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Sometimes God answers immediately; other times He answers through waiting. A surrendered heart does not walk away when answers are delayed. Instead, it remains faithful, knowing that God’s timing is never too late nor too early and His plans are always higher than our understanding.
Sometimes God answers immediately; other times He answers through waiting. A surrendered heart does not walk away when answers are delayed. Instead, it remains faithful, knowing that God’s timing is never too late nor too early and His plans are always higher than our understanding.
Acts 7:59-60
“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep”.
We heard and studied a lot about prayer. How does a man who knows God pray? What is the style of prayer a man has, who has a personal and healthy relationship with God? All through the Scriptures we see men of God pray in different circumstances.
Why are these incidents recorded in the Scriptures? There are seasons in our life, good and bad, favourable and unfavourable, joyful and sorrowful- we need to find our answers in the Scriptures as to how those faithful saints have presented their petitions before God, the Lord.
Through the scriptures we will know the prayers that were accepted and approved by God and the prayers that moved the heart of God. Knowing them would help us in our spiritual life as we face different obstacles in our day to day life.
The desire to pray is one of the greatest gifts God has given to His people. Through prayer, we do not speak into emptiness — we speak to a living God who hears, understands, and responds. From the beginning of Scripture to the end, the Bible reveals a God who listens to the cries of His children. Whether whispered in weakness, cried out in desperation, or spoken in faith, the sincere prayers of God’s children are heard by their Father.
Many people wonder if God truly hears them. In seasons of silence, delay, or suffering, it can feel as though heaven is distant. But the Word of God reminds us that the ears of the Lord are open to the prayers of the righteous. God sees every tear, every burden, every cry for help, and every prayer offered in faith.
Prayer moves the heart of God, strengthens the believer, and opens the door for divine intervention. Even when answers do not come immediately, we can trust that God is listening, working, and responding behind the scenes according to His perfect will and timing.
The prayer of Stephen is one of the most powerful prayers ever recorded in Scripture. It was not prayed in a peaceful sanctuary or during a quiet moment of worship. It was prayed in the middle of pain, rejection, hatred, and death. As stones were being thrown at him, Stephen lifted his eyes toward heaven and cried, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
This was happening in the last hours of his life. He served the Lord only for a short time. He was so faithful, gracious and full of the Holy Spirit. If we study Acts 7, we see how boldly Stephen was confronting the leaders of the Jews, their chief priest and elders, exposing their wickedness in rebelling with God, rebelling His laws and killing the Messiah. He was warning them about the forthcoming wrath of God as they had rejected the salvation that came through the Lord Jesus.
Most people pray differently in moments of suffering. Fear often replaces faith, anger replaces peace, and bitterness replaces mercy. But Stephen’s prayer revealed a heart completely surrendered to God and completely transformed by the Spirit of Christ.
His final words were not words of revenge, but of trust. Not words of hatred, but of forgiveness. In his darkest hour, Stephen reflected the very character of Jesus Christ. Amen!
Today, as we study Stephen’s prayer, we will discover what it means to trust God in suffering, to forgive in the face of pain, and to keep our eyes fixed on heaven when life becomes difficult. Stephen’s prayer teaches us that true faith is revealed not only in how we live, but also in how we respond when we are wounded, opposed, and tested.
There are three points I want to mention from this painful experience of Stephen as revealed in the Scripture.
1. Stephen’s Prayer Revealed Complete Surrender
“Receive my spirit” is a prayer of surrender.
Stephen understood that his life ultimately belonged to God.
The crowd could destroy his body,
but they could not take his soul from Christ.
This prayer echoes Jesus’ prayer on the cross:
“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”
Stephen had become so shaped by Christ that even his dying words resembled his Savior.
A surrendered believer understands:
life belongs to God,
death belongs to God,
eternity belongs to God.
That kind of surrender removes the ultimate fear.
The world fears death because it sees death as the absolute loss.
Stephen saw his death as an entrance into the eternal presence of Christ.
Why did the people stone him? They didn’t want someone standing before them to tell them they were wrong. They became angry. My brothers, when God’s Word reveals our shortcomings- there can be two reactions. One is total surrender to God’s will and the other is opposing with full strength. If we oppose God’s counsel, our hearts get hardened like those ‘so -called’ people of God.
We find excuses to justify our thoughts and actions. We cannot tolerate when someone points out our faults.
Look into the life of Stephen. He knew these people would kill him. He knelt down. He prayed. He had everyone against him. Stones were thrown onto him. He was bleeding. He was not cursing but he looked up to the one who called him for the service. He saw Jesus standing up by the Father.
We read Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, in many verses. But how come now the Lord is standing up? When the Lord saw a faithful servant, standing for truth, facing the persecutions boldly without compromising, confessing the holy faith in the midst of an angry mob, He stood up to receive him into glory.
To be totally surrendered in prayer means laying down every burden, fear, plan, and desire at God’s feet without demanding our own outcome. It is praying with open hands instead of clenched fists. It is saying, “Lord, not my will, but Yours be done,” even when the answer is difficult, delayed, or different from what we hoped for.
The soul that is surrendered no longer prays only for escape from trials, but for strength, transformation, and closeness with God through them. Total surrender in prayer also requires trust during silence. Sometimes God answers immediately; other times He answers through waiting. A surrendered heart does not walk away when answers are delayed. Instead, it remains faithful, knowing that God’s timing is never too late nor too early and His plans are always higher than our understanding.
