Pray Without Ceasing

“…but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.” (Acts 12:5)

Living the Christian life was never promised to be painless and without its problems. Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, had just killed James the brother of John with the sword. His next intended target was Simon Peter, whom Herod had placed in jail. But, the church of Jerusalem prayed for him without ceasing and as a result of their prayers, Peter was miraculously released from jail.

One of the saddest commentaries on the church today is that we don’t pray. Too often pastors half jokingly say that they could conduct prayer meeting in a telephone booth. The reason there is a crowd in some places is not because of prayer time, it is because of extra programs, meals, pizza and games.

The greatest resource in the church today is prayer. I fear it is the most neglected of all our resources. We must not neglect to pray for our missionaries, pastors and faithful workers among the membership.

I see in Paul’s epistles the request for his readers to pray for him. I say with Paul, “Brethren, pray for me.”