Selfless Prayers

 

Your friend is on death row. Your innocent friend is on death row. Let's add intrigue and indignity to the scene. Your innocent friend is on death row for a crime that is not a crime. This is more than justice not being served, it is injustice being practiced and praised. Instead of justice being the rule, injustice is ruling and ruining. The crime is the politically motivated conviction of an innocent man. Why? The second crime is that of pleased constituents praising their leader for another innocent friend of yours already politically murdered for the same non-crime. This is the real-life scenario of Acts 12.

 

Your friend is on death row. For what would you pray?

 

In Acts 12, Peter's friends pray for him. Usually people assume their prayer pleaded for his release. Then the teacher proceeds to point out a curious fact that is unfortunately often repeated today - God's people are praying, but don't reallize and recognize God's answer (verse 15).  Peter shows up as a miraculously free man, but his friends don't believe it. As an aside, it is kind of humorous to think of Peter as an "escaped criminal" trying to get in the house and no one letting him in! Do you think he kept looking over his shoulder for the "police"?

 

Let's get back to the main point of this real life incident. Maybe, just maybe we assume too much concerning their prayer. Maybe we assume based upon our own selves - what we would think and pray. Maybe our assumption about them says more about ourselves. The truth is often our prayers are more about our wants than about others' needs, more about us than about God. Listen to our own prayers, and try really hearing not only what we are saying, but the deeper meaning about who we are.

 

In reference to Peter's friends, couldn't there have been other possibilities, maybe even more spiritually inclined possibilities? On an earlier occasion, all the apostles had been arrested (Acts 5:19ff), and divinely rescued. Yet this time James suffered martyrdom - he was murdered for a political cause. For what did they pray?

 

·        Maybe these friends of Peter filled the night air with prayers for Peter's courage and faith to remain strong. Peter had at one time failed to be faithful (Matthew 26:69-75).

 

·         Maybe they thanked God for whatever He permitted to happen, knowing it could be used for His glory.

 

·         Maybe their thoughts were not self-centered, but Christ centered.

 

·         Maybe we assume too much in placing what we might pray for in the minds and hearts of these early Christians - not that it would be wrong to pray for Peter's release, but rather to only wish for Peter's release.

 

Let's make an application.  While we do not suffer persecution, we do suffer illnesses and other physical calamities, as do our friends and families.

 

When we pray for our loved ones, how much of our prayer is focused on what we want, instead of what is best for those we love?  Those two concepts are not always the same.  Love thinks of others first.

 

When we pray for our friends and family, how much of our prayer is filled with gratitude for the time we've shared, instead of always asking for more time?  Grace is a realization that anything that is good is undeserved, and we need to focus on how undeserving we are to have had the blessing of these people in our lives.

 

When we pray, it is not wrong to think of ourselves, what we want and need, what we hope will happen.  When we pray, it is wrong to only think of ourselves, to only dwell on this life.

 

In the end, we all were on death row spiritually.  And an innocent man did die for us.  He was put to death for a crime that was not a crime.  Everything and anything else that we are blessed with, and pray for, cannot compare to that.

 

Perry D. Hall