on takeaways from today's prayer meeting

today could only stay for the 1st hour of the prayer meeting in church. Pastor Kai used below passage to anchor our thoughts for the prayer session

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Acts 3 (New American Standard Bible)

Healing the Lame Beggar

 ¹Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.

 ²And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.

 ³When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.

 ⁴But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!"

 ⁵And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

 ⁶But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!"

 ⁷And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

 ⁸With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

 ⁹And all the people saw him walking and praising God;

 ¹⁰and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

(from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%203&version=NASB)

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He asked us to share among ourselves what did the above passage impress upon us. The couple next to me shared that they were awed again that God made ordinary men such as Peter and John to perform the miracles to glorify God's name. I was struck by the fact that when the beggar was healed, he was not only healed to the point of mere walking; he was able to leap and bounce (verse 8b) everywhere like a Gummi bear :p). And out of that overflow came great joy and spiritual worship (verse 8b). At least this beggar's response is different from the ex-leper in Life of Brian.

P.S. And just before I left, I was struck by the fact the lame guy was sitting in front of the temple, and not in it. I was searching my mind through the laws which God gave Moses, David and Solomon on whether God disallows disabled people into His sanctuary. And I can't think of any. So i deduce that it is men who set up rules that do not allow the under-privileged into the temple. Saddens my heart just to think about this... :(