It’s likely you can name a friend or family member who often retells the same story again and again. In fact, before telling a story to my boys, I’ll sometimes say, “If I’ve already told you this story, stop me!” Yet you and I both understand that there are some stories we ask to hear again. It could be because the story is funny, inspirational, informational or meaningful, or it could be that the one telling the story is a good storyteller. In Acts 11, Simon Peter is asked to retell the story of his experience with a Roman centurion and his family. That one experience became the spark that started a brush fire of God’s work among the Gentiles. Therefore, in verses 1-4 Peter is asked to retell his story.

1 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4 Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened.

Reading Peter retell his story in Acts 11, I find myself being jealous. I would love to experience what he experienced. I would love to be used by God in such a way that I would have stories to tell. Hearing Peter’s story, I asked myself two questions. First, “When was the last time I had a fresh story of God’s work in my life worth retelling?” Too often we get our handful of stories so if anyone tells their story we have one to share as well. It may be five, ten, or twenty years old, but whenever needed we dust it off and tell it.

The other question I’ve recently asked myself is, “What makes a story of a spiritual experience with God worth retelling?” For me it’s when the story has the “wow” factor. It’s when God has done something only God can do. That “wow” factor becomes personal when God does something only God can do through you, and when you know it has made a difference in the lives of others. These are the stories people ask us to tell again and again. These are the stories we want to tell again and again.

As Peter retells his story in Acts 11, we learn what gives a story the “wow” factor. We see what made his story and our stories worth retelling. Stories worth retelling are the ones that have been inspired by praying, experienced by going, and shared by giving.

A Story...
Inspired by Praying

As Peter begins retelling his story, he makes it clear in verses 5-10 that there’s no story without prayer.

5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.”

Acts 10:9 records that Peter was praying around the sixth hour. That’s noon. Scholar Albert Barnes notes that the Jews had two seasons of prayer—morning and evening. More earnest Jews would follow the examples of David (Psalm 55:17) and Daniel (Daniel 6:10, 13) and pray during the noon hour as well.¹

By his example Peter makes it clear that the best stories to tell are those that have been inspired by prayer...for the amount of stories worth telling is directly tied to the amount of time spent praying. By spending time in prayer, you see God’s purpose from God’s perspective, and receive God’s power to perform what only God can do. That’s why Satan will do everything he can to keep you from spending time with God in prayer. Samuel Chadwick says it best:

The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless works, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at wisdom, but trembles when we pray.²

Satan knows that when we work, we work, but when we pray, God works³. And since Satan can’t keep God from answering our prayers, he’ll do everything he can to keep us from praying to God. Satan knows that stories worth retelling come from spending more time with God in prayer.

Though I’ve said that the amount of stories worth telling is directly tied to the amount of time spent praying, not just any prayer will produce a story worth retelling. Jesus emphasizes this in Matthew 6 when He says in verse 5, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men” and in verse 7, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”

God’s not interested in people who increase their time in prayer to increase their reputation with others, and He doesn’t have time for those who spend even more time reciting a canned mantra or prayer over and over again. Such praying may increase your minutes in prayer but they don’t increase your moments with God. Stories worth retelling occur when you have increased your moments with God in prayer.

In verses 5-10, Peter retells his significant moment in prayer with God. In this moment, God was preparing Peter to handle what God was preparing for Peter. God had spoken to Cornelius, a God-fearing Roman centurion, and told him to send for Simon Peter. While Cornelius’ messengers are en route, God uses this moment in prayer with Peter to prepare him for what’s coming. Prior to this prayer Peter considers Gentiles as unclean. Therefore before he could do what God wanted him to do, he had to see what God wanted him to see. He had to see the Gentiles with God’s eyes. He had to see them as worthy of salvation from Jesus. Without this life-changing moment in prayer, there would be no story worth retelling.

Significant moments in prayer usually create a change in you that enables God to do a work through you that produces a significant story worth retelling. I journaled such a moment with God as Loree and I were praying about moving to Richmond to serve Grove Avenue Baptist Church.

Father, last night you woke up Loree and me at 1:35 a.m. We each experienced something overwhelming for the next hour. You allowed each of us to see our fears regarding moving to Richmond. Everything we felt but not thought came to our minds. We both tossed and turned not knowing we were each going through the same experience. Finally at 2:40 a.m. we confessed to each other why we couldn’t sleep.

