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The
effectiveness of prayer
One of the
things God frequently speaks about in the Bible is prayer. Thus, in I
Thessalonians 5:17 we read:
I Thessalonians 5:17
"Pray without ceasing"
Moreover, Collosians 4:2 suggests:
"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with
thanksgiving"
Also I Peter 4:7 tells us:
"be serious and watchful in your prayers"
and Romans 12:12 repeats:
"continuing steadfastly in prayer"
Apart from the
above passages - there are many more in the Word1
- that tells us to pray and in fact to pray continuously, steadfastly
and without ceasing, there are also other passages that make clear
prayer's effectiveness via the examples of people that prayed. It is
this latter kind of passages that will be examined in this article,
starting from Acts 12.
1. Acts
12:1-16
Starting therefore from Acts 12:1-5a
we read:
Acts 12:1-5a
"Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hands
to harass some of the church. And he killed James the brother of John
with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he
proceeded further to seize Peter also (Then were the days of the
unleavened bread). And when he had arrested him, he put him in
prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him;
intenting to bring him before the people after the Passover."
(NKJV-KJV)
Regarding the
Herod of our passage, he was the grandson of the Herod that persecuted
Jesus when he was still an infant (Matthew 2) and "put to death all
the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from
two years old and under" (Matthew 2:16). He was also a nephew of
Herod "the tetrarch" who beheaded John the Baptist and
"treated Jesus with contempt and mocked him, and arrayed him in a
gorgeous robe [to mock him further]" (Luke 23:11) before his crucifixion2.
It would seem therefore that he had inherited all the evilness of his
grandfather and his uncle as he killed James one of the twelve, and
seeing that this pleased the Jews, he also arrested Peter, purposing to
present him to the people and then obviously to kill him as well.
However, Herod didn't calculate well for verse 5 tells us:
Acts 12:5
"Peter therefore was kept in prison: BUT prayer was made without
ceasing to God for him by the church"
(NKJV-KJV)
The king appointed
many armed men to guard Peter. He thought that by this he would make his
deliverance impossible. Yet he didn't take into account the fact that
though Peter was kept in prison, THE CHURCH WAS PRAYING WITHOUT CHEASING
TO GOD FOR HIM. Herod could not stop this, and thus could not stop God
from acting on those prayers. For see what then happened:
Acts 12:6
"And when Herod whould have brought him forth, that night Peter was
sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the guards
before the door were keeping the prison. And behold, an angel of the
Lord stood by him and a light shone in the prison;"
Herod had taken
enough measures to prevent Peter from any physical way of escape. Two
guards were on his right and on his left hand side and he was bound to
them with chains3.
Wherever he wanted to go they had to agree first! Moreover, as if this
was not enough, two other guards were before the door! Yet, though Herod
had disposed much military power to guard Peter, this was nothing in
comparison to God and HIS power. For see what the Lord did:
Acts 12:7-11
"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light
shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side, and raised him up
saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell of from his hands.
And the angel said to him. Gird yourself and tie on your sandals. And so
he did. And he said to him, Put on your garment and follow me. And he
went out, and followed him; and did not know that what was done by the
angel was true; but though he was seeing a vision. When they were past
the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that
leads to the city; which opened to them of its own accord: and they went
out and went down one street; and immediately the angel departed from
him. And when Peter had come to himslef, he said, Now I know for
certainty, that the Lord has sent his angel, and has delivered me from
the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the Jewish
people."
Many think that for
all this to take place the guards had to be asleep. Well, where does the
Bible says this? Nowhere! In contrast, what the Bible says is that PETER
was the one that was sleeping - between two guards - and that other
guards before the door "were KEEPING THE PRISON". Regarding
the latter, do you think that the Word would say that they were keeping
the prison if they were sleeping? I don't think so, for what kind of
keeping that would be? In any case, I don't know how God did it but I do
know that HE DID IT and rescued Peter "from the hand of Herod, and
from all the expectation of the Jewish people". However, let's not
forget what caused all this and which is given in verse 5:
Acts 12:5
"Peter was therefore kept in prison: BUT prayer was made without
ceasing to God for him by the church"
See this
"but" there. It tells us the weapon used against the fact that
Peter was kept in prison. This weapon was prayer. The church prayed
without ceasing and God answered bringing the impossible to pass,
conquering Herod and his power, and delivering Peter from this
affliction.
