(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
St Francis used to send his followers out and tell them to live obediently according to the customs of the land for two years until they had learned to know the people. Only after that would St Francis allow them to preach.
This was likewise the practice in the early days of the Church. The disciples of Jesus went to the temple and observed the Jewish daily schedule for prayer.
Jewish people, Muslim people and Christian people have observed times of prayer throughout the day. Muslims, like Jewish people, have used the horn and Christians have used church bells to summon people to prayer.
So it came to pass that Peter and John went up to the temple to pray. They healed a begging man in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean.
The effect on the man was immediate. He leaped up, stood up, walked, and went into the temple. He walked, jumped, and praised God.
The action of healing did not come from Peter or John; it was Jesus who healed. Peter merely invoked Jesus to heal, and Jesus healed. When we pray or act in the name of Jesus Christ, we are saying that we want Jesus to act through us. We do not pray in our own names but in the name of Jesus. We can do nothing without Jesus, and with Jesus we can do everything.
We should note, that in Acts, it is Jesus at work through the Church. This is still the way it works today: it is Jesus Christ who is at work in the Church to forgive sins, to bring healing, and to turn the hearts of unbelievers to faith.