Prayer is not just one of the functions added to an Assembly meeting, it needs to be the life and atmosphere of a New Covenant gathering under the Headship of Christ. The Church was birthed in prayer. It was sustained in prayer. When they were persecuted they called a prayer meeting.
Prayer was the beginning of the great commission. The disciples prayed for a successor after Judas died.
Peter prayed for the lame man at the temple gate.
Stephen prayed for his persecutors when he was being martyred.
Prayer was the main activity of the Church. Ananias was praying when God directed him to anoint one of the early key leaders of the Church.
Peter the Apostle was praying when God directed him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Paul prayed for direction many times in his missionary journeys. The Apostle Peter prayed for the resurrection of Tabitha from the dead.
Prayer was the engine of the early Church that helped it grow and reach the world with the Good News. “The Lord Jesus Christ did not begin his ministry without prayer. We see this in Luke 3:21. This is the first thing we must learn as Gospel vessels.”
There are thousands of references to prayer in the Bible. One of the greatest privileges of the child of God is to speak to His Holy Father in heaven by prayer. Prayer is the litmus test of the health of the Church and the child of God. Prayer is our reliance on God and the lack of prayer shows our independence from God. “If weak in prayer, we are weak everywhere. A sinning man stops praying, a praying man stops sinning.”