Please refer to the account of prayers on Peter’s behalf in (Acts 12:1-17); --- 
“1 Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. 
2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. 
3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 
4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. 
5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. 
6 On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. 
7 And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly " And his chains fell off his hands. 
8 And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." 
9 And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 
10 When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting." 
12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 
13 When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. 
14 When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 
15 They said to her, "You are out of your mind!" But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, "It is his angel." 
16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. 
17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison And he said, "Report these things to James and the brethren." Then he left and went to another place.”  --- A rather lengthy reading, but we need to see some background for our lesson.

   (Vs. 5) again; --- “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

   I thought it to be quite interesting to note that there’s a little animal in Africa called a Gnu; --- that when it comes under attack, the first thing it does in preparing to fight is to fall on it’s knees. --- And in hearing that, I thought; --- How wonderful it would be if we in the Lord’s church could learn that same lesson. --- To fight from a kneeling position, on our knees in prayer!! --- And not only do we fight there, but we learn there. --- A child of God can see farther on his knees than a philosopher can see on his tip-toes. 

   Oh, how we need to learn to pray and the importance of prayer! --- I suppose one sin I confess to God more often than any other sin, is my failure in prayer. --- And one of the greatest desires I have more than any other desire in this life, is to be more effective in my prayers. --- So, you might say that this lesson is aimed more at myself . --- And as we’ve all heard many times, --- Every time that index finger is pointed in your direction, there are three more pointed straight back at me.

   But, seriously,  I’m persuaded that we all need to lay bare our very souls in a self-examination about this very serious and urgent matter of prayer. --- Have you ever wondered why it is that so many Christians these days are failing? --- How many are weak? --- Could it be, they have no victory over the world, the flesh and Satan? --- No genuine joy in their salvation? --- But how different it is when we open our Bibles and read about first century brethren!! --- What’s the difference?

   Well, there may be several differences, especially when we look out and see all the differing denominations in so-called “Christendom”. --- But this one thing stands out in my mind, is the fact that the first century church, the early church was a praying church! --- They knew how to pray!!

   Now, lets look closely in Acts 12:, and specifically at (Vs. 5). And there are several points I wish to bring out; --- And the first thing I would bring to your attention is the; ---

1. Freedom of their prayers;

   “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”
Now, there’s certain things you can’t lock up, and one of them is prayer. --- In this twelth chapter of  Acts we can see where Peter, in order to please the Jews had already been arrested and placed in prison by Herod Agrippa, who was a cruel, ruthless and wicked king. --- He wanted to crush all the apostles and completely stamp out Christianity; ---And it was his avowed purpose that after Passover was completed, he would have taken Peter out of prison, and like James, Peter would have been slain.
And it seemed like there was no way that Peter could escape; --- Because Peter was there in that innermost dungeon. --- He’s very secure. --- He’s guarded by sixteen guards (four squads of four soldiers each). --- He’s chained, I suppose  like Paul was by the wrists between two Roman soldiers.

And there’s no possible way for this noted prisoner to escape. --- Let me be quick to say, “Humanly there’s no way for him to escape.” --- And yet, these early brethren were determined to get Peter out of prison.

   And just how did they do it? --- Well, did they say, “Let’s get a mob and storm the king’s prison?” -HA! Oh, no, not this unlikely crew! --- Someone might ask, “What are they going to do, raise money to get him out?” --- They didn’t have any money! --- Another suggests, “What if they circulate a petition and carry it down to the mayor, perhaps that will get our brother, Peter released!” --- that’s completely ridiculous, they didn’t have any political influence.

   Well, how are they going to spring him?? --- There’s nothing they can do; --- Their hands are tied!!
AH! --- Did I say nothing? --- There is one thing they can do; --- They can pray. --- And what they can do, they did do; --- and what they did was the most important thing of all!!

   Now, had they announced to the world that they were going to “pray Peter out of prison” --- The world would have laughed at them as fools and religious fanatics!! --- But, I want you to know, that when these Christians went on their knees; --- the devil did not laugh!! --- Someone well said, --- “The devil trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees!”

   And friend, it may well be that you right now are much like Peter; --- It may be that it seems to you that every door is shut in your face. --- And these jailers had closed every door and were under penalty of execution if they let their prisoner escape; ---But there was one door they could not secure, and that is the door that opens up into heaven itself!!

   Beloved, you can always pray; --- Even when Jesus was nailed to the cross, He prayed!! --- We need to thank God for the freedom to pray. --- There was no hope whatsoever for Peter on that day on the horizontal level; --- But by God’s mercy, there was hope on the vertical level!!

