0412 AN EFFECTIVE PRAYER MEETING

A PRAYER MEETING IN ACTION

Perhaps you remember when Wednesday evenings at many churches had what was called “Prayer Meeting.” I remember singing “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” and being amazed that the hymn writer spent a full hour praying—and LIKED it! On Wednesday evenings at our church, we certainly didn’t spend a full hour praying, and I couldn’t imagine liking it. 

Since that time, I have experienced a few times of extended worship and prayer, and I have marveled at the insights and the “coincidences” that arise. But miracles these days are relatively rare. And even if they happen, I often scrutinize the incident to be sure I’m not being deceived in some way.

So when I read in Acts about ten days of prayer and waiting, I am especially aware that the apostolic church was living on a much higher level than the one I tend to settle for. 

Maybe it’s good to get a small snapshot of a good old, old, old fashioned prayer meeting. Like the one at John Mark’s Momma’s house. It was Passover again, about a year after Jesus had been crucified. Many were gathered there for prayer, and they were going far into the night. Among other things, they were praying because the apostle James had just been killed with a sword by Herod. Less than a year into this new world, and the persecution was really getting real. 

They were also praying for the beloved apostle Simon Peter, who had been thrown into prison and was likely to meet the same fate as James when he would be tried before Herod in the morning. Long into the night they travailed in prayer, asking God to deliver their brother, to change the outcome, to give him peace, to help him to be strong. On and on they went, singing a psalm, reciting a Scripture, voicing a prayer, chanting the memorized prayers of the synagogue. Then someone might share a word of insight or revelation with the group, and then they started the cycle all over again.

On and on the vigil went. Seven o’clock. Nine. Eleven thirty. No one had felt any particular breakthrough, but there was still time before the trial itself. Earnestly they kept it up. Around midnight, the atmosphere seemed to change. A wave of hope stirred in the room. But no specific revelation. So they kept at it, with a renewed vigor. “Lord, stretch out your mighty hand to deliver Peter from the hand of the oppressor!”  

Some time after midnight, there came a soft, hurried knock on the door in the gate. Who could be coming at this hour? Most likely it wasn’t good, given the current situation. Well, at least the soldiers hadn’t broken the door down. Let’s keep on praying, but in softer voices. A twelve-year-old girl, Rhoda, who was a servant to a family in town, quietly got up to take a peek and see who or what was there.

Suddenly, Rhoda laughed and came running back into the middle of the room. “Peter is standing at the door!” she cried. 

Some laughed. Some cried. Some prayed. More than a few said to her, “You’re out of your mind!” And one extra-spiritual woman suggested that “It must be his angel.” Someone else prophesied, “behold, says the Lord, I stand at the door and knock.” They went back to praying.

And the knocking continued. Did Rhoda not open the door? Is whoever it was still standing at the door and knocking? Whoever it is, they are certainly being insistent.

This time, a handful of people from the meeting went out to the door, amazed to see–care to guess who it was? Yes, you in the back, you have a guess? Pizza delivery guy? Anyone ELSE have a guess? It was PETER! Oh, it was obvious, was it? 

 Peter himself standing there. Peter, who was imprisoned in an underground cell with one guard on either side of him, attached by chains to each of his hands. Other soldiers stood guard at the prison gate. Four squads of four soldiers each. Nobody was thinking of a jailbreak, to be sure.

Anyway, sure enough, it was Peter himself, miraculously delivered by an angel to walk right out past the guards and make his way here to the meeting. Everyone was clamoring to get close to Peter, to hear his story, to be of help in some way.

Peter motions for everyone to quiet down, and tells the story of how he was led to open the door of his cell, and walk to this place right here. It was God’s doing, from beginning to the end.