Why do we pray???
- Because we hope that certain situations will change for the better i.e. health, employment, personal relationships, conflicts
- Because we have deep concerns for others – family members, friends, neighbours, the community and nations of the world
- Because we are seeking God to be active and bring about change and good outcomes within and around the causes we are involved in
- Because we are seeking protection from the possible threat of dangerous situations
- Because we desire that the lost find their home back with God
- Because we are seeking guidance, wisdom and peace within the multiple choices and confusion we are experiencing; so that we might be able to focus on the highest priorities
- Because we want to know God better, and understand more of God’s Word and its application to everyday life, and better appreciate God’s mission in the world
- So that we can put into words some of things we are feeling, i.e. love for God, thankfulness about certain blessings, concern for others, frustration about life, confession of sin, commitment to God’s purposes
Why does God want us to pray???
- So that we can develop our own relationship with God, focus on God’s love for us, and thereby receive all the resources that God has promised to us (including forgiveness)
- To get to know ourselves better, as we open ourselves up to a dialogue with God, and reflect (in God’s presence) on the issues going on for us
- So that we can become more like Jesus, allowing God to reshape our character, including becoming more forgiving, caring and peace-making people, exhibiting the fruits and the gifts of the Holy Spirit
- So that we can be changed in line with the change we desire to see around us
- To reassure us that indeed God has our (and the entire human community’s) best interests at heart, and that God will actively work to use us to accomplish God’s own will
- To give us confidence and greater faith, that will take us beyond fear and timidity toward embracing creative (and sometimes risky) mission
- So that we will cope better with our particular life circumstances and each new challenge that comes upon us, and also respond better to each new opportunity
- So we gain a vision of the Kingdom of God (on earth)
My direct interest in the capacity
of prayer at this time, is to consider how the church at prayer can make a
local community a better place irrespective of that community’s allegiance to
God. By “better”, I would mean, more able to support the well-being of its
residents, and also closer to those values we would attribute to the Kingdom of
God.
In Acts chapter 12 we find the
church at prayer in response to a very specific and worrying situation. Their
leader Peter had been imprisoned, and besides their natural concern for Peter’s
well-being, also on their mind would have been the future of their mission work
(considering what a significant role Peter was playing). There was no doubt
some confusion concerning why Peter would be in such a situation, given that
God had brought him so far and there would be so many more opportunities up
ahead. Why had God allowed this to happen?
The situation for Peter and his
church community could hardly have been worse. Peter was arrested by Herod
because Peter was upsetting the “pax Romana” (the peace of the Roman empire)
with this new and spreading message of the good news of Jesus. Peter had even
led the whole family of a Roman centurion (named Cornelius) to follow this
Jesus. The Jewish leadership were quite happy for Herod to be knocking off
these disciples of Jesus, as maybe this would put an end to the growth of this
Jesus movement. Peter would be likely executed after the Passover was finished,
possibly very publicly as a warning to others. And Peter was being heavily
guarded by twice the normal number of soldiers, with no real prospect of
release or escape.
So what did Peter’s local church
community do ... referring to verse 5 ... “prayed fervently to God for him”.
So, they gathered in their various homes, and they lifted up their leader Peter
in prayer before God, emptying out their hearts of concern in passionate
intercession (it would seem) for his survival. They would have prayed (you
would think) for the great resources of God to overwhelm the limited power of
Herod, so that Peter would be safely returned to them.
There are four important facets of
this phrase in verse 5!?!
The first is that the prayer was collective
... the “church” as a collective gathered together; probably in a number of
places, yet made this occasion for prayer a coordinated effort.
The second is the adjective “fervent”.
Other words used could be: earnest, intense, heartfelt, passionate, committed,
faithful, persistent, ongoing, united ... prayer. Later, after his escape, when
Peter arrived at Mary’s house (v.12), it was noted that the many people there
were still praying! So we can certainly conclude that God worked the miracle of
Peter’s escape while the people were praying for Peter.
The third is the fact that all
their prayers, all their words, were directed, not to one another in a bit of a
talkfest, but to God. This church community didn’t talk about prayer ...
they actually prayed! This shows that they understood where their hope lay, and
where Peter’s well-being ultimately depended, and that what they were truly
seeking – was for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is
because we know, and sometimes have to accept, that the answer to our prayers
goes in a different direction than we would have wished.
