Called for a Blessing (1 Peter 3:8-12)

This sermon was preached on 6/10/2011

In the previous verse, Peter had challenged husbands about the possibility of their behaviour towards their wives being a reason for unanswered prayer. Perhaps they wondered if there were any other areas in life that could affect answers to one’s prayers. It is the case that answers to our prayers should be one of our biggest concerns. I remember once being asked to take a piece of paper and write down any specific answers to prayer that I had received around that time. The person who asked the question did not pursue his request, but it was a challenging one.

I suspect Peter is still focussing on the possibility of unanswered prayer in the verses we are looking at because he says in verse 12 that the Lord will either answer prayer or he will not. Therefore in the statements that precede verse 12 Peter is laying down the conditions for answered prayer, and I would say that is the particular blessing he has in mind in verse 9 when he informs his readers that they have been called to inherit a blessing. Peter explains the condition in two ways: first, he uses his own words in verses 8-9 and then he quotes from Psalm 34 in verses 10-12.

In passing we can observe the important place that Peter gives to the psalms as expressions of Christian experience. David wrote Psalm 34 in his own particular situation as he was guided by the Spirit. The psalmist had no idea that his words would later be very helpful to Christians living in Asia Minor, but the Spirit who guided him did. Neither did David know that over three thousand years later, millions of believers all over the world would get benefit from what he wrote in this psalm, but the Spirit who guided him did.

Literary helps

In verse 8 we have what is called a chiasmus. This is a literary device that enables an author to stress a point and place beside it other important matters. The point that is stressed usually comes in the middle of the list. Here we have five items and we can number them: (1) unity of mind, (2) sympathy, (3) brotherly love, (4) a tender heart, and (5) a humble mind. Number 3 (brotherly love) is the central matter; then around it we can see that 2 and 4 are similar (the affections) as are 1 and 5 (the mind). So we can see, through this device, that answered prayer is dependent on brotherly love that shows itself affectionately on the one hand and humbly and unitedly on the other hand.

We should be able to see why these different attitudes contribute to mutual prayer. The relationship of brothers is a reminder that such belong to the same family, the family of God. This is the basis of meaningful intercessory prayer because we pray to the heavenly Father on behalf of other members of his family. Indeed it is not possible to show brotherly love without such prayer. The proof that we love one another is that we bring one another to the Father in our prayers. This is what the apostle Paul did with regard to the Christians that he knew about, as we can see from his letters. He prayed repeatedly for believers all over the known world.

Obviously we can imagine someone praying in a clinical manner, merely mentioning people by name but not getting involved in praying in a deep manner for them. That is where the other details prove helpful. True prayer requires right thinking and Peter mentions two aspects of such thinking here. The first is that there has to be unity of mind and the second is that there has to be humility of mind. Unity of mind could include agreement about the beliefs that are held, such as we have in the Westminster Confession of Faith. It could also include agreement about what we should be praying about. Another word for this is harmony.

At the same time, there has to be humility as we pray. Pride is obnoxious anywhere, but the worst place for it to show itself is during corporate prayer. Imagine thinking that our petitions are better than those of others merely because we use better words or frame our requests in accurate theological language. Of course, it is important to have accurate terminology, but our awareness of them should be a matter of gratitude, not pride. After all, our prayers remain powerless without God’s input; we require divine wisdom as to how and when we should pray the requests on our minds. Humility shows itself by a willingness to ask other people to pray for needs and burdens we have; pride stops us from making such requests. There are some petitions that God will not answer until you ask others to pray about them as well. Harmony and humility are essential features of true prayer.

Yet more than correct thinking is required in true prayer. In the second set of essential elements of true prayer, Peter describes the correct feelings that accompany mutual prayer – sympathy and a tender heart. These words make it clear that true prayer involves aspects of one’s emotional life. There must be fellow-feeling for those with whom we pray and for whom we pray. In the immediate context of Peter’s readers there had to mutual concern for temporal needs because some of them had lost possessions because of persecution. One would expect those who knew them to show spiritual empathy. And there are many other aspects of life in which sympathy and tenderness are required. Sympathy and tenderness are essential features of the members of God’s family as they pray for one another.

