Why the Apostles Were Meditating, Not Begging for Things

Prayer was about spiritual renewal and transformation, not asking a deity for things.

What Was Not Prayer

In Acts 1 when the eleven remaining apostles decide between two candidates to succeed Judas, they pray to know whom the Lord has chosen—then cast lots to find out. In committing such an act of cleromancy, they hardly needed to ask for anything.

In Acts 4, after the temple authorities release Peter and John from custody, their associates “raised their voices together” to pronounce a rather formal, Psalm-quoting liturgy. It recounts the story of Jesus’s fate in Jerusalem. It also makes a request of the κύριος. This is the Greek term for ‘Lord of the manor’. It is used in the same way as the Hebrew Adonai to substitute for YHWH, but with the popular slogan that “Caesar is Lord,” it also suggested Jesus as Lord of the parallel reality he had called the “empire of God.” It asks “the Lord” to note the authorities’ threats and grant them boldness to speak, while healing and allowing signs and wonders through the name of Jesus. As a kind of formal liturgy, it does not really suggest a personal practice of prayer.

Prayer in a Moment of Crisis

In Chapter 7, as Stephen is being stoned, he prays to Jesus to receive his spirit, then cries aloud, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” It was a moment of true crisis for him, and people often suddenly implore God for things at such times.

Peter and the Practice of Prayer

In Chapter 9, the text says that Peter prayed before turning to the body of the recently deceased Tabitha and telling her to get up. It does not say that this prayer involved some kind of request that she be raised. It says he engaged in prayer first, then addressed the situation. This sounds more like a concentration-focusing contemplative practice.

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Acts mentions prayer in non-specific ways several times. After the story of Jesus’ ascension in the first chapter, the eleven remaining apostles return to Jerusalem and, after being listed by name, are said to have been “constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women.” Consider that this might not refer to a ceaseless imploring of God for things according to the typical concept of prayer, but rather to an ongoing practice of abiding prayerful meditation to keep this core group of leaders spiritually centered in a powerful way.

In Chapter 6, the twelve apostles instruct the larger community of disciples to select seven of their number to properly and fairly administer communal food distribution to widows in the community, so that the apostles could “devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” It seems clear that the apostles wanted to be free of administrative duties so they could apply what Jesus had instructed them concerning an ongoing practice of prayer and the proclamation of his teaching in his name. See my post The Lord's Prayer Doesn't Ask for Stuff - It's a Guided Meditation.

In Chapter 10, when Peter is staying at the seaside home of Simon the Tanner in Joppa, and as the servants of Cornelius the Roman centurion approach from Caesarea to summon him for a visit, he is on the roof praying when he becomes hungry, falls into a trance, sees a vision of ritually unclean animals, and hears a voice commanding him to kill and eat them. It doesn’t say that Peter was asking for anything, just that he was engaging in prayer.

The text also says that Cornelius was a man who “prayed constantly.” He had his own vision of a messenger of God telling him that his prayers and alms “have ascended as a memorial before God,” and instructing him to seek out and send for Peter. When they meet, Peter tells Cornelius that his “prayer has been heard” and his “alms remembered before God.” Note that Cornelius is not depicted as having either asked for or received anything in connection with his practice of prayer, just that his praying was heard and his alms noted by God.

In the story of Peter’s imprisonment and miraculous deliverance found in the twelfth chapter of Acts, it says the assembly “prayed fervently to God for him.” This does not necessarily mean that they were begging God for Peter’s well-being and release. Given the may-it-be-so tone of Jesus’ teaching on prayer (see the link above), it seems just as probable that they were meditatively addressing their worries and concerns before God, and releasing their hopes and wishes for Peter. See also my post Why Prayer Has Nothing to Do With Asking God for Things. “Fervently” implies enthusiasm and a passion for what they were doing.

Paul

In his epistolary salutations, Paul writes to his recipients that he remembers them, mentions them, feels joy, and is thankful as he prays in a may-it-be-so fashion for them. He engages in this practice night and day, and he does so earnestly, suggesting qualities of sincerity and conviction that what he is doing is proper. His statements about “praying without ceasing,” “rejoicing always,” and “giving thanks in all circumstances” are about cultivating an ongoing state of heart and mind through the practice of may-it-be-so prayer.

In Philippians 4 he distinguishes between prayer, asking for things, and being thankful. This indicates that prayer is something other than a form of supplication. Given Jesus’ teaching that “your Father knows what you need,” even our requests become a way to release what we desire. The purpose is inner peace, as verses 6 and 7 indicate, rather than getting what we want.

James

James 5 lists some circumstances in which prayer is appropriate, but there is no specific indication that prayer involves some kind of request that those circumstances be magically altered. It is the practice itself that will alleviate suffering, strengthen and raise the sick, and give a sense of forgiveness to anyone who has committed sins. It is the humble acknowledgment of shortcomings and the practice of prayerful may-it-be-so blessings that will heal the community. Prayer is a well-wishing contemplative practice, not an act of begging for things. It is “the prayer of the righteous” that is so “powerful and effective.”

Bottom Line

For Jesus and his apostles alike, prayer was a meditative practice meant to transform and renew the person doing the praying, so that their interactions in the world would be the kind that help bring about the spiritual empire of God in the hearts and minds of people everywhere, and so save the world.