“Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight… he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed” (Acts 20:7, 11 ESV).
The disciples in the city of Troas gathered on a Sunday to hear the apostle Paul preach. They couldn’t get enough of the church-planting apostle’s words, so they sat listening to him all day, even until midnight. What a great Sunday service this must’ve been.
Unfortunately, a young man named Eutychus fell asleep during the sermon and fell out the window of the third story upper room where they were meeting. The fall killed him, but Paul rushed downstairs and raised him up to life again. Then they returned to the upper room where they took the Lord’s Supper and listened to Paul until daybreak.
Can you imagine the way those who were gathered together that day to hear Paul’s final sermon in Troas talked about it later in life? For this was the last time they would see Paul. Surely years later, they would say, “Remember that time we attended an all-night service listening to the apostle Paul?” And others would reply, “We wish we could’ve been there!”
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are so distracted and limited in our attention spans that we can hardly sit still for more than a moment. How we long for a time when we might sit and hear Your Word preached and pray with one another without consideration of time. Give us strength and stamina to stay our minds on You and on Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.