Acts 12: why pray?
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So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5
As we reach Acts 12, there is a sense of deja vu, as Peter is once more in prison. This is the third time recorded by Luke so far in the book of Acts, and the second time that God has sent an angel to release him. It feels tempting to go over the same ground as I did when writing about the similar events in Acts 5, and of course, the same truths apply: nothing - no laws, rulers, sinful hearts or anything else will stop the mission of God. You cannot lock up the gospel. You can lock up believers, but all that will achieve is that either the whole prison - both prisoners and guards - will get to hear the gospel (as happened when Paul was imprisoned - we'll here about that later), or God will send his angels to set the believers free - as happened to Peter.
However, on reading this account, it was verse 5 that struck me, because it speaks of the unfathomable subject of Prayer. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5.
It is impossible that the outcome of the world could be dependant on our own independent prayers. Even if we could bend God's will, it would not be a good idea - how can we possibly know which is the best outcome for which to pray. Even the creators of the film Bruce Almighty knew that - when Bruce with his temporary divine powers answered 'yes' to all prayers, all chaos ensued and many things which were meant to happen did not. Imagine if the church had prayed for the persecution that broke out after Stephen's death in Acts 7 to stop so that they could remain where they were in Jerusalem? The book of Acts would look very different. If we believe that the gospel is free and unchained, then we are to trust God's sovereign design.
And yet if this is the case (which I wholly believe it is), then why is the Bible so full of prayer? Because prayer is not about imposing our will on God, but aligning our will with his.
Acts 12:5 does not actually say that the believers were praying for Peter's release. They may very well have done - as many still do earnestly pray for the release of those in prison. And a prayer for Peter's release would not have been contrary to God's will - as we can see from our story today, it was God's plan all along. But the point is that the believers were praying for him. And one could even say they were praying with him. Prayer is one of the key ways - probably the key way - in which we take part in God's plan.
Prayer is where we give our desires and thoughts, our hopes and fears, to God. It is not a shopping list but an acknowledgement that he is in control. A person who wants to control a situation does not pray, but would instead be putting all of their efforts into lodging a legal appeal against Herod, engineering some escape for Peter, or bribing the guards. Prayer says: God - this is what's on my heart. I'm not going to lie and say that this isn't really important to me. But I trust you to do with it what is best. It does not mean that there is not then a place for action, but it is action that is given to God, that says: I don't know if I'm doing the right thing here, but I'm going to trust you to guide me.
Secondly, prayer is what unites the church. It is the way in which we can be partners in the gospel with those all over the world. Peter was alone in prison, and yet the church was praying for him. We are all one in Christ and one of the reasons for that is because we all pray to the same heavenly father. Prayer knows no boundaries, borders or language barriers. I have at various times joined with strangers in prayer, often speaking different languages, and yet we were as one. And every time we pray, we join together with our brothers and sisters everywhere.
Prayer is powerful - the Bible tells us so (e.g. James 5:16). Exactly how it works, we do not know, but that's not a reason not to do it, because when we join our voices and hearts with the creator of the universe, we can expect great things to happen.
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