Acts 12:5-7

THE CHURCH AT PRAYER

‘Prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him.’

Acts 12:5

‘More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of,’ or that the Church dreams of either, for that matter. When this prayer was answered, the Church could not believe it true, and as for St. Peter, he thought it was a dream. After all, who can blame him? ‘When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion we were like them that dream’ (Psalms 126:1). And yet though unbelief mingled with the Church’s prayers, we may all take a lesson from that prayer-meeting. If we want souls prayed out of prison we must learn how to pray. There were three things about it that characterise prevailing prayer.

I. There was unity—the Church met together. Like Daniel of old (Daniel 2:17) the early Church believed in the power of united prayer. There were no dissentients, they were of one heart and one soul. Their prayer-meeting was held at ‘the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark’ (Acts 12:12). It may be that the ‘upper room’ of Acts 1 was there. Evidently this house was a sort of centre and was given up to Christ’s service.

II. There was intensity. The word in the Greek, rendered ‘without ceasing,’ means literally ‘stretched out.’ Stretched out prayer was made. One great reason why our prayers do not prevail is that they are not stretched out, they are not intense. There was an agony in these people’s prayers—they could not let God alone, their whole soul was in their petition. Though the case seemed hopeless and though they could not believe the answer when it came, still the Spirit of God constrained them to urge their request.

III. There was definiteness.—‘Generalities are the death of prayer.’ There are some prayers that seem to ‘aim at nothing and hit it.’ These people had something to pray for. They knew what they wanted and they asked for it. When these three marks, unity, intensity, definiteness, are found in our prayers they will succeed as this one did.

—Rev. E. W. Moore.