Sometimes I forget what God has done in my life. A few weeks ago in a church service we sang, “When I think about the Lord, how he saved me… it makes me want to shout hallelujah, thank you, Jesus!” I began to weep at the keyboard as I thanked the Lord for completely changing my life around. Where would I be without the Lord? Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter…
Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” (Matthew 26:48, ESV) This week we have studied several biblical events that happened around the midnight hour. The Bible has many other midnight stories, but today’s is the most significant. Let’s follow the Lord’s footsteps into the Garden of Gethsemane. It was there that the Lord agonized in prayer in the hours before Judas gave his kiss of betrayal. THE FINAL WEEK The week had been long and eventful — the triumphal entry, the cries of “Hosanna” from the crowd, the Lord’s lament over Jerusalem, overthrowing the tables of the money changers, teaching in the Temple, and so much more. Jesus understood what His disciples did not grasp. His earthly ministry was ending. Behind the scenes, the chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to put Him to death without creating an uproar of the people. Soon He would be betrayed by someone close to Him. Following what we call the Last Supper, the Lord and His disciples made their way to Gethsemane, a garden of olive trees on a slope of the Mount of Olives. Not everyone was…
“Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” (Acts 12:5, NKJV) As we read the Book of Acts, we see the rapid growth of the church. The followers of Jesus demonstrated passion and reckless boldness in spreading the gospel. Wherever they went, they took the message with them. There was revival, but there was also opposition. Herod had just killed James, the brother of John, and Peter was his next target. Herod was just waiting for the Jewish feast days to end before Peter would suffer a similar fate. Peter already sat in a prison cell—chained to a guard on each side and with two more guards at his cell door. He was under around-the-clock watch. Escape was impossible—or so they thought. While everyone slept, an angel of the Lord woke Peter. As his chains fell off, Peter followed the angel’s instructions to get dressed and follow him. The angel then led him through the prison and out the gate to freedom. The guards and other prisoners knew nothing until morning when they discovered Peter was missing. Constant Prayer Across town a number of believers were holding a prayer meeting at…
“For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.” (Exodus 12:23, ESV) For several generations the children of Israel lived in Egypt, although their status had shifted through the years. Joseph, who had once guided Egypt through a great famine, was long forgotten. The Israelites were now slaves and life was hard. Centuries earlier, God had given Abraham the promise of a permanent homeland. In Genesis 13:15…
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” (Acts 16:25-26, NKJV) No one was asleep that night. Even at midnight, well past most people’s usual bedtime, sleep would not come. Admittedly, this was no luxury hotel with a warm shower, soft sheets, and a comfy pillow. This was a prison, a dark, damp, dreary prison. awake at midnight The two new guys, recently thrown into the inner cell and their feet placed in stocks, certainly didn’t feel like sleeping. They had been stripped of their clothes and badly beaten — unjustly so — leaving their backs bloody, raw, and extremely painful. They received no medical attention or pain medicine. We can only imagine their intense misery with these fresh open wounds. During the dark hours of the night, a sound drifted from that inner cell and drew the attention of the other prisoners. It wasn’t the sound of angry cursing about those who had inflicted this pain. It wasn’t angry complaints…
And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “(Luke 11:5-6, NKJV) Jesus was a storyteller. When He wanted to teach a lesson, He often wrapped that lesson in a parable to help His listeners understand. One day His disciples observed Him praying. As He finished, one asked, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” Jesus began with the basics of prayer. Today we refer to it as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Many of us memorized this prayer as a child. It’s really a pattern or a template of how to pray rather than words to memorize and repeat. Within just a few verses, the Lord captures the importance of worship, consecration, forgiveness, intercession, and protection. Prayer persistence But the Lord did not stop with these prayer basics. He continued with a parable that taught something else they needed in their prayer life: persistence. The parable told of a man asleep when a sudden knocking at his door woke him.…