A Strong Answer to a Weak Prayer- Acts 12

Original picture by deviantart user navalatanjjnn and used under a Creative Commons License

Have you ever prayed for something only to be disappointed that you did not get the answer you prayed for? If you've prayed very much at all, then I doubt very seriously that you would answer "no" to that question. So let me ask another. When a prayer is not answered the way you had hoped, have you found yourself asking if you possibly "prayed the wrong way" or if you didn't "pray with enough faith?" I've admitted it before, and I'll admit it again, prayer is not something I feel I understand well. I will teach about it from what I can gain from the scriptures. And I try to apply that teaching to my life. But I have become convinced that if faith itself is actually one of the spiritual gifts of the Spirit (Romans 12:3), then that is not one of the gifts I have been blessed with. At times, I would say that in a complaining way. I wish that I had more faith. I wish I could emulate the faith I see in others and make courageous decisions and "pray dangerously" as some talk about. And at times, I do. But more often than not, my prayers are burdened with doubt.

And it is for that reason, that I draw such great encouragement from this story of the church praying for Peter.

In case you are unfamiliar with the context, you can read it here. The cliff's notes version is that Peter had been arrested following the death of James and his execution was imminent. So the church did the only thing it could do, which was also the most powerful thing it could do. They prayed earnestly. 

From the comfort of our homes and church buildings 2,000 years later, we can read that statement in verse 5 without batting an eye. We already know the end of the story because we have already read Peter's letters that he wrote much later in his life! We already know God answered their prayers to save him. The way in which he was saved is pretty amusing in itself as we see Peter being led out of the prison in a half stupor until he is finally free and realizes what has happened! But the part that encourages me and my lack of faith is the brutal honesty with which Luke records the church reacting when they are in the act of praying itself and are told by Rhoda that not only had their prayers been answered, but that Peter was standing outside!

A more self-righteous group of people might have been persuaded to have left the details out. They might have been tempted to boast about their confidence in the power of prayer. Luke might have recorded them as celebrating and talking about how they just knew God would grant their requests. But that is not what happened, and it is not what Luke recorded.

What Luke did record is that when Rhoda slammed the door in Peter's face and kept telling the others who were gathered in prayer that he was outside, they told her she was crazy! When she insisted, they decided maybe she's not crazy...so it must be his angel! In other words, Peter had been killed and his angel was now appearing to them! It's actually kind of humorous to me that Luke even records that Peter just keeps knocking until they finally come see for themselves! I have to wonder if Peter wasn't tempted to repeat with a joyful twinkle in his eye what Jesus had said to him so many times before, "Oh you of little faith! Why did you doubt?"

Now, if their assumption about what they were being told was that Peter was that Rhoda was crazy or that Peter was dead, I have to ask, what were they praying for!? Weren't they praying for Peter's deliverance? Or had they already given up praying for deliverance and begun praying merely for his courage and faith to remain intact? And if the latter was their prayer, were they praying that because they did not believe God had the ability to save him?

The only thing I feel confident in saying is that the church most certainly did believe in the power of God to do whatever the will of God wanted. And yet, they were astonished when their prayers were answered by a direct act of God's intervening power.

That gives me the courage to keep praying in spite of my doubt because I know that God's answers to prayer do not depend on my ability to pray well. They don't even depend on my ability to pray with no doubts. Yes, I know the verses about praying with faith and not praying with doubt. But I also know that Jesus Himself was told "no" in the garden! And I am sure that I will be too, no matter my level of faith! And I am also confident that God's power is in no way affected by my weak faith!

And so I will pray. At times I will doubt while I pray. I will not doubt that God has the power to work; but more so that God will choose to work through my prayers. But He has told me to pray. He has told me that He answers prayers and that His will is always for the good of those that love him. And when I can remember those things, I will also occasionally pray with great faith.

But whether in weakness of doubt, or in greatness of faith, I will pray. And I will trust that God knows how and when to save His people in the best way physically and spiritually and emotionally possible.

A Surefire Church Growth Method- Perscution! Acts 8:4

www.heartlight.org

 

God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable minds Of never failing skill,
He treasures up His bright designs, And works His gracious will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessing on your head.
His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain.
(God Moves in a Mysterious Way- Words by William Cowper)

This song is always difficult for me to sing because I get lost in the language. But as soon as I read the passage for today, the first line of the song came to my mind as I thought about the failure of Saul and the Jewish leaders to crush the Way and the providence of God that used persecution to spread the life-giving message of the resurrection. The song is beautiful when I take time to really look at it instead of just go through the motions of singing it. The only line that I might take issue with is "His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour."

I think it would be easier to trust in God if that "fast" were the case. But we know that often is not the case. At least it doesn't feel like the case when we feel like God should be intervening in a situation NOW!  

But if you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was using every situation that you were ever going through to gain glory for Himself and souls for His kingdom, would it change your outlook on those situations?

Just think about the situation described in Acts 8. Stephen has just been murdered. But his dying breath was one of forgiveness. It would have been a beautiful story if Saul/Paul had seen the error of his ways then and been converted to Christ based on Stephen's powerful testimony. But he didn't. In fact, Saul's appetite for persecuting the church seems to have been only whetted by Stephen's death and he began "ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he put them in prison" (Acts 8:3). And because of Saul's hardness of heart after the death of Stephen...the church began to spread! Wait a minute, that wasn't supposed to happen. Persecution is designed and intended to stop things, not speed them up!

If only we could read God's intentions and God's providence as quickly in our own lives! Wouldn't it be nice if you could see God's clear plan during the next trial of your life in the same amount of time it takes to read from Acts 7:60 to Acts 8:4! 

The truth, though, is that our discernment of God's ways is not always necessary;

our obedience to God's is.

In other words, how different would the book of Acts been if Acts 8:4 read, "Therefore, those who had been scattered became fearful for their lives and for their families and they stopped speaking about the name until the dust had settled." Would the people of Samaria have received the word from Phillip (8:5-24)? Would the gospel of Christ have spread to Ethiopia by the Eunuch (8:25-39)? Would Saul have been converted on the road to Damascus if he didn't even felt compelled to go to Damascus in the first place because the Christians had already shut up!? Would the gospel have spread to the gentile world through Paul and reached us today?

Of course, we know that God's over-arching and providential will would have happened somehow anyway. But the point is that His providential will happened the way it is recorded in the book of Acts because people were obedient to His already revealed will from the book of Matthew. 

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go (literally- as you are going!) and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'”    Matthew 28:18-20

What are you going through now that you question "why, God!?" I wouldn't for a minute critique someone for asking God why! But if we are convinced that there is a God big enough for us to ask, "why," then what I would challenge all of us to do is to say "Yes, Lord," with every single "Why, God?" that ever comes out of our mouths!

I wonder how many times I have forced God to change his plans of salvation for the people around me because I was too self-absorbed or too depressed during my "Why, God?" moments to also say, "yes, Lord."

I pray that we will never "scan His work in vain." I can't wait to get to heaven and hear about the way God worked in and through my life that I was not even aware of because my vision is very, very near-sighted. I have to think that will only happen if I obey Jesus command to "make disciples of all the nations" in the same way the church in Acts 8:4 did. And I pray for forgiveness and mercy for the untold times that I have let my circumstances overcome my faith instead of having enough faith to trust that God is in control even in the midst of the worst of circumstances.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."

Romans 8:28-29