153. The Prayer Of Stephen.

The Prayer Of Stephen. The Prayer as recorded.—Acts 7:59-60.

Stephen is usually known as the first martyr, he was also one of the seven “men of honest report,” who were elected to relieve the twelve apostles of a certain class of their labors. He was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. In the chapter in which his prayer is recorded, we read of his defense against false and cruel charges, his powerful exhibition of the truth, and its effect on the people, among whom was Saul of Tarsus. The people were so maddened and excited by his words, that they drove him beyond the walls of the city, and there stoned him to death. In the petition of the expiring Stephen is the same gentle spirit of forgiveness shown by the Savior toward his enemies; a spirit, which nothing but the grace of God in the heart can produce, and which none but the true Christian possesses.