{"id":5429,"date":"2025-01-31T06:37:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T11:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/learn\/?p=5429"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:42:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:42:00","slug":"praying-church-1-peter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/learn\/voices\/praying-church-1-peter\/","title":{"rendered":"The Praying Church: A Commentary on 1 Peter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God\u2019s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 1 Peter 2:9\u201310<\/a> (NIV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe the church of Jesus Christ is the dwelling place of Almighty God on planet Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, all we believe to be true about the living God, we believe to be true about his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the holy love, power, and presence of God are dwelling within God\u2019s chosen people, God\u2019s royal priesthood, God\u2019s holy nation, God\u2019s special possession, it means at least two things: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. We have been granted extraordinary authority; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. We possess enormous responsibility. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Think of it as response-ability. We have the authority and responsibility to respond in a way no other organization or institution on planet Earth possesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Facts on the Ground<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    We desperately need to grasp the real facts on the ground, not as reported by the news media but as informed by the revelation of the Word and Spirit, and to understand the rules of engagement. Given all we are exploring about the nature of the church Jesus is building, here are the facts on the ground:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. The body of Christ is a global fellowship bonded together by the Holy Spirit.<\/strong> Remember, we are living stones being built together into a spiritual house. Our connection is not institutional in nature, but supernatural. We are quite literally part of each other \u2014 connected like a hand is to an arm. This has enormous implications for the church in regions where conflict continues without any end in sight (the conflict between Ukraine and Russia was on my mind when writing this): \u201cIf one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it\u201d (1 Corinthians 12:26<\/a> NIV).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Jesus Christ is the head of the body<\/strong> \u2014 the Lord of heaven and earth, resurrected and ascended, living and active, speaking and listening, guiding and directing. He leads the intercession of the church. We must lift our hearts to Jesus, set our minds on Jesus, fix our eyes on Jesus, and offer our bodies to Jesus. He is the commander of angel armies and Lord of the church.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        1. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prayer<\/strong> who is praying without ceasing in words and in groans too deep for words. As we invite the Spirit to fill us with his own prayers, we will begin to sense the agony in this world, and our hearts will begin to attune to the Spirit\u2019s praying. Prayer is not something we initiate; prayer is the initiative of the Holy Spirit. We do not initiate; we participate. Prayer is not ginning up more spiritual activity; prayer is getting low to the ground and cultivating receptivity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          The Call to Prayer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          We must pray. And I\u2019m not talking about prayer as the \u201cwhen all else fails, do this\u201d sentiment we see written on placards and Instagram posts every time something bad happens in the world. I am talking about prayer as battle strategy. Prayer as war<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The call to prayer is not a call to \u201csay prayers\u201d and then move on. Prayer is the call to a deep awareness of the presence of God; a surrendered attention to the Lord of the church, Jesus Christ; a keen attunement to the voice of the Spirit; and a bonded attachment to one another across the body of Christ. The call to prayer is the urgent admonition to lay aside the religious customs of casual prayer and enter into the zone of the kingdom of heaven, abiding together in the presence and person of Jesus Messiah for the sake of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The New Testament Vision of Prayer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          There is a common and almost prevailing mentality around prayer that centers its authority in its sincerity, fervency, and collectivist spirit (How many people can we get to join in?). This feels to me like religious activism, like a spiritual protest movement. If we can just get God\u2019s attention, giving ourselves no rest and giving God no rest (marshaling the precedent of Isaiah 62:6\u20137<\/a>), God will be forced to act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Though this approach has a seductive allure to it, it just doesn\u2019t strike me as the approach taken by the New Testament people of God. The New Testament vision of prayer at the center of the church Jesus is building looks like transcendent activity. It is the presence and power of God moving in lockstep with a community of people. Examine how Paul instructs the church concerning prayer:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil\u2019s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.<\/em> \u2014 Ephesians 6:10\u201312<\/a> (NIV)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          What are the implications of this text?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          1. Prayer does not begin with a people in one place crying out to a God who is somewhere else,<\/strong> hoping God will do something in yet another place. Prayer is an active, direct, warlike engagement<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            1. Prayer begins not with people but with God.<\/strong> Prayer is the initiative of God to share the burden of his love for the world with his image bearers \u2014 namely, us \u2014 and prayer is the Spirit-infused responsiveness of God\u2019s people to share in and supernaturally carry this burden to the point where his kingdom manifests itself on earth as it is in heaven (that is, blind see, deaf hear, lame walk, lepers are cleansed, dead are raised, poor hear good news).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              1. In prayer, we always come up against the kingdom of darkness and death,<\/strong> making prayer a very dangerous activity. In prayer, we are engaging with powers, authorities, rulers, and principalities \u2014 indeed the realms of darkness and evil \u2014 against which we are no match. Hence, we are instructed to \u201cput on the full armor of God.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                1. Prayer is the mysterious and holy union of God with his people<\/strong> in a divine-human collaborative agency, inextricably bound together in an abiding fellowship coursing with an uncontainable strength and mighty power. Remember, the leader of this movement, the head of the church (not to mention the victorious Lord of heaven and earth), is fully God and fully human.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  Prayer Is Not a Last Resort<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                  Church, the time for casual prayer has passed. The age of prayer as \u201clast resort\u201d is over. The practice of prayer as expressing our anxieties is done. We are waking up to the sobering presence of Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest. We are beginning to sense the desperation of the Holy Spirit, who travails for the deliverance of the whole earth from the rogue and defeated powers of sin and death.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Prayer is not, nor can it ever be, reduced to religious or even spiritual activism. It is instead the transcendent activity of God in the midst of the church Jesus is building for the sake of the world. <\/p>\n\n\n

                  \n
                  \"Cover<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

                  Church, let us pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n\n\n\n

                  Adapted from 1 Peter: Surprised by the Church Jesus is Building<\/a><\/em> by J.D. Walt \u2014 part of the Daily Seeds series of Bible commentaries. This book helps followers of Jesus see themselves as Jesus sees them \u2014 people indwelled with his Spirit being built up to impact the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  As the people of God \u2014 a chosen people, a royal priesthood, God\u2019s special possession \u2014 prayer is not optional. It’s not a last resort. The call to prayer is nothing less than entering into the zone of the kingdom of heaven.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461,469,465,31],"tags":[332,71,236,331,283,203],"yoast_head":"\nThe Praying Church: A Commentary on 1 Peter | Bible Gateway News & Knowledge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the people of God \u2014 a chosen people, a royal priesthood, God\u2019s special possession \u2014 prayer is not optional. It's not a last resort. 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