What does Acts 10:9 mean?
Peter is in Joppa, near modern-day Tel Aviv, praying on the roof of a tanner named Simon around noon. The day before, a kind, faithful man who worships the Jewish God—though he is also a Gentile and a Roman military commander—received a message from an angel. He was told to send for Peter who would explain more about God. The centurion sent two servants and a soldier who also worships God. They'd left Caesarea the day before. Now, they are coming close to Simon the tanner's house (Acts 10:1–8).In the earlier days of the church, the apostles realized they needed to delegate. Specifically, they need to "devote [themselves] to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4). It is well-documented that the church first selected deacons because the Hellenistic widows who followed Jesus were not getting enough to eat (Acts 6:1–6). Peter's commitment to prayer is an outworking of this and other lessons.
Peter had followed Jesus for three years. He was one of Jesus' closest friends, and the clear leader of the apostles—though not the leader of the church in Jerusalem, a role held by James, the half-brother of Jesus. Peter makes prayer a priority. Prayer is part of what marked the early church (Acts 2:42) and something to which the apostles knew they needed to be devoted (Acts 6:4). Peter takes his lead from Jesus who "would withdraw to desolate places and pray" (Luke 5:16). Just a few examples include Jesus spending time alone with the Father at the beginning of His ministry (Mark 1:35), after He fed the five thousand (Mark 6:46), and the night before the crucifixion (Mark 14:32–36).
We sometimes forget how important prayer is. We sometimes forget just how much we need God's grace and wisdom in our lives. We can get so caught up in the day-to-day doing that we just don't take the time to listen. If Peter can take the example of Jesus to carve out time for prayer, we should follow Peter's lead.
