Acts 10:17-33 ESV

17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests.
The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”


30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”


SENT BY GOD

Peter and Cornelius had a lot of reasons not to associate with each other. Peter was a devout Jew at Joppa while Cornelius, was a Roman centurion at Ceasaria. But, one thing in common, both of them were praying. And God answered both of them through visions. During their meeting at Joppa, Cornelius’ messengers said to Peter, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” Peter earlier, while he was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him also, “Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” In short, God has had orchestrated their meetings.

In a mysterious and unexplainable way, God is moved by our prayers. He continues to surprise us when we pray. God ‘is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us’[Eph 3:20] Thus, in the gospel ministry, we should prioritize prayer, should we not? Didn’t Jesus challenge us by saying, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”[Mat 9:37,38] The choke point in the gospel ministry is neither in the lack of harvest nor in the lack of laborers. It’s in our lack of prayer, is it not?

God’s gospel work must be done in God’s ways. Let’s not forget that the God who calls us to preach the gospel is also preparing hearts - our hearts and the hearers. Otherwise, we might be doing His work either out of our convenience or by our flesh. As a result of prayers, Peter’s prejudice to the Gentiles was erased and Cornelius search for the truth was answered.

Peter did not engineer the meeting. He went to Caesaria and Cornelius with a big crowd were waiting, ready to receive the gospel. Peter just set his sail to where the Spirit’s wind was blowing. In short, the Lord has arranged their meeting as Philip had with the Ethiopian eunuch earlier.

Today, let’s seek God to whom He is sending us. God, has many ‘Corneliuses’ around just waiting for somebody to share the good news to them. Such precious meeting is a result of prayer.

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