THE PRAYER OF FELLOWSHIP

 Today, we want to look at “THE PRAYER OF FELLOWSHIP! Acts 13:1-4 says, “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers…2 As they MINISTERED TO THE LORD, and FASTED, the Holy Ghost said, Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them...”

What is the prayer of fellowship? The prayer of fellowship is the prayer of “praise and worship.” 

What do we do in this type of prayer? In this type of prayer we just “minister to the LORD” so as to have fellowship with Him. 

This is why another name for the prayer of praise and worship is “ministering unto the LORD.”

In Acts 13:1-4 the people were not petitioning God to do anything for them. Rather they just fasted and ministered to the Lord. 

Realize that you are created to praise and worship God! God said, “This people have I formed for Myself; they shall shew forth My PRAISE” (Isa. 43:21).

So it is necessary for every Christian to wait on the Lord, and to minister to Him.

When we wait upon God and minister to Him, we are not asking Him for anything. Rather we simply praise and worship Him (1) in spirit and (2) in truth. 

Look at what usually happens when we gather as a local assembly: we usually minister to ourselves and to one another because most of the songs we sing do not minister to the LORD. 

So many people come to church, not necessarily to minister to the Lord, but to pray and seek God on their own behalf, praying that certain needs will be met, and then they minister to certain needs of each other.

For instance, we sing songs like: We are victorious, yes we are victorious, glory be to God who has given us victory; 1. Oh when the saints, go marching in….; 2. My hope is built on nothing less; 3. Pass me not O gentle Saviour, 4. Unom di na Enigwe marama, etc.

But the truth is that when we first of all minister to the LORD, He will surely reach out to us and minister to our needs.

This is because when we minister to the LORD first, we create the right atmosphere for miracles. Here is the point: The real purpose of praise and worship is to create an environment for the presence of God to be manifested. 

Through praise and worship, we usher in His presence, and in His presence, there is fullness of joy and at His right hand there are pleasures forever more (Ps. 16:11).

This type of environment is called “THE ATMOSPERE FOR MIRACLES!” It is in this kind of atmosphere of pure praise and worship that God does more for people. 

What does it mean to minister to the Lord? This is praise and worship that has nothing to do with you or the congregation. But it has everything to do with the LORD only. 

Real worship is spiritual! A worship that pleases God is deeply emotional and deeply doctrinal (agrees with the written Word of God). We use both our hearts and our heads. 

Real worship happens when your spirit-man responds to the Spirit of God, not to some musical tone. In reality, some sentimental songs we sing in church hinder worship because they take your attention off God and focus on your feelings. Any such worship is not spiritual but carnal.

In Acts 13:2 the Bible says, “As they MINISTERED TO THE LORD, and fasted, the Holy Ghost SAID…” 

Ministering to the Lord involves singing SPIRITUAL SONGS to Him. Ephesians 5:18-20 says, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and SPIRITUAL SONGS, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for ALL THINGS unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

What are spiritual songs? These are songs that are strictly Scripture based. Such songs include How excellent is Your name O Lord? Thou art worthy etc. The wordings of a spiritual song must line up with the Word of God.

How long should we minister to the LORD? When we come to minister to the Lord in praise and worship, we should expect to wait for at least an hour, perhaps longer, just ministering to Him. 

What should we be doing at such times? We are just going to tell Him how much we love Him and praise Him and thank Him for His goodness and mercy. That is what ministering to the Lord is all about. When we express our love to God we are worshipping Him. 

The Bible also commands us to celebrate His presence. How? Psalm 34:3 says, “O magnify the LORD and let us exalt His name together.” 

What does it mean to magnify? To magnify means to celebrate God’s presence in worship.

What is praise? Praise is the announcement of God’s greatness and faithfulness. Here you thank Him for the things He has done for you, what He is doing for you right now, and what He will yet do for you in the future.

The Bible says that we are created to praise God. In Psalm 145:2-3 the Psalmist said, “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable”

In Psalm 34:1 David said, “I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

What is Worship? Worship is appreciating God for who He is. In John 4:24 Jesus said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him MUST worship Him (1) in spirit and (2) in truth.”

And you can only appreciate God for who He is by knowing His names and their meanings. 

Worship is an activity of the spirit-man (Jn. 4:24). True worship requires people contacting God, the Spirit, with their spirit-man. 

New Testament worship must be in spirit and in truth. Since “God is Spirit,” He must be worshipped in spirit. A human being is a spirit (1 Thess. 5:23), the nature of which corresponds to God’s nature, which is Spirit. 

Therefore, you can only have fellowship with God and worship Him in the same sphere that He exists in, by doing so with your spirit-man.

What does it mean to worship God in truth? It means to worship God in harmony with full revealed truth. 

What is truth? Truth is the Word of God (Jn. 17:17). Let me ask you beloved, do the wordings of your worship songs agree with the Word of God? 

Many times people say so many things to God with their lips, but in reality they don’t mean it in their heart. This is FALSE worship. That song of worship you are singing to God, do you really mean it? 

When Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart and soul” He meant that worship must be (1) genuine and (2) heartfelt. Heartless praise or worship is worthless, and it’s an insult to God. 

What does it mean to worship God in spirit? This means to worship God with your spirit-man and your whole soul – your emotions, your desire, your will and your mind.

Worship must be genuine and heartfelt. Worship is not just a matter of saying the right words, you must mean what you say. 

And for you to mean what you are saying in songs, you MUST understand the lyrics [the wordings of a song]. 

When you are singing songs like, “Come, let us worship and bow down…,” do you really bow down or do you continue to stand like an Iroko tree as you are singing the song? If you are not doing what you are saying in the song, you are not worshipping God in truth.

Worship is the bridge to the spiritual realm! You can cross over from the physical to the spiritual realm through the bridge of worship.

In worship, there is a joining of your spirit-man to the Spirit of God. “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh."  17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Cor. 6:16-17).