The Power of Prayer

You do not have because you do not ask.
–James 4:2

The story of Peter’s arrest and miraculous deliverance in Acts 12 is entertaining, but it also teaches us some timeless truths.

First of all, no person can prevail against the purpose of God. Acts 12 begins with Herod killing the apostle James, arresting Peter, and threatening to destroy the church. The chapter ends with Herod giving an address. Look at what happened during his speech: “The people kept crying out, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied” (vv. 22–24).

The most foolish decision a person can make is to go to war with God. They will never win. People who threaten the church are nothing but irksome and powerless in the sight of Almighty God, and they will not prevail against the purpose of God. Isaiah 45:9 says, “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker.” Anyone who continually disobeys God, rebels against God, or makes themselves the god of their own life is not going to win that battle.

Second, no circumstance can prevail against the power of prayer. The prison bars were no match for the prayers of God’s people. Let’s be clear: The Bible doesn’t say that God will answer every prayer with a yes. In 1 John 5:14, the apostle wrote, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” God’s will is a boundary around our requests–not to keep good things from coming into our lives but to keep bad things from coming into our lives. Sometimes God says no because He knows what’s best for us.

But the fact that God sometimes says no to our requests should not keep us from asking big things. The prerequisite for experiencing big answers is engaging in big asks. As James 4:2 says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” Satan cannot keep God from answering your prayers, but he can keep you from offering those prayers. Real faith in prayer means boldly asking for what is in your heart and quietly trusting in God’s wisdom.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Persecution, Prison, and Prayer,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2022.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.