And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. Acts 16:13
On the day of Pentecost, and in the days that followed, the disciples made frequent use of the temple in Jerusalem as a place to preach the Gospel. It was in the temple that the Word of God – just the Old Testament at that point – was available, and that the ordinances of God were present. From these, the disciples were able to declare Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Scriptures and the Messiah of whom the ordinances spoke. This was important, because they did not have the New Testament Gospel texts from which to quote. If they quoted John 3:16, it was from memory and not from print. As they left Jerusalem to evangelize the rest of the world, the disciples and their followers made the local synagogue their first stop, because the same resources were there, in a smaller way. But what were they do do if there was no temple or synagogue? Our text indicates what they did in Philippi, where there was no synagogue. They made use of what was available.
The expression in our text ‘where prayer was wont to be made’ refers to a place that has been approved for prayer. Such places were identified in cities where not enough Jews lived to afford or accommodate a synagogue. These places were required to be officially sanctioned, even if they were just gathering places on a river bank, such as the one in Philippi. The missionaries sought out those ladies because, in a pagan city where idolatry was rife and the true God was virtually unheard of, those women would at least know about God and His Word. Most of those who were eventually saved in Philippi were Gentiles, but the missionaries were able to establish an entrance into the city by making contact with people with whom they could identify. That is probably a good policy for us today when we seek to witness for our Lord. As in Philippi, it is becoming harder to find people with any knowledge of God, because of the rising tides of apathy and atheism.
When I was a youngster, pretty much everybody was an active member of one church or another, and everybody knew a little of the Scriptures and had a respect for God. But today, all that has changed. Very few people have any religious affiliation whatsoever and those who do are uncommitted and lacking in knowledge. Very few people recognize the names of Bible characters or have any grasp of what we consider basic Bible doctrines. How do you approach such people with the Gospel? How do you convince people that they must be born again when they have no concept of sin, Heaven, or hell? Looking for an opening to present the need for and reality of salvation is becoming much more difficult. So, like the missionaries in Philippi, we seek opening where we can find them.
The early missionaries were able to launch a great work for God in godless Philippi. We can do the same in our godless age today. -Jim MacIntosh