Empowered by prayer: Sameh Maurice unlocks key to New Testament Church
By Parker T. Williamson, February 9, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – Enthralled by a dream that they might experience the life of the New Testament Church, more than 500 Presbyterians heard the Rev. Sameh Maurice, pastor of the burgeoning Kasr el Dobara Church in Cairo, Egypt, unlock one of the keys to New Testament Christianity.
Surrounded by a Muslim culture, Maurice’s congregation takes cues for its ministry from the Book of Acts. Thursday night’s key came from Acts 4:24-30, a prayer that was offered by early Christians after they had been threatened by the chief priest and his scribes.
“Look at the words in this prayer,” said Maurice, as he surveyed a sanctuary filled with Presbyterians, many of whom are facing threats from their own denomination’s establishment. “What did the people say in their prayer? They began by praising the Lord.”
Maurice said the apostles’ prayer began with a focus, not on themselves, but on “the Sovereign God, the ruler of heaven and earth.” He is the one responsible for the “signs and wonders” that the apostles were seeing. It was by his power that Peter and John had preached with boldness and stood before the chief priests, rulers and scribes without flinching. “Prayer,” Maurice said, “begins with praise.”
A second element of the prayer was the fact that it was offered “in oneness,” he said. “The people’s voices were together.” Maurice recalled his experience of prayer with Korean Christians who gather daily, by the thousands, to lift up their voices in prayer. In packed sanctuaries, the Koreans pray together, audibly, and the sound that rises from the room is electric. The walls literally shake as the voiced prayers of God’s people rise from the pews.
Maurice called on the New Wineskins congregation to pray that way. At his request, the people stood, faced one another in pairs, clasped one another’s hands, and began to pray. A mighty sound rose from the pews in First Presbyterian Church as contemporary Christians blended their voices with those of their ancient forebears in a concert of prayer.
Note that the Christians did not plead to the Lord for themselves, Maurice said. They did not say, “Lord, we are in danger. Save us.” They forgot about their own needs: “‘Glorify thy name … Thy kingdom come … Thy will be done.’ When we ask, not for ourselves, but for his sake, for the sake of his kingdom, he will give us what we need. He will empower us to serve his kingdom.”
Maurice called attention to the people’s plea that the Lord would “stretch out his hand.” This is a crucial part of prayer, he said. “We can only go to others with the Gospel where the Lord has already stretched out his hand, so we begin evangelism by praying that the Lord will do this in their lives. When he has done this, then they are prepared to receive the Word that we, like the early Church, are called to preach with boldness.”
Maurice said that, in his culture, the Lord is stretching out his hand by inspiring dreams in the minds of the Muslims. He pointed out that Muslims pay attention to “visions and dreams.” They believe that such experiences come from God, and are eager to have them interpreted. He recounted several events in which Muslim neighbors for whom his people had prayed experienced dreams that paved the way for receiving the Gospel.
Maurice told of medical mission teams that went out from his Cairo church to area villages. Prior to their going out, they advertised in the villages that they were coming with medicines and doctors, and that they would offer medical care to all who need it, both Christian and Muslim.
When they arrived in the villages, the Muslims came. Many of them were women, enshrouded in the clothing of their tradition. “‘What is your problem?’ the doctor asked. ‘I had a dream,’ replied a woman. ‘How can I help you?’ asked the doctor. ‘Have you a Bible?’ she replied.”
Maurice said this happened repeatedly with other members of the medical team. “At the end of the day, we had given away more Bibles than medicine,” he said.
“The Lord was stretching out his hand. He was speaking to the people in their dreams. He was preparing them to receive the Gospel.” If we want to share the Word of God with others, Maurice said, we begin by daily praying for them by name, asking the Lord to stretch out his hand.
This, he said, was the key to the apostle’s prayer. “Do you believe in the power of prayer? Do you believe that God is all-powerful, that he is sovereign, and that nothing is impossible for him? Do you believe that he keeps his promise? Pray to him together. Pray, not for the sake of yourself or your church. Pray for the sake of the kingdom. Ask him to enable you to speak the Word boldly and to stretch out his hand before you. … Then you will know the joy of the New Testament Church, and you will see the fruits of the Spirit.”
Parker T. Williamson is editor emeritus and senior correspondent of The Layman and The Layman Online. He can be reached at laymanletters@www.layman.org.