The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 of 28 (To Update)

The Acts of the Apostles 

Chapter 

20

¹ After the uproar had ceased Paul sent for the disciples; and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left for Macedonia.

(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verse 1)

Oh God my Father after we experience a period of tribulation we need to experience Your empowerment which gives us the motivation to move onwards in this process of salvation Amen.


² When he had gone through those regions and had given the believers much encouragement, he came to Greece, ³ where he stayed for three months. He was about to set sail for Syria when a plot was made against him by the Jews, and so he decided to return through Macedonia.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verses 2 to 3)


Oh God my Father when we decide to do what is right especially for the benefit of others the forces of evil unite against us, however, You are our advocate. You give us the strength and the intelligence to escape the traps of our enemies Amen.


⁴ He was accompanied by Soapter son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia. 


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verse 4)


Oh God, my Father I also wish to be accompanied by a group of believers or be a member of a group of believers so that together we can proceed in our journey towards heaven. Amen.


⁵ They went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas; ⁶ but we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we joined them in Troas where we stayed for seven days.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verses 5 to 6)


Oh God many times we end up making changes in our plans due to situations over which we have no control. However You are always in control, therefore I place my trust in You my God and Father Amen. 


⁷ On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verse 7)


Oh God my Father I pray that I will also be so dedicated as to spend time in explaining Your Word to others. I pray that You open my mind with more insights graces and knowledge so that I can share more with others Amen.


⁸ There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verse 8)


Oh God my Father there is the light of candles and electricity and there is the light that shines from the face of people who have Your Holy Spirit active in them. I thank You for making me meet with such positive people Amen.


⁹ A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verse 9)


Oh God, my Father, Your Word is at times challenging but many times it is comforting and brings on us a feeling of comforting and relaxation. My greatest pleasure is listening to the proclamation of Your Word my God and Father. However, as in the case of Eutychus, the body is weak even though we have a spirit that is willing to listen Amen.


¹⁰ But Paul went down, and bending over him took him in his arms, and said, "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him."


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verse 10)


Oh God, my Father, You told us that if we pray for something in Your Name we would surely get it. I am convinced that the Apostle Paul prayed for the life of this young believer and You restored it back to him so that he could be Your witness Amen.


¹¹ Then Paul went upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left.

(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verse 11)


Oh God, my Father the people offered Paul food to eat, however, the food he was giving to them was more nourishing for they remained listening to him till dawn. I pray that I am always nourished with the food of the gospel and all the books of the bible and with Your Eucharistic Presence Amen.

¹² Meanwhile they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted.

(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verse 12)

Oh God my Father how far and wide is Your healing grace. Even though we may not think that we are in need of Your healing, You never deny us of this opportunity even at times when we are not expecting it Amen. Therefore we are always to be aware and open to Your healing grace for as sinners we are all in need of Your healing both spiritually, physically and even socially and psychologically Amen.

¹³ We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there; for he had made this arrangement, intending to go by land himself.

(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 20 verse 13)

Oh God my Father when we think we are in control we start using the terms I, me, and my. When we make an agenda this may not always be according to the will of God especially if we have not consulted Him. I pray that my will is always united with Your will Amen.

The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 to 28

The Acts of the Apostles 

Chapter 

19

¹ While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples.

(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 1)

Oh God my beloved Father, blessed are Your ways! You send us all on different paths to meet different people, in different situations. I bless You for every person that You bring in my way for they are all gifts and Your disciples, even if I do not always agree with them Amen.



² He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They replied, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 2)



Oh God my blessed Father, many of us have heard of the Holy Spirit, and all baptized Christians have received this gift, however, are we aware of the works of the Holy Spirit in us. I pray that You increase our faith and knowledge of this holy presence within us Amen.



³ Then he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They answered, "Into John's baptism,"



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 3)



Oh God my beloved Father, for its time and purpose John's baptism was valid, however when You were baptized and when the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit this new baptism replaced that of John. Today some of our brothers are seeking new ways of repentance by going before images of crosses and stating their sins instead of going for confession in the presence of Your servants the priests. For some this new form of confession that does not cleanse the person of sins is becoming the norm and not the exception.  



⁴ Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is in Jesus."



