Let us pray. Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove; descend on us, reveal your love. Word of God and inward light, wake our spirits; clear our sight. Surround us now with all your glory; speak through me that sacred story. Take my lips and make them bold. Take hearts and minds and make them whole. Stir in us that sacred flame; then send us forth to spread your name. Amen.

If the young church was anything, it was a community of prayer. Earlier in the book of Acts, we were told by Luke that “they devoted themselves to prayer.” But even as they prayed for good things to happen, some very bad things began to take place. Not only did persecution break out, but Herod Agrippa tried to bolster his popularity by raging against the Christians; he and his cronies did violence against the church. They murdered James, the brother of John, and they arrested Simon Peter. And the church feared the worst for him. Still, they devoted themselves to prayer.

In The Message, by Eugene Peterson, he retells Peter’s story. This is how he tells it:

Then the time came for Herod to bring him [Peter] out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances! Suddenly there was an angel at his side and light flooding the room. The angel shook Peter and got him up: “Hurry!” The handcuffs fell off his wrists. The angel said, “Get dressed. Put on your shoes.” Peter did it. Then, “Grab your coat and let’s get out of here.” Peter followed him, but didn’t believe it was really an angel -- he thought he was dreaming.

Past the first guard and then the second, they came to the iron gate that led into the city. It swung open before them on its own, and they were out on the street, free as the breeze. At the first intersection the angel left him, going his own way. That’s when Peter realized it was no dream. “I can’t believe it -- this really happened! The Master sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s vicious little production and the spectacle the Jewish mob was looking forward to.” Still shaking his head, amazed, he went to Mary’s house, the Mary who was John Mark’s mother. The house was packed with praying friends.

When he knocked on the door to the courtyard, a young woman named Rhoda came to see who it was. But when she recognized his voice -- Peter’s voice! -- she was so excited and eager to tell everyone Peter was there that she forgot to open the door and left him standing in the street. But they wouldn’t believe her, dismissing her, dismissing her report. “You’re crazy,” they said. She stuck by her story insisting. They still wouldn’t believe her and said, “It must be his angel.” All this time poor Peter was standing out in the street, knocking away.

Now, isn’t that an odd miracle story? It’s filled with all confusion and uncertainty and no small amount of humor and irony. And you quickly get the sense that the folks in the house church just could not believe that their prayers had been answered. Even though they devoted themselves to prayer, in this environment of persecution and threats and death, they were surprised that Peter was alive. They figured he was dead and one of the translators says it this way: They thought it was his ‘ghost’ knocking on the door. I get the feeling that because of all of the bad things happening to the church, they sort of stopped expecting God to answer their prayers.

Have you ever felt that way? Don’t we all sometimes wonder about what happens when we pray and what seems to be “unanswered prayer?” Don’t we all know what it is like to seek and to not find, to knock and the door not be opened, to ask and what we want or think is needed is not given?

But before we go deeper, let me give you my three basic assumptions about intercessory prayer:

The first one is this: When you talk to God, God hears you. God listens. When you dial, God picks up.

A magazine mistakenly published the e-mail address of Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft. Before Bill Gates knew what was happening, he began receiving thousands upon thousands of e-mail messages. As a result, he had to arm his computer with special software to filter out all the e-mail messages except the ones that he deemed important. People wanted to get through to Gates, but he didn’t want them to get through to him.

It’s not that way with God. God doesn’t filter out anyone. God always hears. God always listens.

But second, when you pray, God cares. Your problems, your concerns, your worries, and your fears, they are all important to God.

And then third, God answers every prayer.

Now, that can’t be proved, nor can it be disproved. It’s either believed or disbelieved.

But the example of Jesus offers strong evidence in favor of belief, for in keeping with Jewish tradition and belief, Jesus affirmed that prayer does change things. Despite the tragic history of the Jewish people, of so many seemingly unanswered prayers, they stubbornly contended that there was a loving God who listened to their prayers and would someday respond. To discount prayer or to conclude that it is a meaningless activity means to view Jesus and his fellow Jews as deluded.

