Daily Thought

As in yesterday’s passage, the RV renders ‘prayer’ as ‘the place of prayer’, the venue where Lydia and her friends used to meet before the apostles arrived. Paul and his colleagues saw no reason to abandon that place. It had two advantages: (1) it was outside the city and so offered a degree of seclusion, and (2) it was by a river and so was probably suitable for baptisms, 16. 13. Moreover, Lydia’s conversion would encourage Paul to keep returning to the place of prayer in order to continue preaching to the other women who gathered there. Souls who meet often to pray are more likely to find the Lord than those who never give God a thought; other things being equal.

The pronoun ‘we’ indicates that Luke was at this time travelling with Paul. The author of the third Gospel, with its unique portrait of the praying Christ, quickly saw the importance of such sessions of prayer, as he implies here.

Taking the KJV as it stands, Luke’s language is very arresting, for he does not write, ‘Now Paul and his co-workers held regular prayer meetings by the riverside’. He simply mentions the matter in passing - ‘it came to pass, as we went to prayer’. He takes it for granted; he treats it as the ‘norm’. He and his co-workers were well aware of the centrality of prayer. The apostles and preachers of the first century scarcely needed to be exhorted about this. They would no more have contemplated evangelism without frequent prayer than they would have thought of trying to live without breathing. They did not plan and publicize their prayer meetings. They simply cast themselves and their ministry upon God in ongoing and heartfelt prayer.

Perhaps the healing of the demon-possessed damsel flowed from Paul’s intercessory instinct. For many days he tolerated her unwanted publicity and waited to act in God’s time. When that time arrived, his action was decisive, and the damsel was set free. Meanwhile God had doubtless been preparing the jailor for his own encounter with the apostles. Only God can synchronize events to such perfection. We must keep close to Him if we desire to be involved in His work. Hence the need for unceasing prayer.