THE HIDDEN POWER OF PRAYER
Acts 10:1-5
INTRODUCTION
A. ILLUS: When the Actor’s Circumstances Changed
1. Jonathan Roumie is the actor who plays Jesus in the successful series The Chosen. Before landing the role of Jesus, Roumie had surrendered everything but his acting career to God. He had been living in Los Angeles for eight years, and he was nearly broke.
2. In May, 2018, Roumie woke up 100 dollars in overdraft and 20 dollars in his pocket. He had food left for one day. He had no work in sight and had maxed out his credit cards.
3. He kneeled and poured out his heart to God, “What happened?” He had been under the impression that God helps those who help themselves—he later realized that the Lord helps those who rely on him.
4. “I realized in that moment that in other areas of my life, I’d allowed God in. But when it came to my career, I thought, “I know better. I got this God, I’m the actor here. Don’t worry—it’s Hollywood; I know Hollywood, God.”
5. Convicted, Roumie finally surrendered his career to God. He left his apartment and went for a walk. When he returned he found 4 checks in the mail. Three months later, Dallas Jenkins, the writer/director of The Chosen, called and offered him the role of Jesus. His prayers were all answered. [Preachingtoday.com]
6. We’re going to read of another man who prayed and his prayers were suddenly answered by God.
B. TEXT & TITLE
1. “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose name is Peter.” Acts 10:1-5 NKJV
2. The American public became familiar with police radio codes from cop shows such as Adam-12, Columbo, Dragnet, Hawaii Five-O, Starsky & Hutch, & Mannix. They are known as “10 Codes,” and one of them is “10-4” and means “message received.”
3. Acts 10:4 could be called “God’s 10-4,” because in it God lets Cornelius know his prayers have been heard. The title of this message is “The Hidden Power of Prayer.”
I. THE STRANGE SITUATION OF CORNELIUS
Q - “Why did this man get the visit of an angel?”
A. REASONS GOD SHOULDN’T FAVOR HIM
1. He was a Gentile, a Roman who’d probably been an idolater all his life. He couldn’t read the Hebrew Bible and knew nothing about God.
2. He was a soldier – worse - a centurion. The soldier’s job was to kill people. The reason a soldier would attain rank over 100 soldiers was that he was uncommonly good at killing and had a good grasp of how to direct others to better kill.
3. He was uncircumcised. Paul described it as “you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” Eph. 2:12.
4. He was still in his sins. No grace had come to him. He knew nothing of Christ.
5. Yet to this man God sent an angel! And to this man God gave minute instructions of how to find a man named Simon Peter! Why?
B. POSITIVE FACTORS ABOUT CORNELIUS
1. He had a humble sincere heart, feared God, and was a seeker after God.
2. He fasted & prayed regularly and gave money to the poor.
3. He was doing all that he knew, according to the light (knowledge) that he had, acting on all the truth he possessed. If he discovered new truth he would immediately begin to act on it.
C. HOW DOES GOD DEAL WITH THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE THE BIBLE?
1. Romans 2:14-15, “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts...”
2. Throughout the O.T., we see that God GRADUALLY revealed Himself to mankind. God’s revelation had to be accommodated to human nature. We see this process in microcosm in the life of Cornelius.
3. He began with little light, and as he responded to it God gave him more light (Mt. 25:29). That led to God’s next move of special revelation through the angel and Simon Peter. Cornelius had put into practice all the truth he’d received up to that moment, so it was time for a new, greater revelation of truth.
II. MEMORIALS: REMINDERS & POTENTIAL
A. PRAYERS SET REMINDERS TO GOD
1. The Angel who spoke to Cornelius had a different perspective on prayer than we do.
2. One Human Perspective: the Baalites who challenged Elijah on Mt. Carmel (1 Kgs. 18:26-29) yelled and cut themselves hoping that something they did might attract their god’s attention.
3. Contrary to this, the Angel revealed that NOT ONE of Cornelius’ prayers or gifts had been unobserved by God, but each one recorded and stored away.
4. How would it affect you to know that not one of your prayers was missed by God, but each one was precious and carefully earmarked for future fulfillment?
5. When I have something important to remember I put a Post-It note on my light switch, my car dash board, or my computer case. Sometimes I’ll put one on my bathroom mirror! That’s the kind of thing God did with Cornelius’ prayers! He flagged them.
6. Mary, who anointed Jesus for burial, was told that what she had done would never be forgotten, but be told “in memory, memorial” around the world wherever the Gospel was preached (Mt. 26:13; Mk. 14:9). The Lord used the same word, mnemosunon, used of God’s memorial of Cornelius’ prayers. And God makes sure our prayers will never be forgotten too.
B. PRAYERS HAVE UNLIMITED POTENTIAL
1. You can build up a “weight of prayer.” Elijah, on Mount Carmel, prayed 7X until a little cloud appeared. His prayers accumulated until they became a memorial before God.
