“While Peter was held in prison, the church offered earnest prayer to God for him.” Acts 12:5 (Common English Bible)
The great Apostle, Peter, is sleeping in prison, bound in chains. King Herod’s poll numbers are up. Previously, he had James, John’s brother, killed with a sword. This pleased the Jews, so Herod arrested Peter as well. Once a policy decision resonates with the voters, politicians tend to do more of the same. Peter is placed in a prison with sixteen soldiers assigned to guard him. Seems excessive for one man. Perhaps Herod, with all his power, still fears the compelling conviction of Peter’s faith. What is the young church to do? Bound in chains, sixteen guards on watch, and under the orders of King Herod, are no match for the small resources of the faithful. This is a gripping story from Acts. Well, they can pray. That is the one resource at their command. “Many believers had gathered there and were praying.” (Acts 12:12b)
What is absent from this great narrative is the substance of the prayers. Perhaps the believers prayed that Peter might be given strength—strength for the trial Peter would face the next day. Perhaps the prayers were for a quiet spirit as Peter faced the certainty of death. Or, perhaps, the prayers were that Peter might be given a boldness of faith as dark clouds gathered around him and the church. These seem to be reasonable prayers. When believers face insurmountable difficulties, as Peter faces, prayers must be reasonable. Prayers for Peter’s release are unreasonable to this community of believers. This we are certain of. The evidence is right in the story. For when Peter is, in fact, released from prison and arrives at the prayer meeting, a servant named Rhoda tells the prayer group that Peter is at the door. Their response is simply, “You’ve lost your mind!” (Acts 12:15.)
What emerges from this story is a rebuke to the notion that God’s power is limited. Prayers may be unwise, such as praying that our favorite team might win the game or that the numbers on a lottery ticket might fall in our favor. Yet, prayer is communion of our spirit with the spirit of God. Should we assume there is only so much God can do? In the pages of Genesis, God’s authority is established as one that simply speaks, and whatever is spoken comes into existence. That is not a God who is limited. Nothing we may ask for is impossible with God. There is no need to give severe restrictions to our prayers. In our story from Acts, believers are praying for Peter but seem not to anticipate that their prayers will be effective. Here, Emerson is helpful, “Belief and love—a believing love will relieve us of a vast load of care. O my brothers, God exists.”[i]
What the reader learns from these “many believers” is that prayer, ultimately, is about so much more than experiencing communion with God—prayer that has power is prayer that is felt to have a real effect on God. There is expectation in prayers made to God. Throughout scripture is a cast of biblical characters who ‘wrestle’ with God strenuously. This isn’t the casual prayer sewn together from borrowed phrases here and there, but prayer that has nerve and soul—prayer that is an encounter of wills—until one will or the other gives way. Jeremiah 18 presents God as willing to change God’s mind if the people turn from disobedience to seeking God. Nor is powerful prayer an imposing of our will on God as though God may be coerced and exploited. Prayer that triumphs is prayer that actively wills God’s will and participates in bringing that will forth in our lives. That is expectant prayer.
Joy,
[i] Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Norwalk, Connecticut: The Easton Press: 1979) 56.
Nurture Faith with Dr. Doug Hood 