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Prayers

“So Peter was kept in jail, but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him” — Acts 12:5

Praying is one of the traditional reactions of Christians when faced with crisis in life, be it social or personal, political, economic or moral. Countless prayer rallies, for instance, have already been conducted in our country, hoping to transform our society. This is not to mention the prayers offered in churches, and in the halls of congress, senate, and Malacañang. With all the political controversies and issues now dividing our people, we begin to wonder whether or not God is really listening to our yearnings as a people.

United in prayer

In the Book of Acts, there is an interesting story about a prayer meeting that opened a prison cell (Acts 12: 1-19). The story began with the persecution of Christians during the time of King Herod Agrippa. It had reached its peak with the arrest and imprisonment of Peter. The authorities had already executed James, the brother of John and one of Jesus’ disciples. And evidently, King Herod would not allow Peter to escape for he instructed soldiers to guard him day and night.

From the Christians’ point of view, Peter was the leader most worth saving and praying for. Peter’s death would surely be a major tragedy to the Christian movement. But from King Herod’s point of view, Peter was the Christian most worth watching and destroying. For him, Peter was a very dangerous person. But nevertheless, the small group of Christians in Jerusalem did not lose heart. There was only one course of action opened to them, and this was to be united in prayer.

And so the Christians gathered together in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. This place might have been the Upper Room. And there they put themselves in the sole business of praying for Peter.

If some grave injustice were done to a Christian leader today, how different we might act. Many of us would perhaps write to the newspapers and other media outlets letters of protests, arrange interviews with government and military officials, organize a press conference, or present a petition to the highest person in the land. But none of these things was possible in the Early Church. Those believers in Christ could do only one thing; they could only come together in a godly home, get down on their knees and pray to the Almighty God.

Two contending Parties

Have we ever considered how great was the contrast between the two contending parties? On the one side, we have a handful of Christians, without any political power. On the other side, we have the power of the whole Roman Empire and its local collaborators, like King Herod Agrippa.

Consider also the contrast between the means the two parties employed. To keep Peter in prison, King Herod relied on his soldiers. To overcome Herod’s might, the Christians relied on united intercessory prayers.

From any human point of view, it is very clear which side was stronger. What can a small group of Christians do against the enormous power of the Roman Empire? But in all such estimates of forces, it is so easy to leave out one crucial factor, and that is, God’s omnipotence. However, the Early Christians refused to do that. Thus, we read in the Scripture: “So Peter was kept in jail, but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him”(Acts 12:5).

In a world like ours, where people put their ultimate trust in themselves and have complete reliance on weapons of terror and death, and where Christians seem to be intimidated and confused; the life of the Early Christians in their prayer meetings is a glaring reminder to us that the ultimate power that guided the church throughout the centuries in the midst of struggles and persecutions is in God’s Almighty Hand. Indeed, our Christian hope is far greater than the violence and greed of powerful men and women.

Praying as humanly impossible

Let us look more closely at the prayer meeting in the home of John Mark’s mother. Consider first of all the purpose of their meeting. The Christians met to pray. Sometimes it is easier for us to talk and write about prayer, preach about prayer or discuss prayer than to really pray. It is important at this point to consider why this is so.

In his letter to the Romans, Apostle Paul gives us an answer (cf.Rom.8:26-27). For him, praying is humanly impossible. In other words, when we pray we are actually doing something humanly impossible. We are talking to Someone who is not someone else, but who is nearer to us than we ourselves are. We are addressing Someone, who can never become an object of our address, because He is always subject, always acting, always creating. We are telling something to Him who knows not only what we are telling Him, but also all the unconscious tendencies out of which our conscious words come out. This is the reason why praying is humanly impossible.

It is God Himself who prays through us when we pray to Him; it is God Himself in us. That is what Holy Spirit means. Holy Spirit is another word for God’s Presence with inspiring and transforming power.

