Trinity Discipleship
Fellowship
INCORPORATED
IN NIGERIA
RC NUMBER: CAC/IT/NO 145940
Trinity
Discipleship Fellowship is an evangelical Church in
the Baptist and Reformed traditions, patterned like
the Church of which we read in the New Testament
MOTTO:
Obeying
the Great Commission
(Matt. 28:18-20)
~
Newsletters ~
~ May, 2020
TRINITY DISCIPLESHIP FELLOWSHIP – MAY
NEWSLETTER
THE EARLY BELIEVERS AND PRAYER by Abia Friday Abia
(Adapted from his forthcoming book on an aspect of disciple
making)
In line with our desire to be like the
early believers, we continue to examine what they did that
made them extraordinarily
successful both in carrying out the great commission and
in living the life of Christ. In our April newsletter,
we examined the one, changeless message they proclaimed
everywhere and on every occasion. This month, we turn our
attention to their prayer life.
The early believers prayed, and were
noted for it. Prayer was one of the important things they
devoted themselves
to (Acts. 2:42). They prayed before they chose someone
to replace Judas Iscariot in the apostolic ministry (Acts
1:23-26). They prayed against the opposition of the Jewish
leaders (Acts 4 : 31). They prayed for Peter when he was
put in prison (Acts 12 : 5). When they had to choose between
prayer and something else, they chose prayer (Acts 6 :
3-4). Prayer was indeed a fundamental aspect of early Church
life.
Like the early believers, we can not
do without prayer today. It is indispensable to a successful
and fruitful
Christian life. It is like an engine in an Aeroplane. Without
the engine up and running, no plane can take off or fly.
If a plane is airborne and it’s engine suddenly stops
running, it will come tumbling down. Without prayer, our
Christian lives will also come tumbling down.
It is common knowledge that we contemporary
Christians are not giving the same place and devotion to
prayer as
the early believers did. Even in Africa where we think
there is so much emphasis on prayer, true, biblical prayer
is scarce to come by. Yet we must carry out the great
commission (Matt. 28 : 18-20) and live the life of Christ
(Col. 2:6-7)
as our early counterparts did. We do not only need prayer,
we need the same devotion to it like the early believers
(Acts 2:42). We must give priority to it in the midst
of our crowded programs and activities (Acts 6:3-4). In
the
words of Paul, we must pray without ceasing (1 Thess.
5 : 17). Let us be known for our devotion to prayer, like
the early believers. Our success depends entirely on
it,
as was the case for them.
Therefore, let us pray. We learn to do
anything by actually doing it. Let us learn to pray like
the early believers
by actually praying.
