Pray to Avert the Evil, God Will Answer Your Prayers
- Baptist Daily Devotional
- May 11
- 2 min read
Rev. Enoch Thompson | May 11 2025 | Acts 8:18-24
KEY VERSE: “Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” Acts 8:24 (NIV)
MESSAGE:
The God revealed in the Bible is a God of principles and will not condone among His people what He condemns in unbelievers. Concerning God's holiness, the concept of sin becomes understandable. When we offend God's being and ways, we sin against Him, and because He is a just moral Being, He punishes wrongdoing. When we sin against ourselves, our neighbours, and ultimately against God, it is necessary that we seek to make amends, and quickly and genuinely so, if we are to be forgiven and restored into fellowship with God.
When Peter confronted the wrongful heart of Simon in his thinking that he could buy the graces of God with money and painted to him the true dark picture of his heart, which made him unsuited to be used by God in the way he was asking for. Simon’s response was one of swift admission of wrongdoing, and a call for intervention of godly men for the avoidance of the possible negative consequences that could have befallen him; Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me." (Acts 8:24).
FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:
How do you respond when God directly or through other people brings you awareness of some wayward ways? Do you seek to make excuses and dig yourself in deeper? Or do you fall at the foot of God and seek divine grace and forgiveness? What about where the offence is clearly against your fellow humans?
PRAYER:
Father in Heaven, I worship your majestic holiness and declare that there is none like you in purity and perfect holiness. I acknowledge that I sin, by my thoughts, words, actions, and inactions. Please give me a heart that recognises sin and seeks to make amends quickly. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen.
THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.
SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!
The 365 DAILY BIBLE READING Day 131: Judges 16 - Samson and Delilah; His Death
DAILY word study: HAPPEN In Acts 8:24, the word translated as “happen” comes from the Greek ἐπέλθῃ (epelthē), from the verb ἐπέρχομαι (eperchomai), meaning to come upon, to overtake, or to happen suddenly. It describes something that arrives with force or impact, often unexpectedly.
Simon’s plea—“Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me”—shows his fear that the judgment Peter warned of could come upon him at any moment. The word choice emphasises the certainty and seriousness of divine consequences, not mere possibilities. This was no light matter; Simon understood that unless he repented, God's judgment would overtake him decisively.
Reflection
Simon’s plea shows that God’s warnings demand action. Conviction is not the end goal—repentance is. When God exposes sin, respond quickly before judgment overtakes you.
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