Sermon Tone Analysis

| Prayer was a lifestyle for the church.

They gathered, not to socialize, but to pray.

Decisions were made through prayer                                |

*PRAYER IN ACTS*

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Acts 1:13-14 ‑When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying.

Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

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Acts 1:15-16, 24 ‑In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.

…Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.

Show us which of these two you have chosen

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Acts 2:42-47 ‑They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

All the believers were together and had everything in common.

They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

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Acts 3:1 ‑One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.

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Acts 4:23-31  On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.

25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’

27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

#. | Consider their threats, AND ENABLE US TO SPEAK WITH BOLDNESS S&W accompanied prayer Should we expect the building to shake when we pray?

Vision during prayer?

Same prayer as Jesus--   into your hands I commit my spirit & father forgive them for they know not what they do.

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Acts 6:4-7 ‑4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group.

They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

6 They presented them to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 So the word of God spread.

The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

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Acts 7:55-60  But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.

Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

When he had said this, he fell asleep.

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Acts 8:9-25 ‑9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria.

He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.

12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13 Simon himself believed and was baptized.

And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.

15 *When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit*, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.

23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” 24 Then Simon answered, *“Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”* 25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

#. |                    Praying protection for one another    Saul’s prayer was a prayer of desperation    Does God call to us today like this?  Specific instructions!!! |

Acts 9:4-5 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.

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Acts 9:10-17  In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias.

The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.

12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your people in Jerusalem.

14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go!

This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it.

Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

#. |                     They were worshiping the Lord and fasting.

The Lord set apart for ministry in prayer      |

Acts 12:5, 12-17 \\ 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him….When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.

13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.

14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” 15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her.

When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison.

“Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

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Acts 13:2  While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

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Acts 13:47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

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Acts 15:17 that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’

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Acts 16:13 ‑13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer.

We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

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Acts 16:16 ‑16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.

She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

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Acts 16:25 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

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Acts 17:24-27  “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.

25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything.

Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

#. |           Conversation with the Lord |

Acts 20:36 ‑36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.

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Acts 22:18-19  and saw the Lord speaking to me.

‘Quick!’ he said.

‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.

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Many of the disciples' prayers in the book of Acts are addressed to the Lord (Acts 1:24, 4:24,29, 8:24, 10:14, 13:2,47, 15:17,17:24-27).

But ‘Lord" is an honorific title which can refer either to Jesus or His Father.

In many of these instances, it is clear from the context that ‘Lord’ refers to the Father.

Still, there are a few places in Acts where Jesus is seen in a vision and addressed directly (Acts 7:55-59; 9:4-5, 10-17; 22:18-19).

\\ *Prayer in Acts*