Peter went with Cornelius' two soldiers to Caesarea to meet Cornelius. Upon arrival at Cornelius' home, Cornelius and his relatives and close friends were eagerly waiting for Peter. When Cornelius saw Peter, he immediately bowed down and worshipped Peter, but Peter stopped Cornelius from worshipping him, saying, "Stand up, I'm a human being just like you!" Peter told Cornelius that it was not lawful for a Jew to enter a Gentile house because Gentiles were spiritually unclean, but God had shown him through the vision that he should no longer think of anyone as unclean, and so he came to meet with him. Cornelius then explained to Peter that four days ago, while he was praying, God told him that God had heard his prayers and saw his generosity to the poor. God then told him to send men to Peter to ask Peter to come to his house. Then Peter replied to Cornelius, "I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation, He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right." Acts 10:23-35.
One of the important lessons that we learn from this story is that Peter stopped Cornelius from worshipping him. For Cornelius, Peter was a godly man, and he received Peter as a representative of God, so he tried to worship him, but Peter corrected him immediately. Many people today pray to Peter to get close to God, but this is one of the examples in the Bible that God does not want us to pray to Peter but to God alone. Peter is just a man like us who is saved by the grace of God. As believers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to pray directly to God our Father through the name of Jesus for God to hear our prayers and not through men. God was the one who heard Cornelius' prayer and saw his good deeds. Another lesson we can learn is that God hears our prayers and sees all our good work. God knows everything about us, and there is no favoritism in Him.
God accepts all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus. Our Father in Heaven sent our Lord Jesus Christ to die for our sins, and on the third day, He rose from the dead so that we could have a new life in Him and have direct access to our Heavenly Father. We do not need to go through a person to be heard by God. Cornelius is about to learn about Jesus as Peter explains who Jesus is. Let us be confident in God that He hears our prayers and sees our good works, and there is no favoritism in Him.
Ask yourself these questions for application: (Think through carefully and meditate on the questions while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you) Can I pray directly to my Heavenly Father? What did Jesus do so that I could have direct access to my Heavenly Father? Does God hear my prayers and sees my good works?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I am so thankful that I have direct access to you because of what Jesus has done in my life. I thank you that I can pray to you directly and hear my prayers. Please continue to teach me to pray and give me the hunger to spend time with you in prayer. Bless this day now, Lord, and keep me trusting in you. In Your name Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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