Begin with 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.

This is one of my favorite stories in Scripture. The first several times I heard and read this story, all I could think about was how crazy of a miracle it was. Peter was led out of prison and not a single one of the 16 soldiers guarding him knew a thing. That seems insane! But the more I read it, the more I focused less on Peter’s deliverance and more on the Church. Verse 5 is what shifted my perspective. It says, “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Read that again- THE CHURCH WAS EARNESTLY PRAYING TO GOD FOR HIM.

Could God have delivered Peter without a single prayer lifted on his behalf? Absolutely! Do I believe God used the earnest prayers of the church to change the lives of these believers as they saw God specifically answer their prayers? Absolutely! If you don’t think your prayers matter, read this story again, and then again.

Merriam-Webster defines "earnestly" as “in an earnest or serious manner: not lightly, casually, or flippantly.” These people weren’t just praying when it crossed their minds or asking God one time and then going about their lives without another thought of it. These people were together at the house of Mary, mother of John, pouring out their hearts to God and pleading with Him on Peter’s behalf. I have to imagine they were praying without ceasing. And when Peter showed up at that door, the exact answer to their prayers, they were astonished.

When you pray, do you expect God to answer? Or are you just hoping for the best? Do you pray earnestly when you have a need? Often, I find myself just casually praying for people or needs and just really hoping that God will answer without any real expectations. But man, in the times that I have truly prayed earnestly and expected to see God move as a result of my prayers, it feels like I am looking Jesus in the face as I pour out my heart to him. I can feel the power of God in that room with me giving me unexplainable peace and confidence that I will see Him move and work.

We know God may not answer our prayers in the exact way that we want Him to, but we also know that His answer is the best one for His glory - even if it isn’t how we planned. But that doesn’t mean we don’t expect to see Him answer in a powerful way. In the process of learning to pray with expectation, the Lord has revealed this question to me: If I don’t expect to see Him move as a result of my prayers, why do I even pray? And that has shaken my perspective on prayer.

Just as the believers who were praying for Peter’s release were astonished when he showed up, we are often surprised when God answers our prayers too. But if we are praying earnestly with expectation for God to answer, we shouldn’t be surprised when He does. One of Kyle’s favorite phrases is: “If you’re going to pray for rain, you better carry an umbrella.” That is the kind of expectancy I want to pray with and live by.

I know I’ve got to work on the earnestness of my prayers, but the privilege of prayer is not something I ever want to take lightly. The God of Heaven and Earth hears my prayers AND answers them!

One of my favorite verses to remind myself of this is Psalm 5:3, which says, “In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflections:

• What does earnest prayer look like for you?
  
• When we aren’t seeing God answer our prayers, we may need to look at our earnestness and expectation.