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Acts 12: 1-16 (NIV)
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the
church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to
death . . . he proceeded to seize Peter also. . . Peter was kept in prison,
but the church was earnestly praying . . . for him. The night before Herod was
to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers . . . Suddenly
an angel of the Lord appeared . . . “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains
fell off Peter’s wrists. . . He went to the house of Mary . . . where many
people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked . . . and a servant girl .
. . came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice . . . she ran
back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” “You’re out of
your mind,” they told her. . . But Peter kept knocking, and when they opened
the door and saw him, they were astonished.
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| God doesn’t promise good outcomes – he wants us to rejoice in him no matter the circumstances.* |
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In this passage, we have two contrasting perspectives on
prayer: Surprise when prayers are answered; disappointment when they aren’t. We
might be amused at Peter’s friends’ astonishment. He appeared at the door at
the exact time that they were huddled together in Mary’s house praying for his
safety and release. Where was their faith, we wonder. Perhaps their faith had just taken a hit when
they got word of James’ execution. Surely they had been praying for him, too.
When prayers yield immediate and positive results, your expectations
are high for the next time. When it seems God is ignoring your prayers, you
lose heart and faith, and your expectations weaken. Perhaps it will encourage us
to be reminded of some things we know about prayer.
In
an effort to manage our expectations, let’s examine more facts about prayer and
God’s purposes.
Jesus
models the life of prayer that we should seek to establish for ourselves. He stayed in
constant contact with his Father. He prayed in private and in public. It was a
priority in his hectic schedule. He shows us that prayer is more than asking
God to give us stuff and heal our loved ones. Prayer was his access to the
source of power and the path to the relationship that God longs to have with
each of us. When we walk that closely with him, we know that he is hearing us
and that his answers are for our good. Those are the realistic expectations of
the faithful.
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| He sought the presence of God in order to fulfill the purpose of God.* |
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