Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: November 21

“… the people … having stoned Paul, dragged him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe” ~ Acts 14:19b, 20

There is a shaft of deep, encouraging “color” in this “pleasant stone” which is often missed in our amazement at Paul’s being able to get up and go back “into the city” after he had been stoned and left for dead.

His enemies stoned him to unconsciousness, dragged his body from the city and left him lying there, “supposing he had been dead.” The next day, Paul was able to “depart with Barnabas to Derbe” to continue spreading the Good News about Jesus.

But here is the lovely stripe of “color” in this “pleasant stone” which has meant much to me [Eugenia Price the author]: “… as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up…”

Jesus had promised that where two or three of His disciples were gathered together in His Name, He Himself would be right there in the midst. The Lord proved that with Paul that day outside the city limits of Lystra. When the disciples gathered around Paul, unusual power was released! And Paul was enabled to rise up.

I have experienced the dynamic of this truth of the “gathered disciples” in the writing of this book. Some of the Lord’s dear ones in many parts of the world are gathered “round about” me in prayer as I work. Because of this and because of this only, have I been adequate to the task. We only need to be adequate. Paul must have been bruised and broken and stiff. But he was able to get up and go back to the city. And he was able to leave for the next task the next day. He was adequate. His need had been met by the “gathered disciples” agreeing as they “stood round about him.”

“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven.”