30 Days - Day 29

Day 29

Acts 22:17-21

17 “Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance 18 and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ 19 So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. 20 And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ 21 Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 27:21-25

21 But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.

Two passages. Two prayers. One answer hard to take, one request hard to pray.

These passages take place at two very different times in the ministry of Paul. One takes place at the very beginning of his ministry. The other much closer to the end. One shows the zeal of a heart to witness. The other shows maturity with a heart of understanding and care.

How many of us have prayed prayers only to have God sometimes say “no”. How many of us have had a desire only to have God say “now hear My heart”. Those are not answers that we like to get. If I can gauge how much we like to hear “no” by my son’s reaction to my “no” then I can guess that hearing that little word can be tantamount to heartbreak. Perhaps it is the death of a dream. Perhaps it is God taking us from what is good to what is best (though we may not realize it at the time). As Paul looked to begin his ministry we see that among God’s answers to his first ministry plans is a big “no”. Paul was a Jew. A man of status among the Jews. He had been very zealous even beyond the normal zeal of the Pharisees. He must have looked like the perfect fit to take the gospel to the nation of Israel. He knew the law. He knew the customs. He understood the history and tradition. He had an incredible testimony to share, yet here is God telling him “they will not receive your testimony concerning Me” and “depart for I will send you...to the Gentiles”. He had an incredible passion and desire for his countrymen. Yet God said “no” and Paul wanted to argue. He wanted to tell God all about his credentials to the Jewish people, yet God still said “depart”, and Paul went. God had something better in mind, but I am sure it was a hard “no” to take. In fact years later we still see Paul setting his face toward Jerusalem and the nation of Israel to go to them and witness of Christ. No is hard for us to take and yet when we hear it from God we need to realize that He says it with purpose. He says it with our and the kingdom’s best interest at heart.

The second prayer came much later in life. Paul has been in ministry for a long time. He has seen many churches planted. He has witnessed in prison and in the courts of kings. He has a lot of experience in both life and ministry. Now, he is once again a prisoner on his way to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. Paul has been on a lot of boats during his life of ministry, and as this one sails into winter he warns the crew and passengers not to be so hasty to set sail. Nobody listens to Paul. As the passage continues we find the boat in a hurricane force storm and nothing looks very promising for a happy ending. Yet after 14 days Paul stands to encourage all who are on board.

I don’t know about you or Paul, but the temptation for me to say “I told you so” and “your getting what you asked for” might have been pretty strong. I know I am going to make it... I have a court date in Rome set by God... but I can’t be too sure about the rest of you. But Paul in the midst of all this had his first concern for the passengers and crew on board, whatever their actions and respect had been toward him. Acts records for us that there were 276 people on board and Paul was concerned for every one of them. He wasn’t satisfied in prayer until he had been assured that God had granted his request for each of them. His heart beat with the passion of God’s love for people, even these people who have refused to listen to him. Sometimes that is the hardest love to give. You feel like saying “fine, don’t listen to me ... you’ll see!” Our hearts tend to harden and our offense tends to show. Our pride at being right gets in the way of helping people through a hard time of their own making. We don’t feel like praying for them or helping them, yet maturity in Christ demands just that.

We see this example in Samuel as well. The people asked for a king and Samuel and God both see that Israel’s demand is not a good one. Samuel tells the people that this is a great sin, yet at God’s allowance grants them their request. They have refused his council to their own hurt. Samuel could have been bitter after a life of faithful service to God and Israel but instead we see a servant heart. He had to pray for them. He had to continue to bring them the council of God.

Some requests are easy to make but the answers are hard to take. Other requests are hard to make but the answers are easy to accept. But easy or hard God wants us to seek Him all the same. Whatever the case we see that relationship with God in prayer is the way to see His heart and express His passion to the world around us.

Prayer Request Day 29

1) Nada, Zoran and Indi - Indi still doesn't sleep well (1 1/2 years old), they are in a process of buying land to build a house - has been a long process for them, salvation
2) Miro, Mateja and their girls Leah and Enya - Miro seeking new position at work, Leah, Enya & Christian enjoy playing together, Mateja back to teaching after summer off, salvation
3) Sandra & Ales - recovering from C-section, adjusting to life with a newborn, soon to be married, salvation
4) Marko, Jadranka, Ursala & Henrik - Ursala beginning high school, Jadranka has been our language tutor, salvation
5) Also for acquaintances - Michael & Katerina, Kirsten & her husband, Marija & Vladko, Anya
6) English students - Ana and Barbara
7) Others with whom we have occasional contact, new contacts, and that God would bring people across our path that are seeking and prepared for the message of the gospel