Studies on Prayer: Vol. 2عينة

God calls and expects every Christian to develop a strong, believing prayer life. Billy Graham once said, “Heaven is full of answers to prayer for which no one bothered to ask.” The early believers in the Christian faith were facing impossible odds. Their numbers were growing, but compared to the Roman government or the Jewish leaders, they seemed insignificant. But that is historically how God has chosen to make Himself known. If the Bible contained stories of great men’s accomplishments, it would not be a book of miracles. When Christians pray, God can ask the impossible and accomplish the impossible through those who will pray and believe. The believer’s prayer is not limited by anything but the Perfect Will of God.

Peter and John were imprisoned after the healing of the lame man at the temple gate called Beautiful (Acts 3). The healing was a public spectacle, and the miracle was not in doubt. The Sanhedrin met to decide what to do with Peter and John. The eventual verdict was to allow the apostles’ release and warn them not to speak of Jesus. Peter and John respectfully refused, saying, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges” (Acts 4:19). Peter and John left the Sanhedrin to return to the Upper Room, and a small group of believers came together to pray.

1. Why is it important to remember what God has done in the past as you pray about the future? Do you have a specific example of this from your own prayer life?

2. What did the early believers pray for? (verses 29–30)

3. How is this a lesson for your personal prayer life? For your church?

“Prayer is the easiest and hardest of all things; the simplest and the sublimest; the weakest and the most powerful; its results lie outside the range of human possibilities–they are limited only by the omnipotence of God.” —E.M. Bounds

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