The Power of Prayer

I decided to write about the story of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church and how he gave his life. But, before that, let us consier the Gospel of John, chapter 17, which is well known as Jesus’ prayer. This prayer is split into three, namely:

Jesus praying for Himself as He gets closer to His death on the cross.
Jesus prays for His disciples that they may be united and live as one.
Jesus prays for those who would come to believe through the message of the disciples.

Based on the third part of this prayer, St. Stephen became a believer through the preaching of the disciples. St. Stephen’s conversion stems from the effect of the prayer Jesus offered for those who would come to believe through the preaching of the disciples. As a staunch believer in the resurrection of Christ, Stephen was chosen among six deacons to serve the widows and people who had also come to the faith. His assignment was to see if everyone among the group received a fair share in terms of the distribution of needs.

Stephen’s Debate with Religions Group

Holy Scriptures say Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and he spent most of his time reading scriptures and looking forward to the fulfillment in the coming of Christ. It is within this context that we come to know the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Stephen. His wisdom, knowledge, and interpretation of the scriptures became a source of threat to the religious leaders and since they could not withstand him, accused him of speaking falsely about the Mosaic law. As a result of the false accusation, Stephen was arrested by the authorities.

The Prayer and Death of Stephen

Christians are well aware of the death of St. Stephen as the first of the deacons to be stoned to death - but what makes the death of Stephen unique is the similarities of the circumstance of his death to that of Christ.

Jesus was falsely accused by the religious authorities.
Stephen was falsely accused by the religious authorities.
Jesus prayed for forgiveness upon his executioners on the cross.
Stephen prayed for forgiveness upon those who were stoning him.
Jesus asked His Father to receive His Spirit:, “Father, unto your hands, I commend my Spirit.”
Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit”
Just as the prayer of Jesus made the centurion who was standing behind the Cross confessed the divinity of Jesus, so also the prayer of Stephen resulted in the conversion of Paul

The Effect of Stephen’s Prayer

First, Saul who was determined to destroy the new way of life suddenly turned to be a believer through his divine encounter at the Gate of the Damascus. Although his conversion was later after the Apostles, Paul became one of the leading preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. With Paul, the door to embrace the Gentile Christians became widely opened and the message of Christ spread fa and wide.

Secondly, the death of Stephen, the holy martyr, made the disciples run to different territories to preach the Word. As the disciples scattered over the face of the earth, so also the message of Christ traveled to the ends of the world. In fact it is said that “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church”. This all began with the death of Stephen. The prayer of St. Stephen was effective and made a huge impact in the life of the early Church.