Do We Really Believe in Prayer?

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , | Posted On Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 12:01 AM

As we begin Acts 12, we read that King Herod Agrippa (grandson of Herod the Great who ruled at the time of Jesus' birth) began persecuting Christians. The apostle James, brother of John, was killed as the first apostle to die for his faith (Judas took his own life). When Herod earned brownie points with the Jews for his persecutions, he had Peter arrested and planned to bring him to trial (and most likely, execution) after the Passover.

Herod took extreme precautions to keep Peter locked up. At any given time there were four soldiers guarding him. It was not unusual for a single soldier to be chained to one hand of a prisoner, but in Peter's case, there was a soldier chained to each hand, plus two at the door of the cell.

Suddenly a bright light and an angel appear in the cell. The chains fall off Peter's wrists, and the angel leads him out of the cell. We're not told how Peter got past the guards, but we know at dawn there was "a great commotion among the soldiers" (12:18 NLT) when they discovered Peter was missing. Herod had the soldiers executed as the standard punishment of the day when a prisoner escaped.

Meanwhile, Peter proceeds to the home of of a Christ follower named Mary, mother of John Mark, where he finds many followers gathered for prayer. In fact, the writer Luke shows us that prayer surrounds Peter's stay in jail. Acts 12:5 says, "But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him." Acts 12:12 tells us that when he arrived at the home of Mary, "...many were gathered for prayer."

It raises a curious question - would Peter have been rescued if those Christians had not been praying? Obviously, we don't know the answer to that, and we never will, at least this side of heaven. But we know the people prayed and Peter was miraculously released. Yet, when Peter knocked at the door of Mary, her servant Rhoda recognized his voice and was so excited to see Peter that she ran back in to tell the others. But, in her excitement, she failed to open the door for Peter, and those gathered in prayer didn't believe her at first. Isn't it interesting how sometimes we pray for something, yet we are surprised or even don't believe it when it happens? Do we really take prayer seriously?

There's an old story told about a liquor store that opened in a small town. Many of the folks were very concerned, and organized a prayer rally against the liquor store. Soon after the store was struck by lightning and burned down. The liquor store owner sued the church for the loss of his building, but the church members denied having anything to do with it. When the case came before the judge, he noted that it was strange that apparently the liquor store owner believed in the power of prayer, but the folks in the church did not.

I don't tell this story as an indictment against drinking (though it needs to be handled very, very carefully) or liquor store owners, but use it to make the (hopefully) humorous point that many times Christians pray but don't really expect God to act. When God does act, we are so surprised by it that we look for other explanations. Yet, the person of genuine faith is constantly watching to see God work, and this person prays because she or he believes God does answer prayer - maybe not the way we want, but He does answer.

This month hundreds of us have been praying and fasting, in addition to reading our Bibles. We've been praying that God will work in us, to grow our faith, so He can work through us to do even greater things around us. But what happens when God starts answering our prayers? Will we believe Him, or will we deny it and miss the boat?

I want to encourage you and challenge you to take your praying seriously. It is not an empty ritual, but a way God works in our lives and transforms us. If you're asking God to change your heart, to trust that God really does love you, that God's power and presence become real in your life, that His healing power is experienced in our church, and that our church will care so much for the lost and hurting "sheep," that we will do whatever it takes to bring them safely "home" to Christ and his church, then begin to expect these changes. Don't be surprised or fight them - cooperate with the Holy Spirit at work in you. There's an old saying, "seeing is believing," but in the world of prayer and faith, "believing is seeing!" Trust God to work through your prayers, and you won't leave Him at the door when He knocks on your life.