The Encourager
“God's Answer to Prayer - by Jeff Curtis”
God’s Answer to Prayer
By Jeff Curtis
We ought to be happy with whatever answer God gives us, because God knows best. Great minds have struggled with the question “Why did God save Peter from execution and not James?” One answer could be that in God’s plans and purposes, the death of James could be more advantageous, while Peter being released would do more good. That the death of one to the twelve could be in any way advantageous is remarkable since the church had been in existence for such a short time. This view could indicate that the apostles had been highly successful at developing other men as leaders.
That answer is without a doubt correct, but there is something else we should think about. Maybe we’re asking the wrong question. Maybe we should ask, “Why did James receive the honor of being the first apostle to receive his reward, and Peter had to wait several more years before being ushered into Paradise?” The way we usually ask the question is proof that we don’t look at events as God does. The Psalmist said, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones” (Psalm 116:15). Imagine a group of peasants laboring in the hot sun outside the palace. From time to time, the gate of the palace is opened and one laborer is invited inside. Those still outside wouldn’t mourn for the one who entered the palace, but instead, they would mourn for themselves. Each one would ask, “Why couldn’t it have been me?” The point is that whether God apparently says “No” to our prayers, as He did in the case of James, or “Yes” as He did in the case of Peter, every answer is exactly the right one, whether or not we can see it at the time. Let’s learn to trust in the Lord and “pray without ceasing” (1Thessalonians 5:17).
Warren Wiersbe suggested that Peter may have had his miraculous deliverance in mind when he wrote 1Peter 3:12 (“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”) Wiersbe used the words of this verse to summarize Acts 12: (1) God sees our trials (vv.1-4) – “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.” (2) God hears our prayers (vv.5-17) – “And His ears are open to their prayers.” (3) God deals with our enemies (vv.18-25) – “But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Meditate on this:
1 Kings 8:56
“Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.