So far Peter has focused on attitudes towards other believers, but in verse 9 he comments on attitudes towards opponents of the church. How should the Christians respond to those who engage in evil activities against them or who use offensive words against them? Peter says that they cannot repay in kind because if they do God will not answer their prayers. Instead they are to bless their opponents. Obviously he cannot mean that the Christians speak well of their actions and words. So how could they speak of their opponents in a good way, in a manner that indicated they wanted their assailants to experience spiritual good? One obvious answer is by praying for them. Perhaps Peter recalled the words of Jesus when he said that his disciples should pray for those who abuse them (Luke 6:28). Or he may have recalled the example of Jesus when he was on the cross because he there prayed that God would forgive the soldiers who took part in the crucifixion. We can extend such praying and think about how others have been converted because people prayed for them. For example, I wonder how many people prayed for Saul of Tarsus while he was rampaging against the church and trying to crush it out of existence. There are many secrets to be revealed in heaven, and perhaps that will be one of them.

Called to pray

Peter then reminds his readers that such a response is a specific aspect of God’s calling to them. Often we discuss the matter of knowing God’s will for our lives. Generally such discussion focuses on aspects which God has not revealed in his Word and which can only be discovered through his providential workings, such as who we shall marry or where shall we live. Yet there are many aspects of his will that are revealed in the Bible and prayer for saints and sinners is one of them. We are called by God to pray with particular attitudes for them, and this calling is lifelong (we must do it all our days) and loving (intercession is not the only means of expressing love, but it is unlikely that love is present if there is no intercession).

As we think about this calling, it is a reminder that prayer is an essential element of the fulfilment of God’s purpose. He has arranged his purpose to include the prayers of his people. What we should pray for is shown to us in his Word and in his providence (regarding the latter, we pray for what is happening to the Christians we know and the non-Christians that we meet). There is a sense in which we can say that God brings items for prayer right up to us and it is very difficult to ignore what they are although we may not notice that they could be directions regarding those for whom we should pray. If we were to take time and reflect on people we have met today, we would discover several things to pray for. We are to regard such providential information as God giving to us the privilege of praying about them.

So we are called to pray for others and if we are faithful in doing so, we will obtain a blessing. The blessing is described in verse 10, at the beginning of Peter’s quotation of some verses from Psalm 34 – it is to love life and to see good days. What does Peter mean when he uses these words? He cannot mean an easy life because he has already warned his readers that they will face trouble because of their faith. So he must mean that they can have a life they will love that can be classified as good days even although they may be facing difficulties in providence. He is encouraging his readers by reminding them that their spiritual happiness does not depend on their surroundings, but it does depend on how they react to their surroundings.

In the words he cites from Psalm 34, Peter mentions three requirements that his readers must implement. First, they have to be very careful with the use that they make of their tongues. We are all familiar with biblical warnings about inappropriate speech. Our tongues can be used to say good things or bad things, and obviously Peter wants us to refrain from wrong speech. Second, our lives must be marked by good behaviour, even if evil behaviour is all around us. I suppose we can summarise good behaviour as loving obedience to God’s commandments. Third, we must be dedicated to making peace whether in the church or among others in society; it is not appropriate behaviour for a Christian to contribute to the absence of peace in a church or in a community.

Why does Peter stress those three requirements of truthful speaking, good behaviour and pursuit of peace? He answers the question himself in verse 12: ‘For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.’ As long as they live in that manner (righteous), the Lord will answer their prayers, and the result will be that they will love life and see good days. What more could a Christian want in life in addition to ongoing answers to prayer. Their experience will be the opposite of those who practice evil. No matter what their intentions are, the Lord will ensure that they will not love life or see good days. What a sad life – to experience God’s working against them in all they do!

Of course, if we were to judge their circumstances without the aid of God’s Word we would conclude that the lives of Peter’s readers were miserable and liable to get even worse. Yet Peter assures them that prayer can make a huge difference to them in their difficult circumstances, however strong the opposition might grow. Providence was hard, yet it was also a divinely-given opportunity for prayer for one another and for one’s opponents. Through thoughtful, sympathetic and humble prayer, God’s spiritual blessings could be known. As long as they used their tongues correctly, lived according to God’s commandments, and pursued a life of peace, they would know God’s blessing on their souls and others would begin to follow the Lord as well. This is why they were so joyful. Although becoming followers of Jesus had resulted in problems for them, the spiritual good they also received more than made up for the suffering they were experiencing. And that spiritual good was connected to their healthy prayer lives.