For our meditation I have chosen Act 4:31,“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness.” (AFV)
It is a fact that whenever we as a church gather and pray together, there will be a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit. We may not comprehend the power that is there in our coming together, but the devil is well aware of this, and that is why the doors of the church were closed for a season. As the churches were shut during the pandemic, it was an impossibility for many to gather together, and pray together for many months. Now that everything is back to normal it is extremely crucial that we as believers should gather together to pray together.
In some cold places people light a fire to warm themselves. There is a huge difference when there are just four logs burning, as against having four hundred logs burning together. I would like us to concentrate on this aspect of joining together to pray.
The church prayed for Peter
We read in Acts 12:5, “So Peter was kept in jail, but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him.”(GNB)
Peter was a disciple of Jesus who had learnt many things from Jesus. He preached the word of God boldly, and was filled with the Holy Spirit. However, when Peter was thrown into prison, the word of God was hindered from being preached to those outside. In such a crisis the church gathered together, and fervently prayed to God for Peter’s release.
It is a fact that whenever those who preach the word are being stopped, there is a group of people who are passing by without having the opportunity to hear the gospel being preached to them.
The outcome of their prayer
This was the result of the earnest prayer of the church as recorded in Acts 12:6-7, “One night, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two of the soldiers. More soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. Herod was planning to bring Peter out before the people the next day. Suddenly an angel of the Lord was standing there, and the room was filled with light. The angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him up. The angel said, “Hurry, get up!” The chains fell off Peter’s hands.” (ERV)
King Herod had planned to put Peter to death, and he had specified a day for that. When the church heard of this they gathered together, and prayed about this most fervently. As they prayed the angel of the Lord who is in the very presence of God, came and stood beside Peter inside the prison cell. This was the outcome of the prayers that were being offered by the church that day.
Whenever we gather together to pray in the midst of all our troubles, we are literally bringing down the powers of heaven into these situations. We are in a way through prayer linking the Kingdom of God with our earthly troubles and hardships, and when we do so there will be a shaking and a deliverance. Many families are not able to pray together, and no wonder then that there are many issues that families are grappling with. We join together to go on trips, for weddings, and other functions, but sadly are unwilling to come together to pray. People cite many excuses for this, but let me let us be cautioned that every time we fail to pray together, we are opening up the door for Satan to have a foothold in our lives.
Here are some things that happened when the angel entered the prison room that day.
1. The room that Peter was kept in was filled with light.
Every time we pray we can be sure that the darkness will turn to light, just as it did in Peter’s cell. This is the working of the Almighty God who when the earth was created, the first thing that He did was to bring light to world that was engulfed in darkness. Be sure that when the Lord intervenes in our situations, He will bring light to all that is dark and dismal.
2. The angel tapped Peter on his side and woke him up
Those who are asleep need to be woken up out of their sleep. There are so many around us who do not know who Jesus is, why He came to this world, and that His blood can redeem and cleanse us from all our sins. Such people are in a kind of slumber, and they need to be woken up.
3. Peter’s chains fell off his hands
As children of God if there are any fetters that you are bound with, problems that seem to have shackled you, irrespective of how huge these difficulties are, be sure to call on the Lord, and pray together to the Lord who can surely deliver you.
Peter was kept in a high security prison by King Herod, placed in the inner chamber, chained between two soldiers. There was a first guard, second guard and an iron-gate, all of which seemed formidable. Nonetheless, when the church prayed the angel of the Lord was sent to deliver Peter from all of these daunting hurdles.
No matter what your situations are, you may feel closed in on all sides, with no respite what so ever, but let me encourage you to not be disheartened. Get together as a body of believers and pray together, and God will certainly change all of your circumstances. Three things happened that day when the church prayed, light shone in the dark room, Peter woke up, and all his chains fell off.
The great deliverance
We read in Acts 12:10, “They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron-gate that led into the city. This gate opened by itself for them, so they went outside and up the street. The angel suddenly left Peter.” (GW)
The church prayed and the angel of the Lord came to fulfill the specific task, and once it was over the angel left Peter. Just imagine that Peter and the angel passed through the first and second guard posts. Probably the eyes of those guards on duty were all blinded. The huge iron- gate opened up on its own to let Peter walk out to freedom.
