Understanding the Anointingthey lifted up their "voice," not "voices"? I'm sure many of them
were praying with other tongues. Paul, when he was praying in
the Temple and fell into the trance, prayed in the Spirit as well
as with his understanding (1 Cor. 14:14,15). It takes Spirit
praying to produce Spirit results.
In Acts 13 when Paul and the others were ministering to the
Lord, how do you suppose they did that? They did it in prayer
and praise, or in song. Ephesians 5:19 tells us, "Speaking to
yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody in your heart to the Lord." That's
ministering to the Lord, isn't it?
Let's go a step further. Paul, writing to the Church at
Colosse, said, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to
the Lord" (Col. 3:16). He said, "Singing to the Lord." Do you
see that? We can minister not only to each other, but we can
minister to the Lord. I'm sure that's what they were doing. They
were speaking in psalms and hymns, and singing to the Lord,
ministering to the Lord, praying in their own language and
praying in tongues. And as they ministered to the Lord and
fasted, the Holy Spirit spoke. You see, that kind of praying
brings forth the manifestation of God's power and God's Spirit.
As these five ministered to the Lord and fasted, they were
praying together. They were worshipping God together. There is
something about united prayer; there's something about united
praise; there's something about worshipping God in unity. I think
the Lord knew what He was doing when He sent the disciples
out two by two.
Jesus Himself made the statement in Matthew 18:19,
".. .That i f two of you shall agree on earth as touching any
thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my
Father which is in heaven."
Believers' Meetings
In the 12 years that I pastored, I was only able to bring one