Praying to be Dangerous

Erwin McManus is a friend of mine from El Salvador. He tells an interesting story about his young son Aaron going to a Christian camp. Dad was glad it was a Christian camp because he didn't want his boy hearing a bunch of scary ghost stories. What he didn't expect was that Aaron would instead hear a bunch of scary stories about demons and Satan. He came home terrified. “Dad, don't turn off the light!” he said before going to bed. “Daddy, I'm afraid. They told all these stories about demons.” Erwin was tempted to tell his son that demons aren't real. But they are real. Aaron asked, “Daddy, would you pray for me that I would be safe?” Erwin decided to pray beyond safety. He said, “Aaron, I will not pray for you to be safe. I will pray that God will make you dangerous, so dangerous that demons will flee when you enter the room.” Aaron answered, “All right. But pray that I would be really, really dangerous, Daddy.” That story reminded me of the Bible story of what happened when Peter and John were arrested and hauled before the Sanhedrin - Israel's religious Supreme Court. They should have been scared to death because death was a real possibility, but God gave them boldness. The Sanhedrin was so afraid of the influence of these men that they were unable to refute their defense and they let them go with only a warning. God did more than keep Peter and John safe, he made them dangerous.

Related scripture: Acts 4:1-13