Continued from yesterday
Prayer is a wonder-filled thing. After he was released by the angel, Peter went to the house of those praying. Acts 12:13-15 "Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15 "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."
When Rhoda goes back to the people praying for Peter and tells them that Peter is at the door, their first response is; “He can’t be there. He is in jail and we are here praying for God to release him.” How could Peter be at the door? That would be an answer to prayer!” Here is a situation where God answered a prayer in unbelief. It was in direct response to their praying that the angel of the Lord comes to the prison and yet when Peter gets to the door they cannot believe it. How many of you have found that God has answered your prayers even in your unbelief? How many times have we heard someone testify to God answering their prayer by making a statement like; “I just can’t believe it, God answered.”
I believe as responsible believers we should do all we can to understand the Word of God and to respond to it correctly. But at the same time we find that God uses us where we are. There have been many new, excited, young Christians that have done something wrong or even had some mixed-up theology; nevertheless, they find God answering their prayers. The old timers look at them and say, “You can’t do that; you can’t say that.” And their response is, “Why not? It worked.” God answered their prayer in unbelief. Though we never promote unbelief (because without faith it’s impossible to please God) God still honors a simple child-like faith even when the theology may not be as accurate as others might think it should be.
God wants all of us to live by faith! He wants us to pray in faith believing. But at the same time He is not expecting us to get to a place of faith without Him. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith and we are to look to Him for that. Too many times people are left with the idea that they have to achieve some special level of faith before God will respond to them, when in actuality, God responds to us according to where we are.
The simple rule concerning prayer is this: pray a lot and pray often. Pray without ceasing, pray earnestly, and you will see results. Soon those results will build your faith to where your prayers will be more faith-filled with time.
This all comes down to the Glory of God. Prayer gives God the glory. A non-praying church tends to take the credit for its success. You should see how many books have been written about the success of certain churches without the slightest mention of prayer. In the same way a non-praying Christian tends to take the credit that he should give God.
Prayer articulates our total dependence upon the Lord. When you enter into the prayer closet and bow your knees before Him you are admitting that you cannot do it without Him and that He is actually the One who deserves the glory. It’s humbling to admit that we have a need for God and prayer is that expression. If I, as your pastor, will continue to seek God then my leadership will come from Him. Subsequently, I will not be able to take any credit for the success of our church. When men take credit for things they displace God in the world.
The science of evolution takes credit for something that belongs to our God; creationism gives God the glory for creation. If satan can convince man that he can figure out the answers to life then mankind will never see his need for God.
After the dust settled over the jailbreak incident it says King Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. One day he was addressing his people when something very serious happens. Acts 12:21-23 "On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died."
The Bible says God will share his glory with no man. Prayerlessness is a glory stealer. It causes people to believe they can make it on their own, according to their own skills and abilities.
The bottom line is this: we cannot make it without our God. And (possibly even more importantly), our friends and loved-ones cannot make it without our prayers for them. If we live independent from God how will others find Christ?
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