Now I’ve usually heard that this supposed that the apostles delegated ministry duties to others so that they might be freed as much as spend time in personal prayer and get hold of a fresh word from the Lord to evangelise to the humans. But that is not the point of this passage.The apostles aren’t relating to the need for non-public, private prayer. prayer groups Instead, they may be speaking about the ministry of mobilizing the humans of God to wish collectively. They were marking out the 2 ministries they ought to in particular do as church leaders. Let me display you the clues that cause this end.
- The context of this passage revolves round ministries. Verse 1 factors out a problem with ministries. In v. 2, the apostles discuss what ministries they need to do and the ones they should no longer do. In v. 3-4, they train that seven men be diagnosed from many of the congregation to take in this ministry. This phase of Scripture is targeted on ministry to people, not on personal issues.
- The definite article before prayer in v. 4 points to something large. Listen again: But we to the prayer and to the ministry of the word will steadfastly continue. That little phrase “the” that looks earlier than prayer shows that this does not suggest prayer in trendy. It highlights something unique and critical. The syntax of the sentence creates the opportunity that the ministry of prayer and the word are twin thoughts.