I find it a bit odd that although in his "Sermon on the Mount" where Jesus told the multitude "When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you" we ignore that and require (prefer) that a man stand before the assembly and speak for the group.
We have Acts 12:12 - Peter went to the house of Mary where others gathered for prayer; and Acts 1:13-14 - scripture records that all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women.
Neither of these examples requires that one person was speaking for the group. The Amish have silent prayer where the individuals assembled pray silently and individually. You could still say they were praying with a common focus. We could be missing the true meaning of the verses. We comment on the fickleness of the people for not recognizing Peter. We assume they were praying for his release. No one escaped the Roman prison. They could have been praying for his courage, for him to die quickly, for boldness etc. They may have never expected him to leave the prison alive. And let's face it, they were right, Peter did not escape God released him.
In the Old Testament we have 2 Chronicles 6:13-42 where Solomon prays as all Israel gathered around. That does not require Solomon to be leading the people in prayer but it could be that Solomon as king was addressing God and the people were observing and listening similar to when someone was representing a group before the king. Solomon was on his knees with his hands raised. A position we find too Pentecostal.
I am looking for examples of prayer in the assembly.
Thanks, John
Gatlinburg, TN
Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
"When Life Gives You Scurvy, Make Lemonade."
No comments:
Post a Comment