When we pray everything that seems manually operated, will suddenly become automatic. This will happen only when we do everything with prayer, depending entirely on God. Every hindrance we face will be automatically removed from before us. This is a certainty, and we will experience extraordinary miracles in our lives, like the opening up of the huge prison gate. You may be in a prison like situation, feeling that you are locked behind an iron gate that is unyielding. God is able to open those gates, and set you free. If you want to experience changes in your families, pray together as families. Do you want to see transformation in society? Then you should get together as a church and pray earnestly. We should never give up praying together.
As we looked at Acts 12:5, “So Peter was kept in jail, but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him.”(GNB)
To pray earnestly means to pray with faith, and belief that the Lord will definitely give heed to our prayers. It’s a prayer that believes that God will intervene in those difficult situations, will certainly change things over, and that He is able to help us overcome all of our battles with His strength. Every time you gather to pray as a church, go believing that there will be a shaking, and a change will certainly take place.
Herod’s wicked plot
We read in Acts 12:1-2, “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” (KJV)
In order to please some Jews King Herod took pleasure to persecute those who believed in Jesus. Firstly, he killed James the brother of John with the sword. Now the church was bereft of one messenger of God who could share the word of God. I think that when James was arrested the church might have sincerely hoped that he would be spared and be set free. There is no record that the church gathered to pray together about this, though as individuals there may have been those who knew him well, who may have prayed for him. However, when this happened again to Peter the church woke up, and got together to pray. They prayed and God intervened to do the most astounding miracle.
The plot was thwarted
When the news of the escape of Peter reached the ears of King Herod, this is what happened.
In Acts 12:19 we read, “Herod gave orders to search for him, but they could not find him. So he had the guards questioned and ordered them put to death. After this, Herod left Judea and spent some time in Caesarea.”(GNB)
The guards were questioned, and when Herod got no news of Peter’s whereabouts, he not only had the guards executed, he himself withdrew to Caesarea for a while.
Let us remember that the power of the Lord is manifested when we gather together to pray. It is good to pray as individuals, as families, but it is also of utmost importance that we gather together as a church to pray. There are many who will be regular to worship on a Sunday, but sadly there is very little response from people to come together for a fasting and prayer meeting. These are strange days, when the Lord wants us to be penitent, and walk with caution. Do not therefore neglect praying together, for you will experience the mighty works of God only when you do so.
The example of the early church
Let us study the life of the early church as recorded in Acts 2:42, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”(ESV)
• The early church was steadfast in the Apostle’s teachings
Church is not a place where we gather to worship alone, but a place where we are taught to understand who God is, and to know the will of God for our lives. Be a part of a church where you are growing in the knowledge of the Lord, and His word. Every year as you celebrate your birthday, and recall with gratitude that you have grown older by a year, it is also important to see if you have grown in the understanding and knowledge of God. It is good to see if our lives are pleasing to God in every way. Have you grown in your spiritual life, and are there visible changes in every area of your life? This is very crucial that every church should be a place where the word of God is rightly divided and taught.
• They fellowshipped with one another
This is an important part of church that is gradually decreasing these days. In one of the English translations it says, ‘The hearts of the people were knit together.’ We are in need of such unity and fellowship. May we never be the cause for conflict in the church where we worship. Often when there are issues, many believers walk away from the fellowship. Church is the house of God, and everyone can be a part of it. It is therefore important that we maintain the unity of the Spirit in spite of all our differences.
• They broke bread together
As Jesus participated in the Last Supper with His disciples, He commanded them that they should break bread as often as they could, in remembrance of Him. The bread signified the broken body of Jesus, and the cup was a symbol of the shed blood of Christ. Every time we participate in communion, we declare that we are healed by the stripes of Jesus. When we take the bread in our hands we remind ourselves that Jesus took all of our sins, curses and sickness on Himself and that His body was broken, and bruised on our behalf. So also, when we take the cup in our hands we are reminded that there is no remission of sins, without the shedding of blood. The precious blood of Jesus was shed on our behalf.
