Prayers that Move God

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’ 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;  the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 ‘I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’ 7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalm 2:1-8)
 
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’ 27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:23-31)
When our son Isaac was four years old, my wife Ruth found a Buzz Lightyear costume in a charity shop. It was exactly the right size for him, and she knew it would make an ideal present for the start of the summer holidays. He would happily spend most of the summer dressed up as Buzz and fighting aliens in our back garden, but there was one minor hurdle in the way: Isaac had never even heard of Buzz Lightyear.

Not to be put off by such a trivial detail, we began to prepare him for his surprise. We started talking about stars, planets and space-travel, and we watched “Toy Story” together as a family. We did Buzz impressions over breakfast, and built space rockets out of cardboard boxes, until one day Isaac asked if we would buy him a Buzz Lightyear costume. It was neatly folded away at the back of the cupboard, but still we didn’t reveal our hand. We watched Toy Story 2 and talked about satellites and aliens and moon-landings, until one day, at the start of the school holidays, Isaac could think of no better present than a Buzz Lightyear costume and was ready for his surprise. He played, ate and slept in that costume throughout the summer, because his parents had created in him a desire for the very thing we wanted to give him. He still doesn’t know that it was in the cupboard long before he ever knew that Buzz existed.

Acts 4 tells us that it’s often the same when we pray. We may feel as though we are bending God towards our own desires, but he is the one who gives us those desires in the first place. He isn’t playing games with us – he really wants to give us all we ask for – but he is committed to working out his rule on the earth through his Church. Acts 4:24-30 gives us the longest recorded Christian prayer in the New Testament because God wants us to grasp what happens when we pray. We do not pray to change God’s will, but we must pray if we want to see God’s will come to pass.

After entering God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving, the early Christians begin to remind the Lord of his promises towards them. They quote from Psalm 2, reminding him of his promises through David and asking him to do as he has promised. Their quote reads “Why do the nations (Greek: ethnos) rage and the peoples (laos) plot in vain? The kings (basileus) of the earth take their stand and the rulers (archon) gather together (sunago) against the Lord (kurios) and against his Anointed One (christos).” Watch what they then do in their prayer: “Indeed Herod (who thought of himself as a basileus) and Pontius Pilate (who was our archon) met together (sunago) with the Gentiles (ethnos) and the people of Israel (laos) in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed (christos).” Can you see what the early Christians are doing here in prayer? They quote God’s promises back to him, using his own words in Scripture to ask to do the very thing he has promised. He has pledged that whenever the nations and peoples gather together to conspire against the Lord and his Christ, he will bring their plans to nothing. Of course God will answer their prayers, protect them and enable them to defy the threats of their enemies – they are praying for the very things he has trained them to desire from him!

As they close their prayer, God shakes the room as he answers their prayer by filling them with his Holy Spirit. He answers swiftly and completely because they are praying in exact accordance with his will. They are simply praying back to him the names and promises which he had given them to pray. They were simply asking him to give them what is folded away in the back of his cupboard.

When you do not know what to pray, this is your answer. When you feel frustrated that your prayers are not answered, this is your answer too. God has many gifts for you, folded away like a Buzz Lightyear costume in his cupboard, just waiting for you to ask for them as you are stirred by his name and his promises. This is what Jesus meant when he promised in John 15:7 that “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Come and ask, expecting your prayers to move God, and when he answers just remember: You only moved him because first he moved you.
1)   Which promises has God spoken over you? These may be specific personal promises but they may also be general promises that the Scriptures speak over every Christian.  Why not write a few of them down?

2)   What has God hidden away at the back of his cupboard for you through those promises?

3)   Why not take some time right now to move God by praying his promises back to him?
We have not written any prayer for you to pray today. Instead, use your list of Scripture promises as your prayer prompt. Go and get what is hidden at the back of God’s cupboard for you!
Today’s Everyday Devotions were brought to you by Phil Moore, who leads our team of whole-church elders.

If you have time, consider carrying on your conversation with God using one of our helpful Prayer Pathways.

Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.

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