But neither can we ignore the fact that so many of the prayers that were offered up by faithful servants were answered in ways different from what was asked, or wanted, or expected.

Moses begged God to allow him to go into the Promised Land, but what did God say? No.

David pleaded with God to allow his infant son to live, and God said no.

Habakkuk movingly prayed that God might turn back the brutal invasion of the Babylonians and God said no.

Jonah and Job and Elijah all prayed that they might die, and God said no, and no, and no again.

And then there was Jesus, who so eloquently prayed that all of his followers might be one; and today, with more than 34,000 Christian denominations -- and growing -- we’d have to say that so far that prayer has not been answered.

And then in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus faced the cross, he prayed, “take this cup from me” and after hours of agony, he realized that it was not going to happen and finally he said, “not what I want, Father, but what you want.”

And then there is the apostle Paul who three times pleaded with the Lord that this thorn in the flesh might be taken from him. And we don’t know what that “thorn in the flesh” was, whether it was some physical affliction or some emotional frailty or some opposition. All we know is that God said “no” to that request. And instead God says, “Paul, do you want to know what has always been yours since you said you would follow me? The gift is this: my grace is sufficient for you.”

(2 Corinthians 12:9)

And that just may be scripture’s most powerful statement about what we call “unanswered prayer.” We may not get what we ask, but God always provides what is needed.

As I was preparing this message, I looked back across my own life and realized that I’ve had some prayers that have been answered with a resounding “yes” and I’ve had other prayers that have been answered with a definite “no.”

And then there are others that seem to be answered with a very obvious, “Not now, Rick; the timing for that is not right.”

Then others that were answered like this: “You know, Rick, you really need to just grow up and stop asking for things such as that.”

And then there were some answered in this way, “I have other things in mind.”

Or this one: “Rick, you can be part of the answer to that prayer.”

And then others that were answered like this: “Rick, you gotta’ be kidding!”

I recall when I was a kid and I had been in geography class, and after class I remember praying, “Lord, please let Rome be the capital of Spain!” And God said, “You’ve got to be kidding!”

I remember as a young man, I started receiving those Reader’s Digest sweepstakes envelopes, and every year I would fill out mine and send it in…and sometimes I even ordered magazines…and before I would send it, I would pray, “Lord, let the man with the big check show up at my door.” After awhile, God seemed to say, “Isn’t it about time you stopped doing that? That’s a silly request!”

Then there are those times that God seems to answer certain petitions with an affirmation that goes like this: “You are part of the answer. I created you to do that.”

I recall hearing about a young man who was about to give in to despair because of all of the injustices in the world. He went to church and prayed, “Lord, I don’t understand it! How can you allow all of the injustices and pain and hunger and cruelty and you do nothing?” And sensing no reply he repeats his lament, only this time it is in an audible voice: “God, how can you do nothing?” And from the back of the church, he hears this little voice saying, “God didn’t do nothing! God created you!”

Sometimes, we are the answer to our own prayers.

And have you ever thought that if God said “yes” to every human whim, this world would be a very scary and confusing place.

The movie, Bruce Almighty, presents Hollywood’s version of what might happen if God entrusted supernatural power to an ordinary human. Bruce Nolan, played by Jim Carrey, is a TV reporter, who one day rages against God about all of the bad things that have been happening in his life and he says, “God could fix my life in five minutes, if he wanted to.” So Bruce is summoned to an abandoned building with a sign that says “Omni Presents, Inc.” And there, Bruce meets God, played beautifully by Morgan Freeman, who decides to let Bruce try being god for one week to see if he can do better with the world.