   Now, the next thing I would like to point out for your consideration; --- Let’s notice, not only the freedom of their prayers, but also the; ---

2. Frequency of their prayers:

   Look again at (Vs. 5), where the Bible says; --- “   “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made (The NKJV says), constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” --- This means they prayed fervently and without ceasing! --- They did not quit praying!!

   I can’t help but wonder that perhaps sometimes, one of the reasons our prayers seem to go unanswered, is that we quit praying; --- We simply don’t pray enough. --- We pray and then we quit.
In (Lk. 18:) Jesus told an entire parable about how God answers prayer, but the parable itself is  introduced with these words; --- “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” --- That is, not to quit praying.

   This church didn’t just say, --- “Now, Father we want Simon Peter out of prison; --- So now that we’ve prayed about that, what else are we going to pray about?” --- The Bible clearly says that prayer was offered up on Peter’s behalf without ceasing!! --- Kind of makes one wonder, why didn’t God answer their prayers sooner? --- As a matter of fact, if you look at the text a little closer, I believe that you’ll find out that God waited until the very last moment to answer their prayers; ---

   (Vs. 6) says; --- “On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, “ --- I mean, just before Herod was about to “do him in”, that very same night “Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.” --- And it goes on about how the God’s angel delivered him from prison; --- But it came about at the last moment, the “eleventh hour” as it  were. --- And isn’t it so wonderful that these brethren did not quit praying; and that they kept on praying?? 

   Now, the next thing, taking up with the same phrase, only this time from a slightly different angle; 

3. The Fervency of their prayers:

   This is something that many times makes me want to go crawl off in a hole somewhere and try to hide from the utter shame I feel for the lack of fervency in my prayers.  --- This phrase “without ceasing” (KJV) and “fervently” (NAS) in the original Greek, does mean “without ceasing”; --- but also, it could mean “intensely”. --- And you could render it this way and not do damage; --- “Prayer was made intensely of the church unto God for Peter.” 

  And here, we can begin to see the idea of prayer, that it is brought forth with a burning fervency. --- 
You know, so many times our prayers lack fervency, both private and public; --- Which leads me to suggest if I may, --- Let me suggest the next time you enter into prayer at home, in the privacy of your own bedroom or closet etc., --- Before you begin to pray, take a moment and turn over to (Heb. 5:7), and read that part about our Lord Jesus and His fervency in prayer, how that; --- “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.” --- Piety means devotion to worship. --- Are you strongly devoted in your prayers? --- Oh, how ashamed and unworthy I feel sometimes when I think about Jesus’ attitude in prayer, and how He prayed with strong crying and tears!! --- And I think about how lack-a-dazical (without enthusiasm: without much enthusiasm, energy, or effort), we at times we become. --- And how dry eyed we are when we go to the Father in prayer; --- And when we read such passages as (Heb. 5:7), it ought to make us want to utterly lay our hearts open and bare before God!!

   The word of God says in (Js. 5:16); --- “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” --- Could it be, that if we give without sacrifice, and if we pray without intensity; we will also sow without reaping?? --- I want to learn how to pray with the fervency that the prophet Jeremiah was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write about in (Jer. 29:13); --- “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart .” --- Do you pray with all your heart? --- Remember, I’ve got three fingers pointing right back at me! --- Do I pray with all my heart?? --- Oh, the fervency of the prayers of the early church!

   Might we get down to some brass tacks; --- Did you pray this morning? --- You say, “O, yes I prayed this morning!” --- Do you remember what you prayed for this morning? --- Many of us are simply not intense enough to remember what we prayed for; --- If indeed we prayed at all. --- No wonder our prayers don’t get any higher than the ceiling.

   In Tibet, the Chinese put their prayers in a little cup; --- They write it down on a piece of paper and place the written prayer in this cup and they tie the cup to a stick or a wheel, and they whirl it around and around, and every time that cup goes around, that’s a prayer supposedly that goes up to God!! --- You say, “Well, that’s utter nonsense!” --- But I’ve known some church members; --- the only difference is, that the “wheel” is in their head, rather than on top of a stick!! --- And it just goes round and round and round!!

   And we hear some brethren just repeating little phrases they’ve heard, stringed together; --- platonic clichés, without ever really coming to a burning intensity about their prayers. --- We can thank God for the freedom of prayer, --- for the frequency of prayer and the fervency of the prayers of these brethren that released Peter from prison and certain death.

