Time for God to show-off this morning.
“Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.”
-Acts 12:11-12
I re-read this entire story to my son just this week and I was blown away by the power of it! When you back up and read it all, the story of God saving Peter from death was nothing short of a miracle, and a direct result of the church praying.
King Herod had just killed James, a Christ-follower. The next day, Herod grabs Peter and throws him in jail to put him on trial publicly. Things are NOT looking good for Peter.
Remember- when the first church begin, they met in homes across the city. They didn’t have elaborate buildings or stages to teach or lead worship. It was a simple way to gather in local community and seek God together.
In their desperation to see God move on behalf of Peter, they came together in the middle of the night to pray for the impossible. When they prayer together as a church body? The impossible happened! How are you seeing God do the impossible in your own church? If you aren’t, don’t you think it is time?
Let’s pray:
1.) Read Acts 12:1-19. This story is bonkers cool.
2.) Ask God, “What is so important to you that the church come together and pray?” Why does God want us to do something corporately that we could easily do individually? Why specifically the church? Feel free to dig into the Bible for answers as well.
3.) Reflect and journal on how can you be a catalyst for prayer in your own church. Some churches are intentional with putting prayer first; others… not so much. Often a church reflects the heart of the people that attend it. If your church is missing key elements of prayer, how can you be part of the solution? How can you help usher in a passion for prayer for your church?
P.S. We can cater #theFives specifically for your home church, with the purpose of empowering your people to pray together as a body, via technology! If you are interested in what #theFives could look like for your church, contact us HERE.
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