The scheme of human redemption was a long process that began just as soon as man and woman were cast out of Eden. Genesis 3:15 gives the first promise that sets the stage for a conflict between Christ and Satan. Christ is the victor and that victory is described in this text as Satan’s head…
Another condition of the heart that will hinder prayer and will cause God to not hear is when a person seeks forgiveness while refusing to forgive another. Jesus taught, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your…
I wish to look at two examples of prayer in the life of the early saints during crisis situations. The first is the prayer of the saints is Mary’s house. Peter was in Jail with the certain intention of Herod to put him to death (Acts 12:1-4). But, they prayed earnestly for him (12:5). James…
Saul of Tarsus, who had gone on a mission to bind Christians and commit them to prison, was coming to Damascus when a bright light blinded him. Falling to the ground, he heard the Lord speak to him to go into the city to receive further instruction. While there, he would be told what he…
As Luke had emphasized the life of prayer in Jesus according to his gospel, so he continues to emphasize prayer in the life of the saints in Acts. Prayer was such an important work that the apostles asked the saints to choose seven men to wait on tables so they could give themselves steadfastly to…
The Lord’s prayer in Gethsemene was the most dramatic and heart-wrenching prayer that we have on record. Jesus had been here before. Luke tells us that it was “his custom” to go to “the place” in the garden where he prayed. The intensity of this restless and sad soul on this night is expressed in…
It is common for the world to refer to the Lord’s prayer that He taught as a model and example of prayer. That model was not Jesus praying to the Father. It was an example of how to pray. However, John 17 is a prayer that He prayed and is, therefore, The Lord’s Prayer. It…
After Jesus had fed the five thousand, Luke alone records, “Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old…
Luke 6:12-13 reads, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles” (ESV). Immediately, I am struck by the clear and unmistakable implication of the passage. If…
In Matthew 14:22-23, the text reads, “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone” (ESV). Two things…