   You know, I believe that fervency of prayer is a lot more important than position in prayer; --- There’s no where in the Bible that tells us the precise position we are to assume when we go to God in prayer; --- It matters not the position of your body, but rather the most important thing to remember is the fervency of your spirit.

   There’s an old poem I once heard that goes thusly; --- 
“The proper way for a man to pray“, said deacon Keyes; --- “and the only proper attitude is down upon his knees!!” --- “No! I should say, the way to pray“, said the respectable Dr. Wise, “Is standing straight, with outstretched arms, en-wrapped, with upturned eyes!!” --- “Oh! No! No! No!” said elder Slow; --- “Such posture is too proud. --- A man should pray with eyes fast closed and head contritely bowed!!” --- “It seems to me, his hands should be austerely clasped in front, with thumbs pointing to the ground”, said the pious Bro. Blunt!! --- “Last year I fell in Hawkins well head first“, said Cyrus Brown; --- “with my heels a stick-en up and my head a point-en down; --- I made a prayer right then and there, best prayer I ever said; ---prayingest  prayer I ever prayed; --- a standing on my head!!”

   Now, the point should be well taken, and that is; --- The fervency of our prayer is what gets through to God!! --- You might recall the words of Paul in (Rom. 15:30), when he said; --- “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.” --- “Strive together with me!” --- Actually, he’s literally saying, “agonize, or struggle in union with me!!” --- Proper prayer is work, hard work, even agony. --- In the weakness of my flesh, I had rather preach for an hour, or study for two hours, than to pray fervently for fifteen minutes. --- Prayer simply takes work!!

   When the Son of God prayed, He prayed with such intensity; --- For instance, Luke tells us that the Lord prayed with such agony, and such intensity that; ---“His sweat became like drops of blood falling down upon the ground.” (Lk. 22:44) --- It’s no wonder that many of our prayers don’t get through, because we often pray with such a take it or leave it, attitude!! --- So, what we must realize is the fact that the battle of faith is fought on our knees!! --- And of course that’s when Satan is going to be fighting his hardest against us. --- How often it is when we can catch that wicked adversary working on our minds; --- and trying to draw our minds away from focusing our whole thoughts and intentions toward God and His kingdom; --- And we just have to forcibly bring our minds to focus in the proper direction!! 

   Beloved, we need to learn how to pray intensely, so that we can say, ---“Here was a fervent prayer!!
Don’t wait until you feel like praying, until you pray; --- Pray when you do feel like it; --- Pray when you don’t feel like it; --- Pray until you do feel like it; --- BUT PRAY!!

   Now, the next thing I would like for you to notice, is; ---

4.  The Fellowship of their prayers:

   If you please, let’s go back and take another look at (Acts 12:5); --- “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.” --- I’d like to briefly point out; --- By the church, we mean “The gathered assembly”!! --- Now, there’s a place for private prayer, where we can get alone, shut our closets and pray to our heavenly Father in secret!! --- But, how God must be pleased when a local church brings all it’s energies together; --- and they pray in fellowship. --- And how pleased the Lord Jesus is when even two or three meet together in His name to worship and pray. --- Jesus declares in (Mt. 18:19-20); --- “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. --- For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” --- Just think, if there’s an effectual power in the prayer of one; --- How much more power in the prayer of many!!

   Satan sneers at our contributions; --- he laughs at our organization; --- he ridicules our education in God’s word; --- But he fears our prayers!! --- Oh, yes, there was something that Herod Agrippa could not do to the church; --- They knew how to pray!! --- And so, we move on to the next point; ---

5. The Faith of their prayers:

   Referring once more to (Vs. 5);--- (paraphrased)  “Prayer for Peter was made by the church unto God!” --- Unto God, these were desperate men! --- They were not praying to impress one another; ---
Their prayers were directed to God, and not unto men!!

   So much of the praying we hear today is like reciting poetry, and so much of the praying done  today is to be heard of men!! --- Not all of it, but I’m referring to the church in general. --- One man who was writing a religious article about some religious gathering, spoke of one man, saying; --- “His prayer was the best he had ever heard offered to a congregation!” --- Beloved, need I remind you, that our prayers are not supposed to be directed to a congregation, but rather always unto God; --- Or else it is not a prayer of faith!!

   Listen, these people had to pray, they had no other resource. --- And I’m persuaded dear friends, that one of the reasons we pray so little and so weakly; --- is that we get the idea somehow, that we do have other resources. --- But these brethren had to look to God, and by faith depend on Him!!

