Food for Thought

The twelfth chapter of Acts covers the imprisonment of Peter and his subsequent miraculous release.  Verse five in the NLT reads this way: “But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.”  Having lived in a few different countries, struggled with learning a foreign language, and of necessity having had to use interpreters, I appreciate how difficult it can be to carry a thought with exact precision from one language to another.

              Comparing how different translations render what appears to be a rather simple verse five is interesting.  The KJV says prayer was made ‘without ceasing’.  The ESV says ‘earnest prayer’ was made for him.  The message paraphrase says ‘the church prayed for him most strenuously.’

              I think that collectively they have helped us understand that this prayer meeting was not in the least bit casual.  There are a couple of specifics about this meeting worth noting.

First, there were many gathered for prayer.  Secondly, the meeting was organized to deal with this one specific need in mind.  I remember as a child a time when our entire church was called to a specific meeting to pray for a young child who had been severely burned and not expected to live.  We assembled at the church and spent a long time with everyone young and old on our knees in prayer.  The young man did live, but similar meetings for urgent needs are few and far between these days.

              Thirdly, they directed their prayers specifically to God the Father which is completely in line with our Lord’s directions as he taught his disciples how to pray.

              Fourthly, they harvested the power found in united prayer.  Jesus underlined the value in two or three coming together in his name, how much more in twenty or thirty?

Fifthly, this happened not long after Pentecost so I’m sure that the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit was still fresh in their minds and would have inspired them to allow the Spirit to pray though them when their own words failed.

As I attended Camp Meetings in Florida, read books and attended our denominational events there is a growing call for a recommitment to prayer, to individual prayer and to corporate prayer.  The great revivals were always characterized by prayer.  What is our awesome God up to in 2026?.. Is He awaiting some hunger from a praying people?                                                                                                                Pastor Dave