#20 | Take Time to Think
Read: Acts 12:1-25
Meditate on your own:
- What do you notice about the setting of the narrative? How details do the details about time and place add to the story?
- What do you notice about the characters in the narrative? What actions does the author seem to highlight?
- How does the passage highlight both the mercy and judgment of God?
- What verse/phrase in this text stands out to you?
- What truth about God or mankind can you draw from that verse/phrase?
- Where else is this truth seen in Scripture?
- What are the implications of your response to question a)? What would be the implications if this weren’t true?
- How is this truth good news for you and others? Who needs to hear it?
- What does this truth reveal about your own heart?
- What are some ways you can respond to the truth of this passage? Is there something you need to repent of? What do you need to ask God for? What can you thank/praise God for?
Consider
Christians should expect God to act when they pray. Facing an impossible circumstance, we read that, “Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (12:5). The expectation is that something is about to happen. God is about to act because of his people’s prayers. Perhaps it is significant that we are not told what they were praying, only that they were doing so for Peter. Furthermore, we find out that they continued to do so deep into the night before he was to be executed (12:12). It is helpful to remember that there is no magic formula to prayer. The point is not what they prayed but to whom they were praying and that they kept on praying. They asked their sovereign God for help and trusted him to act, and he did in ways they were not planning or potentially even asking for, evidenced by their surprise that Peter had been rescued.
But it could be asked, “Why Peter and not James?” God miraculously delivered Peter from “the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting” because of the prayers of the church (12:11). Yet, presumably, the church prayed for James as well, and God did not miraculously deliver him. Why not? We don’t know, but such questions apparently did not deter the church. They were convinced God could deliver, and they were set on asking. How could they persevere? Why didn’t they think, “God is powerless to save” or “God isn’t good, so he
doesn’t want to save” or “Obviously God doesn’t hear me, so why bother”? It is because of Jesus. Because Jesus died for them while they were still sinners, they were certain God loved them (Rom. 5:8). Because Jesus had been raised from the dead and given all authority in heaven and on earth, they were certain he could do anything (Eph. 1:19-23; Matt. 28:18). And because God displayed his infinite wisdom through the salvation he accomplished in Jesus, they were certain he would do what was best (Rom. 11:33-36). So, when God did not save James, they trusted him and submitted their requests to his wisdom. They were determined to keep on asking for good things from their good God while trusting him with the results.
Consider your own prayer life. Do you expect God to act when you pray? If not, why? What tempts you to think he is not strong enough to help, good enough to care, or wise enough to know what’s best? Take time to pray through passages like Daniel 4:34-35, Psalm 23, and Psalm 147. Then, take time to ask God to act in your life and in the lives of those around you and to help you keep on praying.
Pray:
Use the acronym IOUS, turning the prayers of the Psalmist into your own.
Incline my heart to you and not to prideful gain or any false motive!
Psalm 119:36
Open my eyes to behold wonderous things out of your Word.
Psalm 119:18
Unite my heart to fear your name.
Psalm 86:11
Satisfy me with your steadfast love.
Psalm 90:14