   While putting together this article a thought hit me, and when I pass it on to you, it just might blow your mind. --- Ready? --- Here’s the thought; --- GOD ANSWERS PRAYER!! --- Oh, you say, “I knew that!” --- Why, I knew it too, but has it really dawned on you as a truism?? --- I mean, if we can ever once and for all get it fixed in our minds; ---That the one true God in heaven hears my prayers; That’s got to be one of the most staggering realizations one can imagine!! --- And when we start to believe what we profess to believe, and to apply what we know; --- Why beloved, there’s no end in sight  to the spiritual growth and maturity God has in store for us.

   God most assuredly does answer prayer!! --- If you don’t believe it, just ask these brethren who met  for prayer in Mary‘s house. Their prayers were offered unto God, and my Bible tells me; --- “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” and “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. --- And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced it’s fruit.”  (Js. 5:16-18)  --- And let us remember that we are praying to Almighty God!! --- Oh, how carelessly we rush into His presence!!!

   Alright now, let’s go back to the text of (Acts 12:5) and notice; --- Not only the faith and fellowship of their prayers, but also; ---

6. The Focus of their prayers:

  “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made ---” --- That is, they prayed specifically for Simon Peter; --- It was a definite prayer, and it got a definite answer!! --- And God’s answer to your prayers might be just as definite as your praying!!

   Now, there’s some people today who practice what they call “Praying in tongues” --- And really, it does not bear the mark of New Testament tongue speaking at all; --- They get on their knees, and get into a certain ecstasy and they start uttering non-sensical words; --- and their philosophy is that they’re not praying, but that the Holy Spirit in them is praying!! --- And they don’t really know what or who it is they are praying for; --- but somewhere out there their must have been a need!!

   I used to know this one preacher who had related his experience with tongue speakers in the same college he attended in his early days, as he was majoring in Greek. He told us that as he was walking down the hall one day, this group of Pentecostal students had inadvertently left their dorm door open and he could hear them speaking in tongues. As he listened closer, it dawned on him that they were actually reciting the Greek alphabet backwards so that it would appear they were speaking in tongues. I suppose some people can get pretty resourceful when they’re desperate enough.

   But beloved, listen, --- If you want to delight in prayer, you pray for something that you know what you are praying for, so when the answer comes, you’ll give God the glory!! --- All it is, is a “cop out” to say; --- “Well, I don’t know what I was praying for, but it must have been good, it must have been neat!” --- The apostle Paul said in (1 Cor. 14:11-15); --- “If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me. --- So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church. --- Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. --- For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.--- What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.”

   Now, even though we may ask God for something specific, that doesn’t necessarily guarantee He will grant you any and every desire, as if He were some kind of “Aladdin’s genie”!! --- Paul prayed specifically that God would remove his thorn in the flesh; --- But it was not God’s will; --- And so we read in (2 Cor. 12:8-10) about God’s answer to Paul; --- “Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. --- And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. --- Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

   I’m quite sure we’ve all heard of the untold numerous prayers of generalities; --- “Lord, save the lost.” or “Dear God, heal the sick.” and this is one that really takes the cake; --- “Heavenly Father, bless those of whom it is our duty to pray for!” --- Generalities!! --- And deep down, they don’t really mean it!! --- It’s like when you sometimes hear country folks say; --- “Now, y’all come back and visit sometime, ya hear?” --- They don’t mean a word of it. --- If they did truly mean it, here’s what they would say; --- “Hey, I just bought the thickest, juiciest tenderloins you could ever wrap your lips around; --- How ‘bout you and your wife come over next Saturday afternoon about 6-ish, and we’ll put them on the grill and have a grand time!!” --- Now, they mean business, you see. --- They’re telling it like it is!!

   Now, listen, here was a burden these brethren were bringing before Almighty God; --- And they prayed fervently for Peter, pointedly, by name; --- So, when Peter came waltzing in later, they were able to rejoice, because God had answered a specific prayer! --- That’s the focus of their prayers!!

