Surprising Prayer

In dark times, it can be difficult to know who to turn to and what to ask for, but in Jesus we have someone who we can tell anything at any time, who will listen and respond to give us what we need (but not necessarily what we ask for!)

Acts 12: 5 - 16 (NIV)

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When 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.”

16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

The Disciples and Peter prayed 'earnestly' for his deliverance from Prison, but their responses to the events that followed those prayers show that this was not the result that they expected! Peter thought he was dreaming until he was already well away from the prison, Rhoda was so surprised and excited that Peter was at the door that she rushed off to tell everyone without thinking to open the door, the disciples didn't believe her and found another way to explain what must be happening. But despite all this misunderstanding, all were then able to share the message of answered prayer.

When we pray, we don't really need to worry about asking for the right thing, because God knows what is in our hearts - it is about having the faith to put a situation into God's hands even if the result is surprising and unexpected and to know that there will be an answer even if we may not see it.

This can be the case with some of our Ely and District CAP clients, for whatever reason they decide not to follow the CAP advice to become debt free and decide to go their own way, or drop out along the way. We may not hear what happens next, but this doesn't mean that the support they have received from CAP and the debt coaches and visit team hasn't made a difference. For clients struggling to see a way forward, the message of God's love that the team bring with them can provide the knowledge of someone who they can share everything with, all their fears and worries and someone who can help them to carry these burdens through difficult times. And prayer can also be a celebration with clients who have become debt free and a support into the future.

Please pray for many of the team who are having holidays over the next few weeks, pray that this would be a time for rest and refreshment to be ready to carry the message of God's loving support to more in our community who are struggling with debt.