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 4)



Oh God, my Father St Paul spoke in Your name, however when You spoke, You did so in Your name and the message was crystal clear. I thank You for the Holy Spirit, who helps us to understand what You wish to tell us by means of Scripture. I always thank You for the Roman Catholic Church that interprets Scripture under the Divine light of the Holy Spirit Amen.



⁵ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied- ⁷ altogether there were about twelve of them.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verses 5 to 7)



Oh God my beloved Father, this is a typical example of when the seed falls on fertile ground and bears much fruit. I pray that You give me the faith and strong will to proclaim Your Name and bear fruit Amen.



⁸ He entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly, and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 8)



Oh God my blessed Father, I pray that You give me the knowledge of Your Word and the spirit that you gave St. Paul to defend and proclaim Your Word the way of life Amen.



⁹ When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 9) 



Oh God, my beloved Father, when one door closes, a thousand open, when one opportunity reaches its ends by means of such negative signs, it means that it is time to move on. I pray oh God my Father, that You help me to understand and act on the signs of my times Amen. 



¹⁰ This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 10)



Oh God my beloved Father, verse 19 is an encouraging verse. Even though we experience persecution throughout the course of our lives, we need to believe in You my God and Father and keep on going in Your ways Amen. Even though we are persecuted for doing good acts, this is not to act against us but it is to serve as a greater motivation to keep pursuing our positive ways amen.  



¹¹ God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, ¹² so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verses 11 to 12)



Oh God my Father Your relationship with St. Paul had grown so much that Your presence had become almost one with him, so much that Your healing grace and power radiated from him. I pray that in time I will also grow in my relationship with You Amen.



¹³ Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims."



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 13)



Many times oh God my Father, there are those who try to imitate You in order to abuse Your name, or to try and prove that Your miracles are nothing but man-made tricks, however, try as they might, they can never succeed in doing the miracles that You did even if they use Your name, because they have not the God-given authority to do such a thing Amen.



¹⁴ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. ¹⁵ But the evil spirit said to them in reply, "Jesus I know and Paul I know; but who are you?" ¹⁶ Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verses 14 to 16)



 Oh God my Father, many people have tried to imitate You, but with no success, many tried to heal others in Your name, but only those to whom You have given the gift of healing have healed others in Your name and not in theirs Amen, for in truth all healing comes from You alone Amen.



¹⁷ When this became known to all residents of Ephesus both Jews and Greeks, everyone was  awestruck; and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 17)



Oh God, my Father, I pray that there will always be such moments so that Your Name will always be praised and glorified Amen.



¹⁸ Also many of those who became believers confessed and declared their practices.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 18)



Oh God, my Father I thank You for this time of repentance, for when we turn away from our evil practices there is great joy in heaven. I pray that many more experience this wonderful gift Amen.



¹⁹ A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 19)



Oh God, my Father many people make a profit out of the lives of others people such as fortune-tellers who attempt to influence others by predictions that are not true or by predictions that are so obvious that they can happen to anybody Amen. I pray that You heal us from such evil Amen.



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²⁰ So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 20)



Oh God my Father, the more the presence of evil is lessened the more the increase and spread of Your Word, however even so Your reign will be victorious forever Amen.



²¹ Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, "After I have gone there, I must also see Rome."




(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 21)



Oh God my Father many times we make such proclamations or expressions under the prompting of the Holy Spirit and in time they take place. I pray that Your Holy Spirit continues to reveal Your plan for me, because at times I feel like a rolling stone, however I am aware that my life and all that takes place is in Your control and that gradually according to Your timing this plan is unfolding and being tailored according to my needs every day of my life Amen.



²² So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 22)



Oh God, my Father, I thank You for always giving me the necessary support especially during times of need Amen. I thank You for particular but special people such as interpreters and doctors who are always ready to lend a hand Amen.



²³ About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 23)



Oh God my Father, as You are aware many years have passed since You had introduced Your Way to the world, and still many issues are still pending among both Catholics and Christians and even people of other religions. Even internally the Church is facing challenges, which I believe, You are using in order to raise our awareness and shake us out of our alienation Amen.



²⁴ A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 24) 



Oh God my Father, the trade of making statues is still a big business even today. New statues are still being made and people are still taking pride in these statues which are made in Your image, but not in You. The creation is replacing the creator and this is a great sin. I pray that You put a stop to this idol worshipping, Amen.   

²⁵ These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, "Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business.