Someone in us, not we ourselves, intercedes before God for us. We cannot bridge the gap between God and ourselves even through the most intensive and frequent prayers. The essence of prayer is the act of God working in us and raising our whole being to God Himself.

Hence, it is difficult to really pray because this would mean that we have to submit our whole being to the power and sovereignty of God. For unless this happens to us, our prayers would just be babbling of empty words, and our prayer meetings or rallies would be no different from a mere social gathering.

Work of prayer

Now, let us look at the persistence of the prayer meeting that opened a prison cell. Praying was done earnestly. It was in the prayer meeting that the Christians really fought and won the battle against the forces of evil. It was on their bended knees that they gained victory. The opening of the prison bars was little more than the going forth of a conqueror to receive the spoils of conquest.

This was true even with our Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer was very central in his life and ministry. Jesus considered prayer not merely as a preparation for the battle, but rather the battle itself. If we take the New Testament as our guide, we are driven to a conclusion that the only work that really taxed the energies of Jesus was the work of prayer.

Have we ever asked ourselves why Jesus was so peaceful and calm in the face of his tormentors, and even in the face of death on the cross? This is so, I believe, because even before those things could happen, he had already won at the Garden of Getsemane the most decisive battle against the forces of evil in following his Father’s will.

In the same way, the Early Christians won their battle in the secret place of prayer, and God our Father who saw them in secret rewarded them openly. The experiences of our Lord Jesus Christ and that of the Early Christians remind us once more that the most decisive battle against the forces of darkness of this present age is fought when we are on our bended knees, when we are meeting together in prayer. For having won here, all else would seem to have been accomplished with consummate ease.

God’s response to prayer

Finally, let us also consider how God responded to their prayers. According to the story, God sent His angel and opened the prison bars and set Peter free. And the Christians were so amazed when they saw Peter knocking at the door of the place they were praying (cf. Acts 12:6-19). We notice from the Biblical story that God answered their prayers in a manner that they were all astonished. Their human understanding could not really fathom the mysteries of God’s power and abiding presence. Hence, they reacted with surprise.

There is a wonderful story from the life of St. Augustine. As a young person, Augustine had lived a wild and licentious life. He greatly troubled his mother Monica. His mother was a devout Christian and had been longing to see her son a Christian also, but there in that North African city of Carthage where they lived, Augustine just went from evil to evil.

Augustine’s mother thought, “If my son Augustine would go to Rome he would surely go down into the sin of the city and be overwhelmed.” And so, she prayed desperately, “O God, please stop my son from going to Rome.” But nevertheless, Augustine went to Rome to study, and so her prayers seemed to be not answered.

However, it was there in Italy that Augustine met Bishop Ambrose of Milan, one of the famous Early Church Fathers. Augustine heard through Bishop Ambrose the challenge of Christ and he became a Christian and one of the great saints of history.

Halfway through this experience, Augustine’s mother Monica could have said, “God did not listen to my prayers. I pleaded that Augustine should not go to Rome and he went to Rome.” Well, it is true God did not answer her particular request, but God answered her prayers – that her son might be delivered from the power of sin.

This is the unpredictable God, the God of surprise. And so, as we pray there is mystery about it. There is uncertainty about it. And sometimes we could only expect the unexpected, hoping that God provides the best for us. God works in wondrous ways, indeed.

We are not really sure what our prayer meetings and rallies could bring to our country and people. But I do believe that if we really have that sincere desire, like that of the Early Christians in their prayer meetings, to really put ourselves in earnest prayer and submit ourselves to the power and sovereignty of our Almighty God, then something surprisingly new will happen to us.

We may not be freed from a prison cell like that of Peter. But perhaps we could be freed from a deeper level of imprisonment. We could be freed from the prison cells of hatred and greed, of pride and self-centeredness that might have enslaved us and have taken so much of our time and efforts. Yes, we could be freed to be one people, one nation, enjoying the blessings of this rich and beautiful land God has entrusted to all of us. Amen. #

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