Prayer for Aceh

Meditate on Acts 19:1-10

1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

4Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.

8Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

Prayer Prompt

In Acts 19 We are told that Paul was in Ephesus for about two years reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. In the preceding verses, Paul had found 12 believers there who were a little confused about baptism, but after getting them on the right track we can assume that they joined him in the work of proclaiming the kingdom. Then comes verse 10: what is said is stated as a matter of fact, but what happened was a miracle. It says “They (Paul and his team) continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”  (emphasis added) At that time Asia was a province not a continent, but still all the residents of the province of Asia heard!  Historians debate the total population of the province of Asia but it is agreed upon that there were probably millions of people living in that province. How did this happen? Did every person in the province of Asia come to Ephesus? Probably not. It probably happened through rapid multiplication of disciples making disciples.  It is our prayer that just like in Asia in Paul’s day, that all the residents of the province of Aceh would hear the word of the Lord. 

Prayer points: 

• Lord may all the residents of Aceh hear the word of the Lord Just like all the residents of Asia were able to hear it in Paul’s day (Acts 19:10)
• God, just as you gave Paul a team of 12 imperfect disciples in Ephesus, we ask you to bring together teams of ordinary people in Aceh who are committed to the word of God and following Jesus. Do this all over the province of Aceh: In the north, south, east, west, and even in the hard-to-reach parts of the interior. 
• God, as you raise up teams, grant them unity (John 17:21) that the unbelievers in Aceh may look and see and believe that Jesus is the way the truth and the life.