A Praying Church

With Christ, we are not at a disadvantage. Let the church pray!

“So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church” (Acts 12:5).

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash

Peter was in chains. Herod held the sword. The guards stood watch. But the church prayed.

Luke wants us to feel the tension. Earthly power had the upper hand: palaces, prisons, and politics. The church had none of that. No influence. No leverage. No backup plan. Just prayer— and that was enough.

The Bible never treats prayer as if it were a last resort. Prayer is heaven’s frontline. It’s not wishful thinking, but warfare. When the church prays, the power of God gets involved. Spurgeon said it best: “Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength.”

And why? Not because prayer in and of itself is powerful, but because God is. Prayer is not a means to awakening our strength, but an expression of our dependence on the God who is our strength. Over and over again in the Bible, we see that dependence is the doorway to deliverance (it’s God or total collapse). Chains were no match for the power of God. Herod’s rage could not block heaven’s purpose. And the enemy’s threats could not silence the prayers of God’s people.

Whatever you face today, do not underestimate the power of God through earnest prayer. Our strength is the Lord!