How to Pray
A Sermon on Acts 2:41-42
Scripture
41So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
41¶ Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Acts 2:41-42 titled “How to Pray,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones encourages the Christian to examine their prayer habits. This personal examination will reveal the true value a believer places on prayer. A lack of prayer is often traced to a lack of understanding what prayer is and how to go about it. Prayer means entering into the holiest of holies, the very presence of God, to have communion with him. In the Old Testament the reader finds detailed instructions for festivals, sacrifices, and the temple so that the Israelites would know how to approach God. Now, as believers in the time of the new covenant, instructions have been given in Scripture for how believers can approach God directly through prayer. They may approach God based on the work of the Lord Jesus and it is only with his help that prayer is made possible. This glorious truth leads to prayer focused on God as the Christian approaches boldly with thanksgiving and worship.
The Book of Acts
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.