Good morning. The apostle Paul had established many churches throughout the region of Judea and Asia minor. Many of those churches received letters from him while he was imprisoned in Rome for his faith. Many of those letters became part of our New Testament because they were deemed to be “God breathed” (inspired and encouraged by God Himself). Thousands of Christians from those churches must have felt frustration in their prayers.
Frustration in prayer? How could that be? Actually, how could it not be true? They were good Christian people who revered the apostle Paul as an instrument of Christ. It was Paul that came to them and preached the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. It was Paul who had been inspired by God and had given them faithful instruction and established leaders in their churches. When it came to doing the will of God, Paul was…important! So, when news reached them about Paul being unfairly imprisoned by the Romans for his faith, obviously they would have taken that urgent need to God in prayer. I am sure that this need was the focus of their prayers daily, and remember, Paul was imprisoned for years. Their prayers were most certainly for his immediate release.
But God said no. Not once, not twice, not to one group or another. The answer to their prayers was repeatedly and universally “no”. How disappointing! For young Christians this had to be difficult to reconcile with their image of our faithful, and mighty God.
If only they had known the truth of Paul and of God’s will for him. In Acts 21:10-14 we read that it was prophesied that Paul would be handed over to the Romans in Jerusalem and that he would be imprisoned. The people begged him not to go to Jerusalem. But Paul did go, because that was God’s will. We read in Acts 23:11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
It was Paul’s mission from the Lord to go to Jerusalem, to be handed over to the Romans, to be unfairly tried and unjustly treated, and to testify to all who would listen about Jesus Christ and the salvation that is ours through Him. And by the way, it was also God’s will that Paul’s life would be taken by those Romans.
Was Paul aware of his fate? Of course he was! Did that interfere with his mission? Of course it didn’t! He said in Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
But what of all those Christians and their heart-felt prayers? Here is another question that I think is important to consider: Do you think that their prayers were for God’s will to be done, or do you think that their prayers may have been aimed at their own will, that their dear friend and mentor in faith be released quickly and unharmed? I would assume that it was the latter, and who could blame them? That seems like a very righteous and appropriate plea to bring before God, doesn’t it?
What might we learn from this? Pray for God’s will to be done and pray with confidence that His will is going to be accomplished. His answer and the results may not be in keeping with our expectations, but we need to trust Him, and we need to pray, faithfully.
Vern