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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