What happens when prayer moves beyond asking God to act and becomes a declaration of hope rooted in what we believe God desires?

In this episode of Built for Durango, Bob and Brian continue their conversation about Acts 12, Peter’s miraculous escape from prison and the church that prayed for him — even while struggling to believe their prayers would actually be answered.

Brian digs deeper into an idea from his sermon: the relationship between prayer and prophecy. Drawing connections between Peter’s rescue, Ezekiel speaking life over the valley of dry bones and the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament, Bob and Brian wrestle with what it means to become so aligned with God’s heart that we can speak hope into situations that appear hopeless.

The conversation also explores an important distinction: prophetic prayer isn’t about “manifesting” the outcome we want or claiming certainty about what God will do. It is about knowing God’s character, recognizing what He desires for His creation, and boldly joining Him in hoping for healing, justice, mercy and restoration.

And perhaps that is precisely where prophecy matters most. As Brian puts it, hope is born in suffering. When circumstances look like a valley full of dry bones, followers of Jesus are invited to pray, to hope — and sometimes to speak life into what looks dead.