Time in prayer with our Father in Heaven is never wasted time. Yet how many times in our life have we gotten busy and the first thing to drop off the list is prayer?

Last week in Episode 22 of the God’s Word, Today’s World podcast, we took a look at how when Peter was arrested and waiting to be sentenced to death, the church gathered together and prayed for him. And not just one prayer for a minute. They prayed constantly for potentially days.

And their faith began to waver, so much so that when their prayer was answered, they didn’t believe it at first.

But, despite their doubts, when their prayer was finally answered, their faith was strengthened, and Peter left them with the command to spread the news of his rescue by God.

That faithful prayer was a demonstration of their authentic faith. They didn’t just say they were Christian, they lived it. They had so much faith in God that they were willing to take days and nights off regular life to pray for Peter’s rescue.

We looked at that in relation to the Western church today. The sad statistics are that since the early 2000s, over 50% of young people who have grown up in the church have left and never come back.

And why should they? The picture of Christianity that the Western church by and large displays is that it’s something to fill 90 minutes on a Sunday. So many adults talk the talk on Sunday, and are someone completely different at home.

And when young people see that, it is incredibly damaging.

So I challenged us to have an authentic faith. If we want to raise a new generation that is even more passionate about Jesus than us, our lives need to reflect our faith every single day, no matter where we are. No matter who we’re around. Young people need to see our faith is real, and one way to show it’s real is to faithfully pray, and when God answers prayer, tell those stories! Don’t chalk it up to a coincidence or keep quiet about it! God doesn’t just answer our prayer for our benefit, He also answers it for the benefit of those who trust us, who know when we tell them the story that it’s true.

This week we’re looking at making time to pray over decisions. Our passage this week is Acts 13:1-12 (WEB):

1 Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.”

3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their attendant. 6 When they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all cunning, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!”

Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him. He went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

So Barnabas and Paul are in Antioch, continue to teach alongside Simeon,