2. II Kings
6:11-22
The above example is not the only one where we
see God greatly deliver His people in response to their prayers. Another
similar example is in II Kings 6. There we find Elisha, a man of God,
through whom God revealed the plans of the Syrians to the king of
Israel. Because of this, the king of Syria was greatly troubled and made
a council for this matter. Verses 11-12 tells us:
II Kings 6:11-12
"Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by
this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, "Will you
not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?" And one
of his servants said, "None my lord, O king; but Elisha, the
prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that
you speak in your bedroom"
Whatever, the king
of Syria said and planned, God revealed it to Elisha, who then revealed
it to the king of Israel. Then verses 13-15 tells us:
II Kings 6:13-14
"So he said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send
and get him." And it was told him, saying, "Surely he is
in Dothan. Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there,
and they came by night and surrounded the city"
See the similar
thought pattern of this king and Herod: both tried to capture and harm
men of God using much military power. Thus the king of Syria sent
"horses and chariots and a great army" against Elisha, while
Herod delivered Peter to sixteen people to guard him. Both Herod and the
king of Syria thought that they had taken all the physical measures that
would ensure the success of their plans. Yet, both left God and HIS
measures out of the equation and both failed blatantly. We saw it in the
previous section for Herod and we will see it in this section for the
king of Syria as well. Verses 15-16 tells us:
II Kings
6:15-16
"And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out,
there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And
his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"
So he answered "Do not fear, for those who are with us are
more than those who are with them."
Elisha's reply to
what his servant said shows that either this servant had a sight problem
and couldn't see those that were with them, or otherwise Elisha was
wrong. As we will see the former was the case. The reason is not because
the servant had a problem with his physical sight, but because he used
the physical sight ONLY. Yet, this is not the only sight that one can
have. Really, apart from the physical picture of a situation there may
also be a spiritual picture that if it is ignored then the subsequent
conclusions will be unreliable. Evidently, this servant had ignored this
picture and had now to take it into account. Verse 17 tells us how this
was occurred:
II Kings 6:17
"And Elisha PRAYED, and said, "Lord, I pray, open his eyes
that he may see." Then THE LORD opened the eyes of the young man,
and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire all around Elisha"
Elisha PRAYED and
THE LORD answered His prayer, doing what he asked and opening the eyes
of this servant to have a spiritual view of the situation. However,
something more had also to be done since those Syrians knew Elisha. We
saw in the beginning of the passage how the king was told about him and
where exactly he was. Therefore, the Syrian army knew exactly whom they
were looking for. How did Elisha face this? Verses 18-20 tells us:
II Kings 6:18-20
"So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha PRAYED TO THE
LORD, and said, "Strike this people, I pray with blindness."
And HE struck them with blindness ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF ELISHA. Now
Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, nor is
this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you
seek." But he led them to Samaria. So it was, when they had come to
Samaria that ELISHA SAID, "Lord, open the eyes of these men,
that they may see." And THE LORD opened their eyes, and they saw;
and there they were, inside Samaria!"
As it seems the Lord
not only opens the eyes to see the spiritual and physically unseen, but
He also CLOSES the eyes not to see the physically seen! The Syrians knew
exactly whom they were looking for. Yet, he was before their eyes and
they couldn't see him!! And not only that but they ended up in Samaria,
the capital of their enemy! How all this happened? Elisha PRAYED and the
Lord struck the Syrians with BLINDNESS opening their eyes only when they
had arrived in Samaria and only after Elisha prayed for it! Verses 21-23
tells us what happened after they fell into the hands of the king of
Israel.
II Kings 6:21-24
"Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, "My
father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them? But he
answered, "You shall not kill them; would you kill those
whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and
water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their
master." Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they
ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the
bands of Syrians raiders came no more into the land of
Israel"
Summarizing
therefore: a great army came against Elisha. In response, after he
evaluated the situation spiritually, he prayed and the Lord struck them
with blindness. Then, after he led them to Samaria, the capital of
Israel, he again prayed and the Lord opened their eyes and they saw
where they were. Who did all these great things? The Lord. By what was
the Lord prompted? By Elisha's prayer. That's why the Word says: "Elisha
PRAYED and THE LORD....." acted accordingly.
3. More
examples of answered prayers
The above cases are not the only ones of
effective prayer.
3.1 Samuel and
John the Baptist
Really, Samuel a great man of God was an
answer to his mother's prayer. As, I Samuel 1:10-11 tells us:
I Samuel 1:10-11
"And she [Hannah, Samuel's mother] was in bitterness of
soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow
and said, "O Lord of hosts if you will indeed look on the
affliction of your maidservant and remember me, and not forget your
maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child, then I will
give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come
upon his head"
Hannah was in
affliction. What did she do? She prayed, which is also what James 5:13
suggests us for such cases. Really, there we read:
James 5:13
"Is any among you afflicted? LET HIM PRAY"
Hannah was
afflicted, she prayed and we don't have but to go to as far as verse 20
of the same chapter to see what happened as a result. Thus, there we
read:
I Samuel 1:20
"So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived
and bore a son, and called his name Samuel4,
saying, "Because I have asked for him from the Lord."
