Paul the apostle becomes one of the greatest people of prayer whose account is recorded for us in Scripture. When he is shipwrecked on the island of Malta, he prays for the sick father of the chief official of the island, Publius, and he is healed.

In Acts 16 Paul and Silas cast an evil spirit out of a woman and are subsequently imprisoned. While in prison they pray and as a result, everyone in the prison is freed. It becomes an opportunity for Paul and Silas to preach the Gospel to the jailer and his family.

In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabus are sent out by the church in great power to spread the Gospel and they see much fruit but they also experience great persecution.  This becomes a pattern for Paul who faced persecution in many of the places he went to preach the Good News. As a result, he often asked the church to pray for him in that regard. We should be doing the same for missionaries in our day.

What we're seeing as we continue through the Book of Acts, is that there is power when Christians pray together.  Do you have people in your life that you regularly pray with? If you're married, are you regularly praying with your spouse?

We learn from the account of Peter and Cornelius in the Book of Acts that good people still need to hear and embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that God will go to extraordinary lengths to get the message of the Gospel to a seeking person.  God gives significant guidance to people who pray.

In Acts chapter 10 there is a great instance of the Gospel going to the Gentiles. It begins initially with two different individuals—Cornelius and Peter—who were seeking God in prayer. God often orchestrates significant activities through people who are devoted to prayer.

As we continue to consider the example of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, it is interesting that in his prayer at the time of his death, he cried out with a loud voice. Could it be that the Lord used Stephen's loud prayer to affect Saul who was standing nearby and who would later have an encounter with Jesus? 

Stephen, one of the first deacons in the early Church, challenged the religious people who were resisting the truth of the Gospel. The religious leaders were angered and stoned Stephan to death. Just before he took his last breath, Stephen prayed, "Lord do not hold this sin against them."

As we continue to look at the pattern of prayer shown in the Book of Acts we see that when Peter and John were threatened and forbidden to speak about Jesus they gathered the believers together and prayed. They exalted God and asked for boldness to continue to speak the Word of God. 

After the remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter preached the Gospel and 3000 people became Christians. These new followers of Jesus devoted themselves to several primary spiritual disciples, one of which, was prayer.