A Prayer for the Church

Acts 9:31 reads: “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.”

This text presents a wonderful opportunity for prayer. Let’s break the verse down into further detail, in order to better understand exactly what we are asking Father to do for our local church (or the church as a whole).

1. The churches had “rest.” The Greek word for rest is “eirene” and means peace. So the early churches experienced peace. This Greek word also refers to the absence of strife. When we pray for our church to have rest, we are asking God to loose His peace; the “peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” according to Philippians 4:7. It is a supernatural rest and peace that allows the church to operate without enmity or division.

2. The churches were “edified.” This suggests that the churches were in the process of being built by the hand of God through His spiritual building process. Jesus spoke to the disciples in Matthew 16:18, “…upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” As we pray for the church to be edified in Christ Jesus, we are asking God for His perfect architectural design, set of blueprints, and building materials to go forth. We are asking Father to build, for “except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain who build it…” Psalm 127:1. We want God’s building plan for the church, not our own. Should God give a revelation of His next spiritual building phase, we are then called to agree with Him in prayer for that phase to come to pass.

3. The churches walked in the fear of the Lord. The early church had a reverence for the Lord. When we stop and meditate upon the awesomeness of God, we are brought to a measure of reverence, or healthy fear. Father is sovereign. He is in control. He still sits upon the throne. We are called to pray not for the fear of religion, but of God – great and mighty is He!

4. The churches walked in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. Fear is balanced by comfort, as unhealthy fear can generate spiritual paralysis. The early church had the comfort that the Holy Spirit provided. Comfort is defined as “paraklesis,” and means an exhortation, admonition, or encouragement to strengthen our understanding of redemption. As it relates to this verse in Acts, comfort suggests consolation. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the “consolation of Israel,” according to Luke 2:25. As we pray this for our church, we are seeking God for His words of consolation, through the Holy Spirit, to penetrate and permeate the body. Such words shall indeed, strengthen our understanding of redemption.

5. The churches were multiplied. God’s mathematics is fascinating. He seems to skip addition and jump right to multiplication. The churches in Acts grew and grew, and grew. The recorded testimonies of thousands being saved and joining churches are found throughout the book. A church can multiply both in the natural, evidenced by people, as well as in the spiritual. We pray for what Father shows us is on His heart to give, in multiplicity, to our church. Perhaps it is the fruit of the Spirit. We may pray for the character of Christ to multiply in the church body. Perhaps we might be led to pray for the multiplication of love. It might be the gifts, or a particular gift, that God desires to multiply within the body, for His use to advance the Kingdom.

Here are two examples of Acts 9:31 prayers in operation. “And so, Bethany, live in peace and grow in wisdom, virtue and piety. Walk in respect and reverential fear of the Lord. With the Holy Spirit, continue to increase and multiply according to God’s Holy Word and God’s will. Amen.”

“Dear Lord, Precious Savior. I lift up to you Fruit of the Spirit Mission Church. I ask for YOUR peace to be in it. I pray that YOU build it up for the Glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that it bring peace, comfort and a filling of the Holy Spirit in the people of Attleboro as it did to the people of Pawtucket. Amen.”