“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42, ESV)
When I was in the military, we would run in formation and do certain exercises, calisthenics, as a unit. The idea here was to train together and to be in peak physical condition.
In the previous devotion, we saw that the church was a spiritual training center. The church being people that the Lord has joined together to help one another to be spiritually healthy. This is so they can accomplish the Lord’s mission. In the church, believers are to spur one another to love and good works and encourage one another.
There are certain exercises that the believers are to do together that will strengthen us spiritually. These exercises are seen in the early church that formed immediately after Peter preached that first sermon on the Day of Pentecost.
Let us see what the Scripture says.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42, ESV)
The first is seen in Acts 2:42, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” The word devoted refers to being steadfastly adherent, to give unremitting care to something. Here it is the Apostles teaching, the word of God. The first exercise in which believers must participate is growing in the knowledge and application of God’s word.
The second is also seen in this verse and is connected to the first. It is fellowship, koinonia, referring to joint participation. Here it refers to joint participation in every aspect of the Christian life. I am convinced that this is essential for spiritual growth. People grow faster in their understanding and application of the word as they meet together, discussing the teachings of God’s word and challenging one another than in just hearing the word preached.
The third stated here is also connected to fellowship. It is the breaking of bread and prayers. It is possible that the breaking of bread refers to the observing the Lord’s Supper combined with a fellowship meal. Here the venue for the believers was to remember the wonder of God’s love demonstrated through Christ’s atonement and to focus on the blessings of their relationship with the Lord over a communion meal. Within this context there would also be prayer.
Prayer is an essential exercise of the Christian faith. It is an expression of faith if you think about it. People who do not pray have little trust in the Lord and those who pray much truly exercise greater faith, that is their ability to trust the Lord.
In the past, some people have told me that they do not bother God with their personal needs, that He has many other more important things to handle. What a foolish statement. This indicates that they have reduced God to their own limited level. They fail to comprehend the infinitude of God, that He has infinite knowledge and infinite power. As such it is completely within God’s infinite ability to hear, understand, and handle every prayer ushered up to Him at the same time all over the world.
So, here we see three essential exercises that are connected, devotion to the teaching of God’s word, fellowship, and prayer. Each of these work to strengthen us and promote spiritual wellness.
Renewing the Heart 