Acts 27:27-44 - Everybody Prays
Everybody prays when storms rage. Practice praying before they come.
SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... Paul survived an assassination plot in Jerusalem and was transferred to Caesarea, where he spent two years imprisoned. Although Roman governors Felix and Festus, along with King Agrippa, found no reason to execute him, Paul remained in custody and appealed to Caesar.
On his voyage to Rome, a violent storm threatened to destroy the ship and everyone aboard. Yet Paul has been confidently assuring his terrified shipmates that God would preserve their lives.
Acts 27:27–44 (NIV)
27 On the fourteenth night [of the storm] we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.
30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.
Heidelberg Catechism
Q&A 117
Q. How does God want us to pray so that he will listen to us?
...we must rest on this unshakable foundation:
even though we do not deserve it,
God will surely listen to our prayer
because of Christ our Lord.
That is what he promised us in his Word.
Summary
I like how Luke captures the life or death drama - as the sea gets shallower and shallower, fearing that they'd be dashed against the rocks, they [the Roman soldiers] dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. Understand that in life, it's not a matter of if you pray, but when you pray.
Certainly for most people, their requests and who they pray to is problematic, but all people, when facing a situation like what those on this ship faced, are going to pray (for a hauntingly similar situation, go back and read about the pagan sailors Jonah went to sea with).
So it makes sense for you to get dialed into this important practice now, when your predicaments aren't as pressing. Learn to use the AAA prayer pattern we practice here each day, in which you draw the elements from your prayer from Scripture and pray it back to your Father in short bursts all throughout the day.
This wasn't a small boat being pounded by the surf for fourteen days and nights. Luke reports that altogether, there were 276 of us aboard. But there wasn't really a one for all and all for one attitude on board this ship. The sailors get caught red handed letting the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Later, the Roman soldiers planned to kill the prisoners - including Paul and company - to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.
Dig Deeper
Our primary purpose when reading through any narrative book of the Bible - but especially the book of Acts - isn't just to learn life lessons from Biblical heroes. Our primary purpose is to see the One these heroes pointed to - our crucified, risen, ascended and sovereign Savior, Jesus Christ.
You probably won't face a two week squall on an ancient Roman ship on the Mediterranean Sea. But at the same time, you're likely reading this in the middle of the week, with plenty of your own storms blowing their own brand of chaos.
So you can model and share the confidence faith gives you, just like Paul did. Even though, in previous passages, Paul had warned the stubborn centurion not to set sail so late in the season (v11-12), he also passed along God's peace and promise of deliverance when the storm set in (v24-26). And Paul's faith driven confidence was contagious - after taking Paul's advice to eat, they were all encouraged and pressed on.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who cares for His people in the midst of storms;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you'll have and exude the confidence that comes from faith in Christ;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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