Thurs., 1/12/17 Devotion (Acts 12:5)

Today's encouragement comes from Acts 12:5, where we read these words:

"Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church."

In the New Testament, whenever we find instances like this one (above), where the church is praying earnestly—it almost always is related to the spread of the gospel. Here, the believers are praying for Peter, so that he would be released from prison, and be able to continue his special work of "unlocking" the gospel to all kinds of Gentile people groups.

Let the church offer prayers today for all kinds of causes—but let us never forget our priorities. As Paul wrote, "The word of God is not chained" (2 Tim. 2:9b)—and part of the reason for this is because the body of Christ prays for the gospel's proliferation, and for those who are especially called to proclaim it (her ministers).

[Puritan quote of the day: "[Christ] would not have needed to stoop so low to save angels as humans.” —John Bunyan, in, "All Loves Excelling"]