   One last point, and with it, we’ll try and tie it all together. --- Let’s notice;

   Let’s move on down to (Vs. 6) and see what happened as result of this prayer; --- In (Acts 12:6) we read; --- “And on the very night when Horod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers , bound with two chains, --“ --- Say, what would you be doing in the same situation?? --- They were going to excecute him most likely the next morning. --- You talk about a man with calm nerves; --- Here’s Peter sound asleep, chained between these two harsh Roman guards!! --- Well, the truth of the matter is, that he really wasn’t worried at all. --- He was well aware of the fact that Jesus had already told him in (Jn. 21:18-19); --- “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go." --- Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God, --” --- HA! Peter knew he wasn’t an old man yet! --- He knew he was going to live to be an old man, no matter what may happen to him”

   So here he is sleeping; --- I thought it to be interesting, this Greek word for “sleeping” is  koimao, which is where we get our present day word “coma” or “comatose”. Literally (as one dead). --- The same Greek word was used by our Lord, when He said in (Jn. 11:11); --- “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,”  --- But, here we have Simon Peter “dead-to-the-world”;--- between these two Roman soldiers, bound with chains and guards in front of the door watching diligently over the prison. --- I mean he was locked up tight!! --- “ And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side;” --- Now, friends, you talk about a man being “conked out”, this disciple of Christ was sound asleep!! --- Man, he has to say; --- “Hey! Wake up! --- Whack, whack, and here the angel has to actually hit him, Peter’s so soundly asleep!! --- (Vs. 7-8) says; So the angel --“woke him up, saying, ‘Get up quickly’ And his chains fell off his hands. --- And the angel said to him, ‘Gird yourself and put on your sandals.’ And he did so.” --- 

   Now, can you imagine what’s happening here? --- I mean, if there’s going to be a prison break and it’s you in that prison, and suddenly the door is mysteriously opened, and your chains start falling off; --- What’s the first thing you’re going to do? --- You’re going to put on your clothes and shoes??  No! --- You’re going to grab what you can and hot foot it right out that door!! --- But, here’s Simon Peter, he’s going out in style; --- He gets up and girds himself (That is, get dressed)! --- And the angel instructed him to put on his shoes, and he did so. “And he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." --- Well, to save time and space, I suggest you go back to the top and go over verses (9-14) again.

   Now, there’s a lot of irony here; --- Look, he gets out of jail, but this apostle of the Lord can’t get into a prayer meeting!! --- And it’s also ironical; --- and we’ve said a lot about the prayers of these brethren; --- even kind of boasted about them a little; --- but almost all of us have clay feet from time to time; --- And here they are praying for God to deliver Peter, and when He does; --- They can’t take in! --- They try to argueagainst the answer to prayer!! --- Can you believe that? --- Makes me wonder how many of us would recognize an answer to prayer, if it was to hit us between the eyes??

   (Vs. 16-17) continues; --- “But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ---- But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison.” (and so forth) --- Well, the point being; --- Just think about the force of their prayers!! --- Even though there was some weakness of faith on their part; --- 
God still answered their prayer!! --- None of us have perfect faith, do we??

   Real quickly, there’s three things I would like to bring for your consideration, before we’re through; ---  First of all, it was late; --- Peter was going to be beheaded, or run through with the sword as was James; --- unless something very drastic happened. --- So learn this, dear friends; ---
God’s delays are not necessarily denials!!

   The second point I would make; --- It was leisurely; --- Peter just came strolling out of Herod’s prison!! --- In the Old Testament book of Habakkuk; the prophet had this to say, in (Hab. 2:1); ---
“I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,” --- That is, “I want to see and recognize it when God answers my prayer!”

   And the third thing; --- It was limited: --- Please notice again with me in (Vs. 10); --- “When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself;” --- It’s for sure, Peter could not have gotten out of that iron gate without God’s Divine intervention; --- But he could get to Mary’s house without God’s intervention; --- So we can see, God’s not going to do for us, what we can do for ourselves!! --- And prayer is no substitute for work and good common sense, along with a lot of diligent Bible study!! --- Prayer was never meant to foster our laziness; but actually to spur us on to greater work and harder work!!

   Our brother James says, in (Js. 2:14); --- “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” --- (Vs. 17) continues; --- “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

    There’s a garden where Jesus is waiting, -- There’s a place that is wondrously fair;
    For it glows in the light of His presence, -- ‘Tis the beautiful garden of prayer. --
    O the beautiful garden, the garden of prayer, O the beautiful garden of prayer;
    There my Savior awaits, and He opens the gates To the beautiful garden of prayer.

   Well, I don’t know if this little study on prayer that prevails has helped you or not; --- But let me assure you, it has been a wonderful blessing to me. --- It has prodded me into a much, much deeper determination to agonize over and pray more fervently.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                                                                       Humbly and prayerfully submitted,
                                                                                                    Earl Wilburn 
 

Questions and comments more than welcomed: ewilburn@austin.rr.com 
Please don't delete this from your files, as who knows that while you may not at this time be moved by these scriptures but perhaps in time you might want to refer back to this and come to know better the love of the Lord. --- ew