• They continued steadfastly in prayer
This is most important for us to practice. There are many who say that earlier they would go to church to attend one service, but nowadays, with the onset of online services, they are able to be a part of many services all through the day on Sunday. If you observe, many will be casual and carry on with their daily routine, while the services are being telecast on television or YouTube. This is something we should think about, and understand what the word of God has to say about this.
We read in Hebrews 10:25, “We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.” (GW)
This problem existed even way back then. Often when there are issues people just walk out of church, but let us be reminded that the church belongs to God. Jesus is the head of the church, and when we fail to fellowship, we dishonor the Lord who is the head. That is why we the word of God exhorts us in the above mentioned verse that we should not neglect the gathering together of believers. Moreover, when we gather together, we are to encourage one another. This will never be possible in an online service, where we will just be passive listeners with no one to talk to or share with.
Consider the present day scenario for children these days. There was a time when it was an ordeal to get children who were playing outside with their friends, to get them back in and to stay at home. All this has changed, and nowadays children are content to play games on their mobiles, with no interaction with others, and thereby with no issues to sort out either. Moreover, with their own individual mobiles or tabs the children can play when they want, and shut it off when they are done with it. Everything is under their control. Earlier when children used to mingle and play with other children, they will have issues amongst themselves, and they learn to sort it out, and get back together again. All of these experiences are like a training for what lies ahead of them for their future, when they have to learn to give up and adjust with others.
Sadly, the reason for problems and splits in many young families today is the fact that many have gotten used to these computer games, where the focus is entirely on the individual, and everything has to work according to the whims and fancies of the individual, with no consideration for others. This is quite different when children play with each other for instance, when one child wants to wind up playing, and the other child begs him to stay on, he does so, and thereby learns all about giving and taking. This is totally impossible in a virtual world with no interaction with others.
When we go to church that’s exactly what happens to us. We get to know each other, bear with one another and pray for one another. That is why we need to get together as a body of believers. Satan is more aware of the importance of gathering of believers, for he knows that when the believers gathered together for prayer, the place will be shaken as recorded in Acts 4:31.
If we want such revivals to take place today, it is imperative that we come together and pray. Many people have given up on prayer, because they have not received the expected answers to their requests. If you want to break a huge rock, and if a hammer and chisel is all that is in your hand, every time you hammer the rock, you are sure to make an impact, however small that may be. So also, keep on praying, and remember the words of Jesus which encourages us to not grow weary, and give up while praying. Let’s keep in mind that our prayers are all being received by God, and in His time He will surely answer us. The prayers that are made in secret, God will reward openly. As we pray together there is a shaking that takes place, and there is a conviction that happens inside of us as well. During those times of prayer, I am reminded of areas in my life where I need to change.
Let me share some wonderful scriptures for you to explain this to you.
We read in Hebrews 12:27, “Now this phrase “once and for all” clearly indicates the final removal of things that are shaking, that is, the old order, so only what is unshakeable will remain.” (TPT)
When the shaking takes place, whatever is unshakeable will remain, while those that are shaky will change. Thank God that prayer will bring that shaking in our lives, so that all those things that need to be removed may they be taken away from our lives, and we may submit to God, so He can work on us. These are days to guard our faith.
We also read in Hebrews 12:28, “Let us be thankful, then, because we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him, with reverence and awe;” (GNB)
God has called us to obtain a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and if we want to receive it we must worship God in a way that pleases Him with awe and reverence. The fear of the Lord is so lacking these days, and many have chosen to lead dichotomous lives, one for the church, and one for society. There is a much talk about the fact that God is a God of grace and love which is true but we also read in Hebrews 12:29,“because our God is indeed a destroying fire.” (GNB)
The above mentioned verse should make us ponder much. Let us not be captivated by one aspect of God, for without fully comprehending who God is, we are in danger of losing out, and will be considered the most pathetic people. May we keep in mind that Christ is the head of the church, and when we neglect the times of gathering to pray, when we are lackadaisical we are not disregarding the Pastor or leader, but we are dishonoring Christ. Let us make a decision to be faithful members of the local church where we belong to, and be faithful to attend, and participate in prayer, and fellowship with other believers.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
