Women Prayer Groups
Women Prayer Groups
There are two glorious“ BUTs” in the 12th Chapter of the Book of Acts.
“ BUT prayer was made without ceasing of the Church”( verse 5).
“ BUT the Word of God grew and multiplied”( verse 24).
Here we consider the first one- PRAYER. It is very interesting to find that women have played a vital role in the ministry of prayer throughout the Bible. The passage under consideration here is one striking example. When Peter was put in prison, the church was earnestly( fervently, continuously, intensely) praying for him. God honoured their cry by releasing an angel from Heaven, who released Peter from the prison miraculously. It was night.“ And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a truth, that the Lord has sent His angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the HOUSE OF MARY the mother of John whose surname was Mark; where many were GATHERED TOGETHER and were PRAYING”( 12:11-12). This was essentially a Cottage Prayer Cell of WOMEN. How do we say that?
( a) Any home is generally known after the name of the man of the house. Here we read it as“ the
house of Mary the mother of John.” Only when a cottage meeting for women is announced in the church, we know it is customary to refer to the meeting place after the name of the lady of the house. i. e. in Mrs. So and So ' s house.
( b) When Peter knocked at the door of the gate, that being night and the time of severe persecution by the rulers, only a brother should have come out to open, if it was a general gathering. But we read that,“ a maid came to answer, named Rhoda”, thus indicating again that it was a women ' s prayer meeting.
( c) Also from what Peter told those who were praying inside the house-“ Tell these things unto James, and to the brethren”- it is obvious that brothers were not there and it was exclusively a women-gathering for prayer.
Number is not a criterion for the successful formation and functioning of a Cottage Prayer Cell. God ' s minimum is TWO.“ If TWO of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father who is in Heaven. For where TWO or THREE are gathered together in My Name there am I in the midst of them”( Mt 18:19-20). Therefore start a Prayer Cell in your house straightaway even if you are able to get just one or two sisters to agree with you in prayer. We give below a few guidelines for your Cell.
1. Choose a convenient day and time for the gathering. Be punctual to start the praying and don ' t be waiting for the ' sizeable ' number.
2. Begin the meeting with a devotional song and then go on to the meditation of a brief Scripture portion. Share mutually. Avoid controversies. Don ' t have too much of singing because you have gathered mainly for supplication.
3. Your theme of prayer should be ' Holy spirit Revival and New Testament Evangelism ' in India and world at large. Intercede for the Project ' Bless Bharat ' so that India will be blessed in our generation.
4. Pray to the point, not beating about the bush. When one sister is praying, the others are to closely follow the prayer. Instead of one individual praying too long, each one should pray briefly and of course
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