And They Prayed. How About Us?

Acts 4:31-35

What would it be like if our church looked like the church described in Acts 4?

- all of us at UALC  are of one heart and one mind
- all of us at UALC are sharing everything - and I mean everything.  Our homes, our food, all ofour possessions - wow!
- all of us at UALC are responding to God's teaching and daily experiencing His grace
- all of us at UALC are caring for the poor and needy so that there are no more poor and needy among us!

This, my friends, is what the early church was like as Luke describes it in Acts 4.  Most scholars don't think that this 'heaven on earth' lasted long.  (In fact, keep reading in chapter 5 to see what happens when one of the new church members lies about how much they received for their property.)

When I think about the early church, I often forget to look at verse 31:  "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."

After they prayed.  The early church was steeped in prayer.  Out of their corporate prayer life, God blessed them with new believers and a spirit of caring for one another that transcended anything that had gone before them. 

Have you ever heard the expression "come prayed up?"  Our church council devotes one meeting every month to prayer.  Our pastors and staff meet for prayer before worship.  Countless small groups meet weekly and incorporate prayer into their Bible study.  Prayer undergirds our community.

God longs for us to experience him more fully, and through community, he blesses us beyond what we could ever imagine.  The early church was unique, but that doesn't mean that God can't bless us today.  Yes, come prayed up!  And see what God can do.