Praying for Daylight

Acts 27:29 ~ “And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.”

(Let me encourage you to read Acts 27 as we go through this dramatic story to learn a valued lesson for us today.)

The day had dawned with pleasant winds and a hopeful outlook. Despite the warnings of the Apostle Paul, the centurion determined to take the advice of the pilot of the ship and put out to sea. Circumstances quickly changed. What had started as a day of hope became a day of horror as the great Northeaster swept down upon the water.

Panic struck the ship as the crew furiously struggled against the power of the storm, all in vain. The storm was relentless, unforgiving and unwilling to release the captive vessel from its grip. Two weeks passed without relief. Desperate men cried out. Hope slipped away as they were powerless to change the circumstances. They never should have experienced the relentless torrent, if only they had listened to the Apostle rather than the pilot.

They prayed for daylight… have you ever been there? Have you ever been in a place of such despair that it seemed even the sun might fail? You listened to the wrong advice—though it might have seemed like the most knowledgeable person to give it. And now you are in a world of trouble for failing to heed the Word of God.

That is a difficult thing, though. We want to get the advice of the most experienced, the most strategic minds, the best thinkers of the moment—and many of us would have turned to the pilot for answers. What could Paul know about sailing? He was at best a mere passenger. How many of us turn to the world to get our directions? Rather than heeding the Word of God, many will turn to the advice of the world to find their directions.

Let me pose a couple of examples for you. There are Christians who will listen to the own heart. But consider what it says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Rather than turn to the Word of God, they will ponder their own understanding and believe that if they feel it is a good idea, though the Scriptures says otherwise, they will pursue it. Yet Proverbs 3:5 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Others will seek out the advice of friends—even if those friends are of the world. Good advice is a treasure, beloved, but the only advice that is good will hearken to the truth. The story of Rehoboam in 2 Chronicles 10 is a great example of listening to bad advice. The king listened to the young and foolish men rather than the wise and older men. And, in an instant, fractured the nation of Israel into two different kingdoms.

My friends, when we set our course according to the wisdom of the world rather than the Word of God, we will plunge ourselves into a storm. And then, rather than repenting and turning back to where we ought to be, we make frantic attempts to keep our course, to make for the shores of our own desires and are swept away, lost in the maelstrom of circumstances… praying for daylight.

A worldly decision in the past cannot be cured by another worldly decision in the present. Maybe you listened to the pilot instead of the prophet – to the counsel of the world rather than the Word of God. Pray for daylight. Pray that God will again shine upon you His wisdom and truth so that you can survive the storm. And once God does give you the understanding you need, have the courage to take it.

The pilot and crew of that ill-fated vessel lost their cargo. They lost the ship’s tackle, the anchors, even the ship itself yet found that when they listened to Paul, God saved them. It was worth the loss of all things that they might live. Consider Paul’s words to the Philippians, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

So, what would you give in exchange for your soul? Are you currently reaping the havoc of listening to the counsel of the world? When you pray for daylight, when you ask the Savior to deliver you from the storm, will you cling to foolishness of the world or will you determine to do what God has said?

In the end, for Paul and the rest of those on board the ship: “And so it was that all were brought safely to land” (Acts 27:44).

​In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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