We began identifying some of the fears that came to mind. Loree said it felt like a battle between the Holy Spirit and Satan. Satan was saying these are fears that should cause you to say “No!” and the Holy Spirit was saying, “These are just human fears.”

This morning, while running, you brought to my mind Elijah’s experience in 1 Kings 19. Elijah wanted you to appear before him. You showed him a strong wind, an earthquake, and fire, and you were in neither of these. You were in a still small voice. I sensed you saying, “I caused all your fears to pass by to let you know I’m not in any of these. None of them is from Me telling you not to go.” Then in a still small voice, you are telling me again and again, “Trust Me!”

Without the minutes spent in prayer, Loree and I would not have had this moment with God in prayer. Without this moment with God in prayer, we would have never experienced what God was planning for us in Richmond. We would have missed out on so many significant stories of God worth retelling.

Has it been a while since you had a significant story to tell of God’s work in and around your life? Then ask yourself, “When was the last time your prayer life inspired a story of God worth retelling?” Significant stories of God will not happen without significant moments with God in prayer. And those significant moments will not occur without significant minutes with God in prayer.

A Story...
Experienced by Going

Just as Loree’s and my time in prayer caused us to obey God and move to Richmond, Peter’s time in prayer prepared him to go and meet Cornelius. Prayer not only inspires a “God Story” worth retelling, it enables you to tell it firsthand. You can tell it firsthand because you experience it firsthand when you go without hesitation. You see this as we pick up Peter’s story in verses 11-18.

11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?”

18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

Upon reading these verses, three different groups come to mind. Two groups will experience many stories worth retelling, yet one group will not. It’s the group that prays but never goes.

They Pray but Never Go!
Verses 11-12 read as though Peter has just finished praying and there’s a knock at the door. When the men tell Peter they were sent to escort him to Cornelius’ house, Peter says in verse 12, “The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them.” As I thought about it, there must have been some hesitation on Peter’s part for the Holy Spirit to say, “Don’t hesitate.” Putting myself in Peter’s place, here are some possible reasons why he hesitated.

Peter could have hesitated because of the inconvenience. Peter was in Joppa and Cornelius was in Caesarea. That meant at least an eight-hour walk one way. Thus, they were asking Peter to change his plans for a two- or three-day trip without any notice.
Furthermore, Peter could have hesitated because of the unknown. Peter had never met these men and never heard of Cornelius. How could he be sure they were telling the truth? Besides, if Cornelius was a Roman centurion, he and others like him had been persecuting Christians. This could be a plot against him.

Finally, Peter could have hesitated because he felt unready. God had just told him not to look upon the Gentiles as unclean. The Jews had harbored ill will toward Gentiles for thousands of years. I’m sure Peter hesitated because he needed more time to process the changes God was asking him to make.

Yet Peter didn’t let any inconvenience, the unknown, or feeling unready keep him from going. He didn’t hesitate to go, and that’s why he was able to experience a “God Story” worth retelling.

There are many who miss out on experiencing a “God Story” worth retelling not because they hesitate to pray, but because they hesitate to go. Many of us hesitate to go for the very reasons that may have caused Peter to pause—inconvenience.

When God’s timing doesn’t fit our timing we balk instead of bolt. Instead of picking up a phone when God compels us to call someone, we add it to a “to-do list” for later. Instead of walking across the street when God impresses us to talk to a neighbor, we’d rather keep praying for that neighbor in secret. Instead of directing a conversation to spiritual matters with that someone we’ve been praying for, we keep it generic because we don’t know how they will respond. Instead of saying “Yes” to a short-term mission trip, we say “No” thinking others may be more qualified. As a result, it’s always the others who have a “God Story” worth retelling and we fall into the category of those who pray but never go.

However, I believe the first time you pray and go you will fall into one or both of the other groups I see in Peter’s story.

They Go and Others Go!
The second group I see in Peter’s account are those who go and then influence others who go with them. Acts 10:23 records that when Peter traveled to Caesarea “some” from Joppa went with him. As Peter retells his story in Acts 11, verse 12 indicates that six of those who went with Peter to see Cornelius are still with him as he is retelling the story. I’d love to see the sense of awe in their eyes and the energy in their bodies as Peter retells the story—a “God Story” they experienced themselves.

