glory of God.
With the labor has come a great deal of giving. Often young people forfeit good-paying jobs so they can do the work of the Lord. This dedication is what God wanted in the first place, that they be wholly given to the Lord. We are not doing this because we will receive anything for it; we do it for the King. We speak His word to the ends of the earth. This gospel of His Kingdom shall be preached unto all the world for a witness (Matthew 24:14). We know we are an instrument in turning one age over and seeing a new age begin. We know God has ordained to do this through humble, weak instruments like ourselves. We say, “Amen, Lord, Your will be done.”
It is marvelous to see the unselfishness of the people. We glorify God for one another. The spirit to sacrifice and to glorify God rests upon each one of us, and we find ourselves praying very earnestly. Yet we pray not for things we urgently need, but for what our brother needs. We have more leverage and more things happen when we pray for each other than when we concentrate on what is related to ourselves. We look to the Lord because there are many things He is speaking to us to do. Guidelines will be given, as we boldly and audaciously set about to do the will of the Lord.