Bruce is thrilled to have this divine power and he uses it to clear a path through the traffic for his brand new sports car, which he has gotten by divine power! And he gets revenge on his fellow employees whom he thinks have treated him poorly, and he gets revenge on some hoodlums who once beat him up! To impress his girlfriend, he lassoes the moon and draws it closer to enhance a romantic mood and at the same time, causes a tidal wave in Japan. He hears thousands upon thousands of prayers in his head all at once, and he tries to deal with the blizzard of requests, and finally he answers “yes” to everyone who prays to win the lottery. And there are hundreds of thousands of winners, and the prize is meaningless.

Someone once asked Gandhi, “If you were given the power to remake the world, what would you do first?” And Gandhi replied, “I would pray for the power to renounce that power.”

Just because you and I earnestly pray for something doesn’t mean that it would be a blessing to us or to the world if we received it.

So what’s the bottom line?

For me, it comes down to this: I pray because Jesus prayed. I pray because I trust God. The greatest tragedy is not unanswered prayer or prayers that are answered in uninvited ways, but the greatest tragedy is prayer that is not offered. (paraphrase of F. B. Meyer)

So, we pray boldly and then we trust God. We trust God to be like Jesus and do what is best.

And sometimes when we pray, that door is opened, and the shackles fall away and the bondage ends. Sometimes when we pray, God calms the storm. (Lucado)

That’s what God did for Moses. As Pharaoh fumed behind him and the Red Sea foamed before him, Moses had nowhere to turn but up, and he lifts his staff toward the heavens and before he knew it, that sea became a highway to freedom. Sometimes God calms the storm and makes a way where there seems to be no way.

God did that for Daniel. Daniel and his friends were invited to the lion’s den for dinner, only the problem was, they were the main course! Fortunately, Daniel remembers that it is a good thing to pray before a meal, and so he prays, and his prayer is answered with a case of lion lockjaw. Sometimes God makes a way.

God did that for Peter in the scripture here in Acts. He found himself in jail. As far as he knew, in a few hours, his life would end. But God had other plans for Simon Peter and the bondage ends and the persecution steps back for a little while.

Sometimes God calms the storm and opens the door. Sometimes God takes away the cancer, transfers the cranky boss and lifts the oppressive debt. Sometimes the breath from heaven blows and the shackles fall away and our captivity ends and the dark clouds scatter and a blue sky opens up before us. Sometimes God calms the storms, but most of the time, I think God calms the sailor in the midst of the storm.

Rather than quiet the tempest, God stills the sailor. Rather than deliver the captive, God gives us freedom in the midst of whatever our captivity may be. Rather than remove the disease, God removes the fear. Rather than grant the deliverance, God grants understanding and acceptance and peace.

Now, for many of us, such calm and peace may seem illogical and incomprehensible, but it is not beyond your reach.

Are you are caught in the midst of some storm of anxiety? Are you held captive in some prison of despair or pain? Are you asking God to change some circumstance or open some door?

God just may do that for you! God may in one breath of the Spirit, blow away all the clouds and leave you in a bright new place of peace. God may calm the storm and release you from your captivity; but I assure you of this, if God does not, God will come alongside you in your prison and will calm you in the midst of your storm.

I close with this prayer written by an unknown soldier in the midst of the Civil War:

“I asked God for strength that I might achieve,

I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health that I might do greater things,

I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy,

I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,

I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for, but everything that I hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.”

Sometimes God calms the storm, but always God can calm you in the midst of the storm.

Let us pray. O God, we give you thanks that you are with us. May it be so that when the answer knocks on our door, that we are ready to open the door and receive you, and the answer that you would offer. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Endnotes: This sermon is based, in part, upon material from the following sources:

1. Luke Timothy Johnson, The Acts of the Apostles

2. Max Lucado (from an old Lucado tape…exact source unknown)

3. Kenneth Swanson, “Learning to Pray”

4. James White, You Can Experience a Spiritual Life

5. William Willimon, Interpretations: Acts

6. Ben Witherington, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary

7. Phil Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?