When someone is totally surrendered in prayer, fear begins to lose its power. Anxiety is replaced with peace, and confusion with confidence in God’s direction. Surrender does not mean giving up, it means giving it over to the Lord’s hands. It means believing that even in brokenness, disappointment, or uncertainty, God is still working for good.
To be totally surrendered in prayer is to trust God enough to place your entire life in His hands.
2. Prayer Reveals What Fills the Heart
When pressure comes, the heart speaks.
Stephen knelt down. He prayed forgiveness for them. He prayed the same prayer that our Lord had prayed on the cross.
Luke 23:34 “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
We read in Matthew 5:44-45, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”.
Stephen had those verses engraved in his heart and spirit. His heart imitated the nature of Christ. What came out of his mouth was the spontaneous outflow of what was in his heart.
Our Lord said in Luke 6:45 “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of”.
We see in Acts 6:15, “All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel”.
The face reflects the condition of the heart. He had the heart of an angel!
Stephen’s final words revealed:
Faith instead of fear,
Forgiveness instead of bitterness,
Peace instead of rage.
His prayers exposed the condition of his soul.
The crowd was filled with anger.
Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit.
What fills a person in private will eventually appear in crisis.
Stephen did not suddenly become spiritual while dying.
He had already been walking closely with God before the stones ever came.
Many people can hide their condition from others through appearance, words, and outward actions, but prayer removes those coverings. In the presence of God, the heart is exposed.
A person’s prayer life often reflects the spiritual condition of his heart more than his public image ever could. Some pray only when they are in need, and show dependence on God only in crisis. Some pray with empty words while the heart remains distant. Prayer exposes whether we truly seek God Himself or merely seek what His hand can provide.
There is also a difference between praying from the lips and praying from the heart. The mouth may speak faith while the heart carries fear. The words may sound spiritual while the soul struggles with surrender. In prayer, God listens beyond language; He discerns the condition beneath the words. This is why genuine prayer requires honesty. God is not moved by performance but by truth within the inward parts (Psalms 51:6).
Prayer is also where spiritual maturity is revealed. A mature heart does not only pray for comfort, success, or escape from hardship. It seeks God’s will even when it costs something. It trusts Him in silence. It remains faithful in waiting. It desires holiness more than convenience and intimacy with God more than temporary relief.
In the secret place of prayer, the heart stands fully uncovered before the One who already knows it completely.
And there, in truth and surrender, changes begin.
3. Stephen Saw Beyond Earthly Reality
Before praying, Stephen looked into heaven and saw Christ standing at the right hand of God.
That vision changed everything.
A person who sees only earthly suffering will collapse under pressure.
But a person who sees eternal glory gains supernatural endurance.
Stephen’s prayer came from a heavenly perspective.
The last words from his mouth as he leaves the earth “ Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’
He followed the footsteps of Jesus in his death as well.
Jesus prayed as gave up His spirt..
Luke 23:46 “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit’
How did he give up his spirit? The Bibles says, “he fell asleep”
A Christian doesn’t die. He doesn’t cease to exist. He goes to sleep in the arms of Jesus.
The word ‘cemetry’ means sleeping place.
The word comes from the ancient Greek word koimeterion, which translates to "sleeping place" or "sleeping chamber".
The reason many believers lose peace is because they focus more on the stones than the Savior.
Stephen saw both, but he fixed his eyes on Christ.
The Bible says, standing nearby during the execution was Paul the Apostle, then called Saul.
Saul consented to Stephen’s death. What he saw in Stephen’s life must have left a lasting impression in his heart.
Later Saul encountered Christ (Acts 9) and was called Paul from thereafter, the great apostle.
Stephen may never have imagined that his dying prayer would echo into the future ministry of one of Christianity’s greatest leaders (Apostle Paul).
Never underestimate what God can do through faithful prayer.
Some prayers outlive the person who prays them.
A person who prays deeply begins to see beyond earthly reality because prayer lifts the soul above what is temporary and connects it to what is eternal. While others see only problems, limitations, and visible circumstances, the one who dwells deeply in prayer sees through the eyes of faith. They understand that not every battle is physical, not every answer is immediate, and not every silence means God is absent.
Deep prayer sharpens spiritual vision. It teaches the heart to discern God’s hand even in hidden seasons, to recognize purpose in pain, and to trust divine reality over human understanding.
The deeper a person goes in prayer, the less controlled they become by what they see naturally, because they begin to live with an awareness that heaven is greater than earth, eternity is greater than the moment, and God’s unseen work is often more powerful than visible circumstances.
By Pastor Renji George
Scriptures: 1 John 5:14, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Acts 6:15, Acts 7:55-56, Acts 7:59-60, Acts 7, Acts 9:3-9, Acts 9, Colossians 1:9-12, Ephesians 1:17-19, Ephesians 3:14-19, Isaiah 65:24, Lamentations 3:55-56, Luke 23:34, Luke 23:46, Luke 6:45, Matthew 5:44-45, Philippians 1:9-11, Psalm 51:6, Psalms 119:33-40, Psalms 148:1-2, Psalms 148:11-14, Psalms 31:22, Psalms 34:17-18, Psalms 46:2-4, Psalms 46:9-11, Psalms 51:6, Psalms 51, Psalms 63:1-8, Psalms 71:17-22, Romans 15:13
Sermon Topics: Heaven, Prayer, Simple, Lord's Prayer, True, Honest, Genuine, Paul's Prayer, Approved, Christian Prayer, Stephen's Prayer, Surrendered Prayer, Saints Prayer, Stephen's Death, Saul Changed, True Prayer, Christ Centered Prayer
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