Praying in Difficult Times
The situation with the coronavirus COVID-19 changes daily. Churches are discovering creative ways to shepherd one another and touch their communities through services. We can give thanks to God for technology that allows us to stream services and do home groups via videochat.
At the same time, we have the very same access to God we’ve always had. In the first article in this series, I observed that the church was birthed in prayer. Our first recourse—just like the first believers—is to turn to the Lord in prayer.
The second thing we can see from the church’s prayer in Acts speaks directly to where we are today: The church turned first to prayer in times of difficulty. In Acts 4, we read of the beginning of a problem that, though not a virus, will spread like one in the coming years: persecution.
A lame man was healed and thousands more were converted, but the religious leaders weren’t happy about any of it. Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin and faced threats (Acts 4:18). They were basically told, "No, you can't speak about Jesus anymore." It’s only going to get worse: threats here, beatings in Acts 5, until people start dying for the faith beginning in Acts 7 with Stephen. After that, a general persecution began (Acts 8:1-4).
When they were released, Peter and John prayed with the believers. We read beginning in verse 23 the first corporate prayer recorded in Acts, and it’s in response to difficulty. They all met together. We can’t do that right now physically, and yet we can, through video technology and social media updates.
The church can still gather as one and pray.
This prayer in Acts 4 is one of the more remarkable prayers in the scriptures, as they didn't ...
from Christianity Today Magazine https://ift.tt/2yoKPLw
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