Acts 20:27, 36 Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church.… After he said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them” .

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By this time in the story of Acts, Paul is more than an apostle who started churches, he also was gifted in knowing how to strengthen these churches and help them to grow.

The key was leadership. Paul’s instruction in his letters to Timothy and Titus is an excellent example of his wisdom and guidance. Echos of those letters is seen in the passage in Acts 20, where Paul gives a testimony of his own faithfulness in ministry, a word of encourage-ment to these fledgling church leaders, as well as a stiff warning that there is trouble awaiting down the road.

Paul’s life was an example for them to follow, “I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.” (v.24).

Probably the hardest thing he had to tell them was that after three years of fellowship together, this would be the last time they would ever see each other again. Yet, it is noteworthy that the last thing he wanted to do with these men was pray with them.

We do not have an account of what Paul prayed, outside of the fact that there was not a dry eye in the house when he was finished. His prayer was probably asking the Lord to seal their hearts with the very things that he had just given to them.

This is what it means to bless others.

PRAYER STARTER…

Precious Lord Jesus, you told us that in you we may have peace. You told us we would have suffering in this world, but we should be courageous, for you have conquered the world. May we receive these promises and echo them back to the throne, for you gave us a blessing that those who mourn shall be comforted.

(Continue this prayer as the Holy Spirit directs you personally.)