God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
It’s fascinating to note that the first thing mentioned that the early did when they gathered together was to pray. Before there is any comment regarding the preaching of the Word, singing or fellowshipping (or even the myriads of “ministries” we engage in today), the Bible says they were “continually devoting themselves to prayer” (Ac. 1:14).
There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is simply to try to get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever had, and to hail it with delight as an opportunity of obtaining a larger measure of divine grace.
