FRIDAY November 18, 2022 

The Power of Prayer
 
Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
Acts 3:1

Christ’s disciples were gathered together for ten days in the upper room praying––in one mind, and revival broke through. There is power in prayer when you come to pray to Jesus Christ. It does not matter what your circumstance or problem is––there is power in prayer! 

After Pentecost, even though they were born again of the Holy Spirit, Peter and John still continued to go up to the temple for prayer. Remember, there were no churches. Christians met in homes. So it is very interesting that they went there to keep this traditional time of prayer. I am sure they sought the opportunity to be a witness for Christ. 

The customary times for Jews to pray in a Jewish synagogue were 9:00am in the morning, 12:00 noon, and 3:00pm in the afternoon. Not only does daily prayer happen among the Jews, but you will find that Muslims pray five times a day to their god––Allah. They pray at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening. Also, it is recommended that Hindus faithfully pray to their gods twice––every sunrise and sunset. 

As a Christian, do you have a consistent prayer life? We are not held by tradition to pray, instead, we have a personal love relationship with Jesus Christ. Still, there needs to be an urgency and constancy to our prayer time. Make an appointment with God and keep it! It seems that we can read the Bible without any issues, but when it comes to prayer, the phone rings, there is a knock on the door or some other distraction happens. 

Some people pray selfishly. They keep their prayers short and to the point, “Lord I want, I need, thank you, Amen.” Jesus taught His disciples to pray, but it was never intended to be repetitious (Matthew 6:9-13). 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are encouraged to pray without ceasing. How do we do that? In your mind, you can lift up a prayer to God throughout the day. Praying may be one of the hardest things you do, but never stop praying! 

The Word of God represents all the possibilities of God as at the disposal of true prayer.
~A.T. Pierson~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!