Your Life Is Bigger Than You
The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. (Acts 12:6)
As we’ve discussed over the last couple of days, I believe Peter was able to sleep while on death row because he realized the importance of prayer; but I also think he was able to sleep because he had given up ownership of his problem.
A lot of times, we take ownership over our problem, but Peter understood that deliverance requires us to relinquish that control. And that can only happen by reminding ourselves that the battle is not ours; it’s the Lord’s. Peter rested between those guards because the situation wasn’t his to figure out. It was a situation that needed to happen so that God could get the glory. Peter wasn’t praying for deliverance so he could protect his reputation. It was about God’s name being on the line.
This reminds me of Exodus 9:14, when the Lord told Moses to tell Pharaoh that he was going to send plagues throughout Egypt so that Pharaoh would know that there is no God like him in all the earth. The point of the prayer was so that God would get the glory. God is not interested in us bragging about how much faith we have or how successful we are. But He is interested in using us to carry our His greater purpose.
It’s like someone coming to you and saying, “Give me $1,000 so I can have more money.” If the request is made with selfish intent, you are more likely to decline. However, if they said, “Hey, can you give me $1,000 for this project so that we can bring healthier meals to our community,” you might be more inclined to pay attention because the request has a greater purpose. Perhaps our outlook would change if we viewed our circumstances as ultimately being used for the glory of God.
As we’ve discussed over the last couple of days, I believe Peter was able to sleep while on death row because he realized the importance of prayer; but I also think he was able to sleep because he had given up ownership of his problem.
A lot of times, we take ownership over our problem, but Peter understood that deliverance requires us to relinquish that control. And that can only happen by reminding ourselves that the battle is not ours; it’s the Lord’s. Peter rested between those guards because the situation wasn’t his to figure out. It was a situation that needed to happen so that God could get the glory. Peter wasn’t praying for deliverance so he could protect his reputation. It was about God’s name being on the line.
This reminds me of Exodus 9:14, when the Lord told Moses to tell Pharaoh that he was going to send plagues throughout Egypt so that Pharaoh would know that there is no God like him in all the earth. The point of the prayer was so that God would get the glory. God is not interested in us bragging about how much faith we have or how successful we are. But He is interested in using us to carry our His greater purpose.
It’s like someone coming to you and saying, “Give me $1,000 so I can have more money.” If the request is made with selfish intent, you are more likely to decline. However, if they said, “Hey, can you give me $1,000 for this project so that we can bring healthier meals to our community,” you might be more inclined to pay attention because the request has a greater purpose. Perhaps our outlook would change if we viewed our circumstances as ultimately being used for the glory of God.
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2026
January
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