July Prayer Partner: Praying with Faith like Rhoda

July 9, 2021

Dear friends,

This morning, I read the story of the Apostle Peter’s imprisonment by Herod. The church responds to this crisis just as they should: they pray for Peter “without ceasing” (Acts 5:12 KJV). And then God responds miraculously: He sends an angel, who breaks Peter’s chains, opens the prison doors and sets him free.

Peter then goes to inform the prayer meeting that God has answered their prayers. Though a servant girl named Rhoda believes as soon as she hears Peter’s voice, the rest of those gathered are skeptical. They accuse poor Rhoda of being insane for believing that God would actually have done precisely that for which they had been earnestly praying.

I want to be like Rhoda, believing in God’s power to answer bold prayers. But I confess that I often pray without such hope. I intellectually believe that God could answer my most audacious prayers, but, if I’m honest, I suspect He probably won’t. At least not anytime soon, given the seeming impossibility.

I’ve been praying for the better part of two decades now for immigration reform and, particularly, for a way for my friends who were brought to the country as children, often known as Dreamers, to be able to apply for U.S. citizenship. Many political pundits dismiss this idea, which would likely require significant bipartisan cooperation in the U.S. Senate, as improbable in our politically polarized moment. And they may be right – but my job is to pray for God’s will to be done here on earth, asking persistently that He would do more than I can ask or imagine.

Prayer is not all that our faith requires of us. We should also act as stewards of the influence God has entrusted to us in a democratic form of government, where lawmakers invite our input on these policy issues that impact our vulnerable neighbors. One very simple way to leverage your influence is by adding your name to this letter to your U.S. Senators, which we plan to send in the coming weeks.

But while not only called to prayer, we certainly are not called to anything less – praying with faith in God’s power to intervene in the course of human history.

We’ll be hosting our next virtual prayer gathering on Monday, July 19 at 4 PM ET/3 PM CT/2 PM MT/1 PM PT. You can reach out to info@evangelicalimmigrationtable.com to get the link for the call. We’ll break into small virtual groups to pray earnestly for God to intervene on behalf of Dreamers and other immigrants in need of policy changes that none of us, on our own, can make happen — praying with a faith, like Rhoda’s, that God can do what seems impossible.

In Christ,

Matthew Soerens

National Coordinator, Evangelical Immigration Table

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The Evangelical Immigration Table is a broad coalition of evangelical organizations and leaders advocating for immigration reform consistent with biblical values.