Church, Cry Out!

Editor’s note: Every Monday in October we’re bringing a sampling of the 30-Day Cry Out! Challenge to you here on the blog. Why? Because we’re sure that once you’ve read the post, you’ll want to take the challenge for yourself! Today’s post by Leslie Bennett is live on the challenge today! 

So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
                                                   —⁠Acts 12:5 ESV

Your Challenge: Gather with Other Followers of Jesus for Fervent Prayer

The apostle Peter was as good as dead.

In Acts 12, the church was still mourning the execution of James by King Herod while Peter sat imprisoned—slated as the next in line to face the sword. An extra security force was assigned to Peter to make sure he couldn’t escape as he had once before (Acts 5:19–24).

The church felt powerless to stop the inevitable from happening. Their one and only hope to save Peter rested in the hands of another King, Jesus, who had given them His Spirit and taught them the power of prayer. In truth, they possessed a mightier weapon than those of Herod’s four squads of soldiers:

Earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. (Acts 12:5)

As they agonized in fervent prayer for his release, Peter was rescued supernaturally by an angel and escorted right out of prison just before the dawning of execution day. When Peter showed up at Mary’s door, the kneeling brothers and sisters were in total shock!

God has not changed. The God who sent an angel to deliver Peter from death is the same God who can deliver the church today. Is it possible that we don’t see the amazing work of God like the early church because we’ve abandoned our prayer stations? Perhaps the only thing that’s changed is the church’s priority of prayer.

Our present circumstances look just as bleak. Is there anything the church can do today to reverse the tide of evil, hatred, disease, and division? Yes! The answer is to cry out to God using the powerful weapon of united, fervent, earnest prayer.

If you’ve been searching for encouragement and the impetus to take a deeper, more fervent dive into prayer, then a “Heaven rules” perspective might be just what you need. Looking at life through the HR lens makes doing almost anything other than prayer seem unproductive by comparison. —⁠Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, Heaven Rules

May the church once again take up its authority in prayer and be amazed at what God will do!

How to Pray

Pray in bold faith for spiritual awakening and revival in the church “to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Eph. 3:20–21). Give God thanks and ask Him to glorify His Son throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

What To Pray

Find a prayer group in your church to join and begin praying earnestly for God’s kingdom like the Jerusalem church. Cry out for more intercessors who will stand in the gap (Ezek. 22:30) and set the church ablaze for His glory through prayer. If there isn’t a group to join, ask God to show you who to invite to start one.

Ask the Father to use you to ignite a movement of prayer in your church, home, and community until Christ assumes His rightful place on the throne of every heart.

Your next step: Join over 17,000 others in taking the 30-Day Cry Out! Prayer Challenge. Each day through October 30 you’ll receive devotional content and prayer prompts just like those found in this blog post. Set aside this month for desperate, focused prayer.