Do you understand why they went with Peter and why they stayed with Peter? They went with Peter because he was Simon Peter. In Acts 10, the believers in Joppa called for Peter to come to their city because a godly matriarch named Tabitha was sick. By the time Peter arrives, she had died. Yet after a few moments alone in the room with her corpse, Peter prays and Tabitha comes to life.

Peter was called for and was seen as a spiritual leader. And because Peter is acknowledged as a spiritual leader, when he goes others want go with him. That is why as a pastor I have an obligation to go. That’s why in June I’m going with a team from our church to Milburn, New Jersey, to work with Bob and Jennifer Griner who have started South Mountain Community Church. In November, I’m going with 60-80 individuals from our church and other churches to Israel. I want to go to touch the people and see the land where Jesus walked. Then in October of the following year I’m going to Kazakhstan to pray for the people and encourage the missionaries serving there. As I go, I’m hoping others will go with me, especially those who have never gone on a short-term mission trip before.

However, pastors are not the only spiritual leaders in the church. Deacons, Bible study leaders and ministry leaders are spiritual leaders as well. If you work with children and students, they look to you as a spiritual leader. If you go, you will influence them to go. If you are a parent or grandparent, your children and grandchildren look to you as a spiritual leader. If you go, you will influence them to go, and when all of you go, you will experience a “God Story” worth retelling.

That’s why the six stayed with Peter. They experienced a “God Story” with him—one worth retelling.

They Go and Keep Going!
I believe the reason they stayed with Peter is because once you go and experience a “God Story” worth retelling, you want to keep going to experience more. This was true of Peter’s life. Prior to meeting Jesus, Peter was a fisherman living in the small village of Bethsaida. As a result of surrendering his life to Jesus, Peter would go from Bethsaida to Jerusalem where he experienced several “God Stories.” Then in Joppa he raised Tabitha from the dead and in Caesarea helped Cornelius and his entire family surrender to Jesus. After experiencing these “God Stories,” Peter kept going with God to Antioch, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia and eventually Rome.⁴ In all these places, Peter experienced more “God Stories” worth retelling.

Peter’s life proves the point that once you go with God, you want to keep going with God. Once you’ve experienced one “God Story” worth retelling, you want to experience more “God Stories” worth retelling.

Within two hours, two of my fellow church members confirmed this point to me. Carol Young has been a member for several years and is a Caring Listener for our television ministry. With a broad smile she explained that she had broken her foot and really didn’t feel like answering the phones, but she felt compelled to come. Toward the end of the broadcast, her phone rang and it was a woman in Texas who needed a relationship with Jesus Christ. With excitement in her eyes she said, “I helped her pray surrendering her life to Jesus Christ.” Beaming she said, “That was the first time I helped someone other than my children surrender their lives to Christ.” I simply asked her how she felt about the experience. She said, “I can’t wait to do it again.”

Neil Price has only been a member for a few months. The same night Carol talked to me Neil stopped me and said, “Pastor, I’ve got to tell you something. I’ve never been one to talk openly about my faith. However, this last week I was standing in line at a cafeteria to buy lunch, and I felt compelled to buy the lunch of the young man in front of me. So, as the young lady was ringing up his food, I told her, ‘I want to pay for his lunch.’ The young man quickly turned and said, ‘You don’t need to do that.’” “Yes, I do, and I’ll tell you why in just a moment,” Neil said. Neil is an ex-Marine and an imposing figure so both the young man and the young woman followed orders. “Pastor,” Neil continued, “I handed the young girl the money, and then gave the young man the card our church made—the one that says I’m doing this because God loves you. Before he could read it I told him, ‘I’m buying your lunch because I want you to know God loves you.’” Neil told me that before the young man said anything, the young girl said, “I’ve never heard anything like that. Can I see that card?” Neil shared with her as well.

Two days later, I saw Neil and asked his permission to tell his experience. He smiled and said, “Sure, but you need to know I’ve already done it two more times.”

Like many of us, neither Carol nor Neil were eager to go and do what God wanted them to go and do, but once they did, they found themselves in the middle of a “God Story” worth retelling. Better yet, once they were willing to go with God, they wanted to keep going. They couldn’t wait to experience the next “God Story” worth retelling.

