We will continue considering various kinds of meetings.
The second kind of meeting is the prayer meeting. Acts 4:24 to 31 and 12:5 and 12 are two portions in the Bible that speak of the church gathering and praying together corporately. When an important matter was encountered, they had prayer meetings. There are not as many details about the prayer meeting as there are about the bread-breaking meeting. Among the various kinds of meetings, the bread-breaking meeting has the most details. Since the prayer meeting is relatively simple, there are only a few matters for us to consider. Nevertheless, these few matters are quite important; if we neglect them, the prayer meeting will be killed and nullified.
There are four important points that we need to pay attention to in the prayer meeting.
The first point is to be in one accord. The Chinese Union Version of the Bible translates one accord as “the same heart and the same will.” This word in Greek refers to the harmony in a musical composition. The better a musical composition, the more harmonious it is. When a musical composition is performed, the pitch should be neither too high nor too low, and the tempo should be neither too fast nor too slow. If both pitch and tempo are appropriate and regulated, the musical sounds will be very harmonious. This same kind of harmony in human society can only be the result of people having the same mind and the same will, that is, of their being in one accord. Without a oneness of heart and agreement in will, it is impossible for people to be in harmony. In order to be in harmony, the heart of a people must be one and their will must be in agreement. Hence, it is acceptable for the Chinese Union Version to translate one accord as “the same heart and the same will.” However, this is a translation based upon the meaning; it is not a literal translation.
Meeting together to pray always exceeds personal prayer in weight, value, authority, and power. There is a principle in the Bible that one chases a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight (Deut. 32:30). According to mathematics, if one person chases a thousand, two should chase two thousand. But the Bible says that one person chases a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight; this exceeds the mathematical calculation by eight thousand, which is a fourfold increase. This is the principle of a meeting. The strength in Christian meetings is increased by multiplication, not merely by addition. This also applies to prayer. Individual prayer is powerful, but corporate prayer is much more powerful.
This is the reason the Bible, especially in Acts, shows the church meeting together to pray whenever important matters were encountered. This can be compared to moving an object. Although one person may be able to move a fifty-pound object by himself, no one can move an object that weighs one thousand pounds. Even if one thousand people were to take turns pushing the object, no one would be able to move it. But if a concerted effort was made to move it together, we would not need even fifty people. We would need only ten or more people to move the object. We need to see this. Even if ten thousand people tried to move the object individually, they would not be able to do it. But if we combine our efforts, there would not be a need for ten thousand people to move the object. It could be moved by a few people working together. This is the power of corporate prayer. The Lord Jesus said that if there were two or three gathered into His name, He would be in their midst, and what they ask for in harmony will be done for them (Matt. 18:19-20). Two or three praying together is the principle of corporate prayer.
Regardless of how many of us pray together, we must be one person, not just like one person. When we pray together, we must pray as one person. A prayer meeting in which we are not in harmony, in one accord, is not effective. If we pray as many people, instead of as one person, there is no harmony, one accord, in the prayer meeting. If there is no harmony, it would almost be better not to pray corporately because prayer in discord, without harmony, divides and kills. Such prayers are even inferior to personal prayers, because they annul prayer. Therefore, the first crucial point for the prayer meeting is to be in one accord.
Matthew 18 presents the Lord’s teaching concerning one accord in a prayer meeting. Acts 1:14 gives an example of meeting together to pray in one accord. In Acts there were about a hundred and twenty persons praying in one accord for a period of ten days. Even though one hundred and twenty were praying, in the eyes of God only one person was praying. Therefore, as a result of their prayer the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost. This proves that one accord is the most important point concerning the prayer meeting.
The second point is to be genuine. This means that our prayers should not be feigned. We should neither feign nor make up a prayer, both of which are false and not genuine. Although we should consider others when we pray, we should not pray for others to hear; rather, we pray for the Lord to hear. If we pray for others to hear, there will definitely be the element of pretense and embellishment in our prayer. Embellishment brings in falsehood. In the prayer meeting we need to consider others’ response and feeling, and we need to learn to pray before God, as if no one else were with us. Only such prayers are without pretense and embellishment.
This is not easy, but we must practice. Although some do not weep in their personal prayer, they weep when they pray in a meeting. Their weeping is for others. There are others who weep when they pray alone, yet they are reluctant to weep when they pray in a meeting. Both their weeping and not weeping are under the influence of others; thus, they are feigned and not genuine.
Of course, sometimes when we are by ourselves before God we may cry and laugh aloud, but we should have some restraint when we pray with others. This is according to 2 Corinthians 5:13, which says, “Whether we were beside ourselves, it was to God; or whether we are sober-minded, it is for you.” However, being sober-minded is different from being pretentious. Being sober-minded is genuine, and being pretentious is false. The more genuine our prayers in the prayer meeting are, the better.