(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 25) 

Oh God, my Father, I pray that You help us realize that when we help others in the Roman Catholic Church and other churches we do it out of love and not for profit, for freely we have been given and freely we are to give Amen. 

²⁶ You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people saying that gods made with hands are not gods.

(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 26)

Oh God, my Father, when we give testimony in our name we might not be believed, however when others give testimony of us, our credibility is greater. Many people gave witness of how You intervened in their life, including myself and I am proud to be one of many witnesses Amen. 

²⁷ And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her."



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 27)



Oh God, my Father, many people use national interest and even their personal interest and also issues of spirituality and culture in order to push the buttons of others in order to motivate them to be influenced by what they are saying. The media also has a way of doing this. I pray that we be aware of such forces of negative influence Amen.


²⁸  When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 28)



Oh God my Father, many times we are like programmed machines that have specific buttons to make us function. Many time our buttons are avarice, ambition emotions, politics and even religion. These buttons are pressed by others to make us feel happy, sad or even angry. I pray that we be aware of such buttons so that we will not permit anybody to control us by pressing our buttons and get the better of us, by persuading us to follow the ways of the world instead of Your Amen.



²⁹ The city was filled with the confusion; and people rushed together to the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's travel companions.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 29)


Oh God my Father, confusion and uproar and disunity are all seeds of the presence of the evil one, that can never bear positive fruit. I pray for the ability to be a person that restores peace and order so that Your presence can continue to reign Amen.


³⁰ Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; ³¹ even some officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theatre.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verses 30 to 31)



Oh God my Father, I thank You for speaking to us by means of other people who also have our best interest and well-being at heart Amen. I thank You for providing such people Amen.



³² Meanwhile some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 32)


Oh God my Father, a state of chaos is a state of sin, for You are not found in sin chaos and disorder. It is Your nature to create order out of disorder and not the contrary Amen.



³³ Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 33)


Oh God my Father in a situation of chaos and confusion one cannot refer to reason. Our lives are being bombarded by too many voices. Therefore it is our duty to seek silence and listen to Your voice. Amen.


³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 34)


Oh God my Father I pray that You make of us peacekeepers instead of ringleaders and rioters. May we be those who uphold the peace, for You do not reign in confusion but in peace and order Amen.



³⁵ But when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, "Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven?


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 35)


Oh God my Father I imagine that this clerk was skilled in handling people and their issues, for he went straight for the main issue which was the obvious regarding the city and Artemis whom they considered as being the focus of their spiritual life. 


I understand that there can be no dispute about Your presence in my life and that by means of the Roman Catholic Church and Your Word I am guided on the path to heaven Amen.



³⁶ Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 36)



Oh God my Father when we act as a consequence of peer pressure and mass manipulation by the media and other forms of persuasion we have a tendency to act irrationally because our emotions are conditioned by the message that is given to us, however, if we had to stop and reflect on our actions we might become aware of our real values, and our true reasons for behaving the way we do or did in a particular situation. We might reflect and ask ourselves which part of ourselves is really and truly in control, whether its our social self, our private and intimate self, or maybe our spiritual or psychological self Amen.


³⁷ You have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 37)



Oh God my Father when losing control over ourselves or when under the influence of something or someone we often make decisions based on emotions rather than on rationality and end up being in error. I pray that You help us during such moments to be objective and true Amen.


³⁸ If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another.


(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 38)


Oh God my Father I pray that You defend me against those who are trying to accuse me in order to make me look bad in front of my superiors. I pray that You Holy Spirit will give me words of truth and honesty. I pray to be humble enough to admit mistakes, but on the other hand to stand up for what is right and for what is true. Amen.



³⁹ If there is anything further you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. ⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion," ⁴¹ When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.



(The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19 verse 39 to 41)



Oh God, my Father You are the God of order and in You, there is no space or opportunity for confusion and disorder. I pray that in such situations of public or private litigation we stop think and pray in order to find a possible solution and remain united. Amen



Oh God, my Father, I would like to end this meditation on the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Acts of the Apostles with the following prayer:-



Oh God my Father it is a good thing that we seek justice in this world, even though by nature we are not just but selfish and corrupt. I pray for all leaders in the world to focus on a form of justice that is experienced by all and not only groups that are already rich in power. Oh God my Father, may Your justice rule over that of the world Amen.