A Story...
Shared by Giving

As you complete chapter 11, you learn that stories worth retelling are not only inspired by prayer and experienced by going, they can also be stories that are shared by giving.
By verse 19, Peter is no longer the focus of the chapter. Many of the believers in Jerusalem have scattered to other cities because of fierce persecution. Yet miraculously one of the chief persecutors, Saul of Tarsus, has become a believer. In verses 25-30, an encouraging believer named Barnabas looks for Saul to mentor him. When he finds Saul, they soon find themselves in something bigger than the two of them.

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

A prophet named Agabus predicted that a severe famine would spread over the Roman world during the reign of Claudius Caesar. Ancient writers recorded four such famines occurred during his rule—two in Rome, one in Greece, and one in Judea. The Jewish historian Josephus said that in Judea both crops and money were so scarce during the famine that many died.⁵

What impresses me about the believers in Acts 11 is that the famine hasn’t happened and yet they give anyway. They give to meet the needs of two groups who will face the famine when it comes. They give to meet the needs of the believers and those the believers are trying to reach.

You may not realize it, but we’ve been doing the same through our ACTS 1:8 Missions Offering. Our ACTS 1:8 Missions Offering supports the work of the nearly 11,000 missionaries of the International Mission Board, North American Mission Board and the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. When tsunamis struck Thailand and Indonesia, the International Mission Board sent medical personnel, food, support and supplies. When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the North American Mission Board sent medical personnel, food, support and supplies. During the tragedy at Virginia Tech, Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia sent personnel and food to comfort the students, faculty and families.

Last year we gave nearly a quarter of a million dollars to our ACTS 1:8 Missions Offering. If you gave to this offering, then you shared “God Stories” being experienced and retold all over the world. Furthermore, you shared in “God Stories” taking place in Greater Richmond through our support of the Pregnancy Resource Center, and in future “God Stories” occurring through specific partnerships supported by our ACTS 1:8 Missions Offering.

Like the early believers who gave before they ever saw the famine, we give to the ACTS 1:8 Missions Offering knowing it will meet the needs of believers trying to meet the needs of non-believers all over the world. That’s a story worth sharing and retelling.

More Than One Story

You may remember that a few years ago I experienced a “God Story” while on a surgical table. A surgical team was working to remove cancer from my nose. Though I was under anesthesia, God spoke through me to those in the room. It was such a moving experience that the medical team came to our church to share their experience. It became a memorable moment for our church and our viewers. Even today, I still hear of individuals in other states who are moved by a copy of the DVD of that day.

What many don’t know was the gift I received, the afternoon after that service, from Dr. Jerry Rankin. Though he is a member of our church, his responsibilities with the International Mission Board have him all over the world most Sundays. Yet that Sunday he was in our service and was moved like all of us. He called me that afternoon to encourage me as well as warn me. Dr. Rankin said he had seen and heard of other dramatic works of God like this throughout the world. He said, “Mark, from my experience you need to be careful of two things. First, be careful of the spiritual attacks that will come. God has worked in a great way and Satan will want to diminish it. Second, be careful that this does not become the only ‘God Story’ of your life. Many have become satisfied with their one dramatic story, and never place themselves in a position for God to use again.”

Since that conversation with Dr. Rankin, I want to be sure that my life will have more than one “God Story” worth retelling. Furthermore, I want to charge you the same way Dr. Rankin charged me. Make sure your life has more than one “God Story” worth retelling.

Make sure that your life is filled with countless “God Stories” that have been inspired by prayer. By increasing your minutes with God, you’ve increased your moments with God when He has changed you, prepared you, and placed you in a position to experience a “God Story” worth retelling.

Make sure that your life is filled with “God Stories” that come from firsthand experiences of being on the go with God. Don’t be satisfied telling someone else’s experience. Tell your own. When God asks you to go...go! When you do you’ll have experiences with God worth retelling. You’ll have experiences with God that will keep you going with God.
Make sure that your life is filled with “God Stories” that you are a part of because you gave. You are not omnipresent, but God is. You can only be where God tells you to go. However, through prayer and giving, you can also be where God tells others to go. You can share in what He does through them. You can retell those stories as well, for through your prayers and gifts you were there.

Therefore, if you want to make sure that your life is filled with countless “God Stories” worth retelling, then live by these three words: “PRAY,” “GO,” “GIVE.” If you do, I promise you you’ll have more “God Stories” than you can retell.