“…but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him” (Acts 12:5, KJV).
There is no sound except the quiet breathing of the prisoner, chained to the two burly guards. There is an unusual stillness in the prison, which is typical at night, especially before an execution.
The prisoner dreams of being rescued. In his dream, he is released from his chains, the doors creak open, and he finds himself on the other side of his prison bars.
A sweet dream until the calm wind tickles his back and he realises this is no dream.
His release was the result of the ‘prayers of the saints’ interceding with God day and night.
“The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with” (James 5:16, MSG). Imagine what the prayers of the two and three can achieve.
What if our Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland joined together to ‘pray without ceasing’ that the power of God would be manifested in a mighty way on our shores?
What if we set aside our differences and, in a unified spirit, shut the door to distractions and discord, and focus on prayer for even a day?
What if we had a common purpose that transcended our personal agendas, our egos, our viewpoints and bowed in penitence before the Almighty God, joyfully expecting answers?
The early church prayed for Peter, and an angel of the Lord miraculously delivered him. Don’t you want to experience the hand of God at work in His church in the 21st century?
As good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God (1 Peter 4:10, NASB), prayer should be constant and consistent.
“There is need of prayer, – most earnest, fervent, agonising prayer, – such prayer as David offered when he exclaimed: ‘As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God.’ ‘I have longed after Thy precepts;’ ‘I have longed for Thy salvation.’ ‘My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.’ ‘My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto Thy judgments.’ This is the spirit of wrestling prayer, such as was possessed by the royal psalmist” (Ellen G White, Gospel Workers).
Prayer
Almighty God, forgive us when we top and tail our lives with prayer but forget to infuse our whole being with prayer.
Forgive us for not persisting in prayer. For being too weary or troubled to ‘pray without ceasing’.
Forgive us for the times when ‘God First’ is replaced with all the distractions around us.
Teach us to honour You by asking, seeking for the things in life that are of eternal value.