2. There are many things that are stored-up for future use:
a. Money is stored-up in bank vaults
b. Food is stored-up in granaries
c. Electricity is stored-up in batteries
d. Water is stored-up in reservoirs
e. Prayers are stored-up in “memorials”
3. THINK OF PRAYER LIKE A RESERVOIR. A Reservoir is a place where water is collected and kept in quantity for later use. It has great potential. There’s hydro-electric potential. There’s recreational potential. There’s agricultural potential. Similarly, our prayers stored up to be released.
4. We all know what can happen when a dam is breached and all the accumulated water is released – a mighty deluge will sweep away all that’s in its path. That’s probably what happened on the day of Pentecost: the pent up Holy Spirit was released as a rushing mighty Wind!
5. In Acts 10:4 Cornelius was told that his prayers and alms had come up “as a memorial before God” and that God was, at that time, putting them into motion to answer his prayers.
III. HEAVEN’S REVELATION ABOUT PRAYER
A. OUR PRAYERS ARE TREASURED UP BEFORE GOD
1. The beautiful truth communicated is that our prayers are never lost or forgotten. If they must be delayed, they are carefully stored up by God to be remembered at another time. David remarked how God didn’t forget one of his tears, “You number and record my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle--are they not in Your book?” Ps. 56:8 Amp.
2. In Malachi, God said he would remember the kind words said about Him by believers, by making a “book of remembrance” Mal. 3:16.
3. God is in the habit of remembering: each of our tears, our kind words, and our prayers. They are laid up as a memorial before him.
4. All you mothers, who pray for your children; not one of your prayers will be lost! Even if you die without seeing your prayers answered, your prayers will live on and continue to have effect until each one of them is fulfilled! In Acts 16:31 God says, “you will be saved, and your household”/family.
5. Herodotus, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Plutarch, & others, used the word mnemosunon (memorial) to designate the part of a sacrifice which was burned on the altar together with the frankincense -- that its fragrance might ascend to heaven and commend the offerer to God's remembrance.
6. This is graphically pictured in Rev. 5:8, “...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” See Rev. 8:3-4.
7. So the prayers of God’s people are never forgotten. They are made into a sweet memorium of remembrance so that at the right time, God will be reminded to answer them to the last degree!
B. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GOD REMEMBERS YOU?
1. Gen. 8:1, “God remembered Noah” and dried up their bad circumstances. When God remembers you, He restores what has been lost or destroyed in your life, bringing you into a new season of RENEWAL and blessing.
2. Gen. 19:29, “God remembered Abraham” and saved his nephew Lot from death & destruction. When God remembers you He shows MERCY and saves your loved ones from judgment.
3. Exodus 2:24, “God remembered” the Israelites and DELIVERED them from Egyptian bondage. When God remembers you, He intervenes to deliver you from whatever has been holding you captive.
4. 1 Sam. 1:19, “The Lord remembered [Hannah].” Hannah’s persistent prayer led to her conception of a child. When God remembers you, long-awaited PRAYERS are ANSWERED, and desires of the heart are fulfilled.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. The Statue of Freedom is mounted on top of the Capital building in Washington DC, above the great dome of the Senate & the House of representatives. It is the embodiment of the light of freedom that America shines across a world of corruption & tyranny.
2. How this statue got to America is a remarkable story. It was designed in Rome Italy by Thomas Crawford and a plaster model of it was made. It was packed into 6 large crates and sent to America by ship.
3. But while trying to cross the Atlantic, the ship began to leak severely and then was caught in such a great storm that, in order to save the passengers & crew, much of the cargo and provisions of the ship were jettisoned. The sailors wanted to throw the statue overboard as well, but the captain refused, shouting above the wind, “No! Never! We’ll founder before we throw ‘Freedom’ away!” It was eventually placed on the highest pinnacle of our democracy.
4. How similar this is to some people who, when they experience severe storms & their prayers aren’t answered, they want to throw Jesus overboard. NO! How short-sided! This same Jesus, who was jettisoned by the Jewish nation has been exalted to the highest place in Heaven or earth! Paul Lee Tan, 7,700 Illus. #1781***
B. THE CALL
1. “So do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” Heb. 10:35.
2. Do you have prayers that haven’t been answered? It’s time to trust that God will answer them. Can we stand and add some Frankincense of praise and send up our thanks to God in advance?
3. Call for Commitment to Christ for salvation.
***[I verified the last story]
Q - Was Thomas Crawford's model of the Statue of Freedom nearly thrown overboard?
Search Assist (AI)
“Yes, Thomas Crawford's model of the Statue of Freedom faced significant challenges during its transport, including a leaking ship that nearly caused it to be thrown overboard. After being shipped from Italy in 1858, the vessel carrying the model began to leak, forcing it to stop in Gibraltar for repairs. Following this, the ship encountered heavy gales, leading to further leaks. Ultimately, the ship could only reach Bermuda, where the model was stored until it could be transported to its final destination.”
