Earnestly Praying

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

EARNESTLY PRAYING

Acts 12:5

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

NIV

Is there a difference between praying and praying earnestly? A peek at the Greek word would indicate earnestly or fervently was indeed their prayer for Peter. Now the question again. Is there a difference between our normal everyday prayers then fervent prayers? Is our everyday prayer simply a routine or exercise of spiritual tradition? When would we need to pray earnestly? Here we see people praying earnestly, but not for their own need, but for the need of Peter. After James the brother of John being put to death, it was obvious that Peter was scheduled for death as well, and the church, the group of believers, believed God could intervene in a most hopeless situation. Perhaps the reason some of our prayers seem to not be answered is because we are not actually praying earnestly. Does casual prayer seem appropriate? Does ritualistic prayer seem fitting? Does repetitive prayer work when we do not see an answer? We are going to see this earnest prayer of the church being answered and it is answered right away in a very concrete way. Although it is true that God answers prayer, are we really praying or are we just going through the motions? It might be good to be a little introspective about what kind of prayers we are engaged in. Perhaps there is time to pray earnestly, and then there is time for those routine, ritualistic prayers. But why would God bother to answer those routine prayers, or those ritualistic prayers, like the ones offered by pastors at the conclusion of a sermon? Why would he bother to answer anyone’s prayer that is not in earnest? If God answers all our prayers, no matter if we are praying earnestly or not, why would we need to be earnest in our praying? Maybe it is just those times when trouble is at its best, that we need to seek God in a more fervent manner. Maybe it is those times when we have no control of our situation that we need to be fervent in our prayers. The church could do nothing   in the physical about Peter’s imprisonment and pending death, so fervent prayer was certainly in order. Maybe it is time for more fervent prayer. Maybe we need to spend more time earnestly praying.