9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
This verse seems fairly ordinary, doesn’t it? While people are traveling to meet Peter for the first time and Peter being totally unaware of their coming, Peter wanted to spend some time in prayer. What seems out of the ordinary to me is that in a hot desert climate he would go outside to the roof at the hot part of the day to pray. Perhaps it was to catch what little breeze there was. Perhaps he had a shaded spot on the roof to which he frequently went to pray. We don’t know the details, but we do know he goes to pray on the roof. Maybe, as I suspect, he needed to get away from other people in order to be able to concentrate on his praying. Do you ever need to get away in order to concentrate on prayer or any other spiritual discipline for that matter? I know I do. I have to carve out time in my day, time away from family, friends, work and all other distractions, so that I can focus my heart and mind on the Lord. When I get this done, and for me it happens first thing in the morning over my coffee and bowl of cereal, my day goes better. I am more focused and spiritually attuned. I do notice it on the few days a year that I get overcome by something else early in the morning. If I know I have an earlier than usual start, I will get up extra early so that I can get it started right, started with my heart focused on the right place. Peter might have missed his cup of coffee that morning. Maybe his routine included prayer around noon, before he eats his lunch. We don’t know. We do know that as he prays, God shows up. Peter had to be available for God to speak to him. If Peter had been caught up in other things, it might have been more difficult for him to hear what God had to say to him. Setting aside time for the Lord to speak is a good thing.
The Arnold Journey 