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The Bible shows various ways we can pray to God. We pray to praise, honor, and adore God for who He is. We pray by offering ourselves to Him. We pray in faith that God would do what we ask, sometimes urgently. We pray that God would do things for others—we intercede for them. We even pray—as Jesus taught us—for those who treat us badly. Our prayers may be either private or public. In the book of Acts, we read about a prayer meeting that had dramatic results. The Apostle Peter was locked in prison, about to be executed because of his commitment to Jesus Christ. King Herod had placed him under the guard of 4 squads of 4 soldiers each, intending to hold a public trial after the Passover, and then kill him. But notice what we read in chapter 12: “While Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.” This statement shows that the prayer was corporate—the whole church prayed; intercessory—on Peter’s behalf; it was passionate—they prayed all night; it was specific—that Peter would be spared. The dramatic answer came when an angel showed up and delivered Peter. Of course not every prayer turns out this dramatically, but it shows what God can do when He chooses to. Our task is to do as Paul told the Ephesians: Keep praying with all kinds of prayer—and supplication—in the Spirit.