Samuel was asked
from the Lord. His name itself declared that he was answer to a prayer.
However he was not the only one that was answer to a
prayer. The same happened for John the Baptist as well. Really, when the
angel appeared to John's father, Zacharias, he told him:
Luke 1:13
"Do not be afraid Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and
your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name
John"
The birth of John
the Baptist was answer to the prayer of his father, Zacharias - and of
course fulfillment of the corresponding prophecies regarding his coming
as forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ (Malachi 4:5-6, Luke 1:15-17) -
exactly as Samuel's birth was answer to his mother's prayer.
3.2
Cornelious'
case
Moving further, we all probably know
Cornelious, the Gentile centurion, at whose home it was first time
confirmed that "God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to
life" (Acts 11:18). However, do you know how it came and Peter went
to his home to speak the Word to him? Acts 10:3-6 tells us:
Acts 10:3-6
"About the ninth hour of the day he [Cornelious] saw clearly in a
vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelious!"
And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it,
lord?" So he said to him, "YOUR PRAYERS AND YOUR ALMS HAVE
COME UP FOR A MEMORIAL BEFORE GOD". Now send men to Joppa, and send
for Simon whose surname is Peter....."
Peter didn't go
there accidentally. He had seen a vision about it (Acts 10:9-20), and
replied positively to the centurion's invitation who was also told by
God to invite him. However, see what the angel said to Cornelious when
he appeared to him: "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a
memorial before God". Cornelious' prayers were heard by God. As a
result he was told to send for Peter who, as the angel said to him
"will tell you words by which you and all your household will be
saved" (Acts 11:14). And really, while Peter was speaking to the
"many who had come together" (Acts 10:27) at Cornelious' house
"the holy spirit fell upon all those who heard the word,.....for
they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God". (Acts 10:44,
46). Cornelious prayed, the Lord answered and many were saved,
manifesting the holy spirit too!
3.3
Acts 4:24-31
Staying in Acts, another example of prayer's
power is in chapter 4 verses 24-31. Peter and John had just been
released from prison where they had been because they were teaching the
resurrection (Acts 4:2), doing also great miracles in Jesus' name (Acts
3:1-7). After their release they went to the believers to whom they said
what had happened. What did they do as a response? They prayed. Really
verses 24, 29-30 tells us:
Acts 4:24, 29-30
"So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one
accord and said: "Lord, you are God, who made heaven and
earth and the sea, and all that is in them.....Now, Lord, look on their
threats, and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may
speak your word, by stretching out your hand to heal, and that signs and
wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
They prayed to do
exactly what bothered the authorities (Acts 4:18) i.e. to speak the Word
boldly and to do signs and miracles in Jesus' name. What followed their
prayer? Verse 31 tells us:
Acts 4:31
"AND WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, the place where they were assembled
together was shaken; and they were all filled with the holy spirit, AND
THEY SPOKE THE WORD OF GOD WITH BOLDNESS"
They prayed to speak
the Word of God with boldness and guess what: THEY SPOKE THE WORD OF GOD
WITH BOLDNESS.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion therefore: in this article we
examined prayer's effectiveness as it is shown through various records
of the Scripture about people that prayed. In all cases we saw how
powerfully God was moved, answering the prayers of His people and
covering their needs whatever this might require. This of course is not
something that used to happen only then. Really, God is moved in the
same way today as well, covering with His own abundance and wisdom
everything that we ask Him in prayer and which is in harmony with His
will. As I John 5:14 tells us:
I John 5:14
"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask
anything according to His will, HE HEARS US."
God hears us when we
pray to Him. As Proverbs 15:9 tells us, our prayer is "His
delight". He waits for it desiring to get it and make it a reality
if of course it is in agreement with His will. If this condition is
fulfilled then nothing can stop Him to answer it whatever this may
require.
Tassos Kioulachoglou
Footnotes
1. The words,
"pray"
and "to pray", occur 306 times in the KJV (press
here to return where you stopped).
2. For more about the
Herods of the New Testament see: The Companion Bible, Kregel
Publications, Ap. 109 (press here to return where you
stopped).
3. See James Freeman
"Manners and Customs of the Bible", p. 442 (press
here to return where you stopped).
4. It means
"Heard by God" (press here to return where you
stopped).
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