The fourth is that they had a definite
subject to their prayer. They focussed intently on Peter’s situation, and
no doubt issues surrounding Peter’s arrest, and prayed continually to God for
this and “for him”.
It is very interesting in this
narrative, that there is no reference to Peter praying for himself (although
one would imagine that he would have), and no real reliance on Peter being
obedient in any way to escape his plight – he was just amazingly liberated ...
carried out of danger whilst feeling in the midst of a trance or dream. This
simply highlights the power of committed and concerted group prayer, in
combination with the ever-effective resourcefulness of God, to bring about
extraordinary outcomes.
But there is a bit of a twist in
this story!!! Can even more be said?
Now we would be thinking that
Peter’s church community would have been positively expectant about Peter’s
release or liberation having prayed like this. After all, they may well have
been aware of the earlier occasion when some disciples were able to
miraculously escape their imprisonment (refer 5:17-20). Quite the contrary
though! When the maid Rhoda went and reported that Peter was at the gate of
Mary’s house they replied, “You are out of your mind” (v.15). When she
insisted, they insisted it must be some sort of ghost – which means they were
thinking that Peter had already been executed. People of the time believed that
a ‘guardian angel’ might represent a deceased person and adopt their voice and
physical form.
This had been one of the central
places of prayer intercession in response to Peter’s plight, but they still
were not ready for such an answer! When they actually identified that it really
was Peter, we read that they were “amazed” (v.16). Can we find a reason for
this lack of expectation? We would need to ask the question, ‘what were the
church community praying fervently for’? That Peter would be able to endure
with integrity the suffering before him? That his suffering would be minimal?
That Peter would sense the close presence of God in his confinement? These are
all good sincere prayer options! Another ... that Herod would at least spare
Peter from execution?
Or did this church community just
harbour a little doubt in the back of their minds – whether God would or even
could intervene? Did the problem seem too big, and any possible resolution too
hard? Or were there those who just didn’t know how to pray, even though they
had the desire to? Or was it a simple case that they could not contemplate how
quickly and decisively God would respond?
Maybe this early church community
were just learning what God could do. But once they accepted that it really was
Peter alive and amongst them, they heard the full story behind Peter’s
liberation (v.17a). This just must have been such a faith-enriching experience.
So much so, that it just had to be passed on to the other believers (v.17b).
Such believers were probably to be found praying together in other houses. And,
so much so was this faith-enriching, that Luke just had to record this event in
this book.
Even though the church’s prayers
may have been deficient, God still worked wonders ... 100% in the direction of
bringing about God’s own most graceful will! So we should get to praying – and
even if we don’t have all the words or understanding, even if our faith is
somewhat wavering, such prayer unleashes the resources of God in the direction
of our concern.
We are free to give God our ideas,
while conceding that God knows best, and it is God’s will that we want to see
displayed on earth (like it always has been in heaven). It is making and fulfilling
the commitment to pray that is the most important thing, which allows us to
participate (or partner) in what God wants to do. We can also learn the lesson,
that there is no limit to the possibilities of God answering prayer. When we
truly focus on (the magnitude of) God in our prayers, the mountains before us
start to lose the impact of their size.
One person within the church
community did recognise God’s answer to their prayers!?! She must have been
highly expectant! Hearing a voice that sounded like Peter’s was enough for
Rhoda (v.14), and she was instantly overjoyed. Yet it was still the whole
church’s faithful willingness to pray that helped foil a major plot against the
future of the Jesus movement (refer 12:24).
Prayer Blessing: Bill Hybels was
once faced with preaching to a crowd of over 20,000 in India, with the further
complication of needing to use a translator. In the face of all his doubts,
fears and anxiety, he prayed the following prayer before going to the platform
...
“I’m praying to the Creator of the
world, the King of the universe, the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-faithful
God. I’m praying to the God who made the mountains and who can move them if
necessary. I’m praying to the God who has always been faithful to me, who has
never let me down no matter how frightened I was or how difficult the situation
looked. I’m praying to a God who wants to bear fruit through me, and I am going
to trust that [God] is going to use me tonight. Not because of who I am, but
because of who [God] is. [God] is faithful.”
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