We enter the first verses of Acts 12 seeing a very bleak, disturbing,
even hopeless picture. Herod lays his violent hands on the apostle James and
puts him to death and also gets his violent hands on Peter with the same
intention (12:2-5). We read these verses and cry out ‘where are you Lord?!’
Herod’s clear intent is for Peter to be executed. He is so
serious about this that he takes the most drastic measures possible to make
sure that Peter will not escape from prison so that the sword could take his
life after the Passover. It was not enough for Peter to be chained to one
soldier, as was normal in those days. Herod had Peter handcuffed to TWO
soldiers…one on each side! As if that
were not enough, Herod also made sure two soldiers were on duty outside of the
cell! Looking in, we would see little hope. Herod seems to be in control of
the future of the church by destroying this pillar of the church. That is...until we hear verse 5.
“BUT earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”
This is a beautiful picture. In worldly terms there was no
hope for Peter. In the church there is much hope. Why? Because we recognize
that this evil world does not have the last say on what happens in this life - GOD DOES. He is the One truly in control of all things. And so the church
cries out to God for Peter to be released against all hope. Earnest prayer was made.
Before I go any further, let me ask you: do you believe
prayer can make a difference? In your life? In your marriage? In your family?
In your church? In your city? In your country? In your world? I believe one of the greatest tactics of the
Enemy is to discourage us from prayer, whispering in our ear that ‘it will not
make a difference’. Fight this lie with every ounce of your being. The Enemy
knows this is our greatest weapon. When you feel yourself slipping into cynicism
- war against it. There are mighty things that God wants to do through your
prayers that simply will not happen if you fail to ask him: “You do not have,
because you do not ask” (James 4:2 *Note:
not for selfish desires). What would have happened if the church gave up hope because
of the odds stacked against them and failed to pray for Peter’s deliverance?
But they did not fail to pray. They earnestly prayed. And God heard their prayers.
“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a
light shone in the cell…And the chains fell off his hands…and they went out”
(Acts 12:7, 10).
God heard the prayers and sent an angel to deliver Peter. Yes,
an angel. We read in the book of
Hebrews that angels are ‘ministering spirits sent to serve those who will
inherit salvation’ (Hebrews 1:15). Peter was delivered from prison, from this
impossible situation, with miraculous help because our God hears the prayers of
the saints and answers them according to His good and perfect will (Romans 12:2).
Our human tendency is to look at the discouraging facts in
front of us. Perhaps it is a family crisis, unbelieving children or
grandchildren, a hard marriage, a sickness, money problems, or job issues. Or
on a larger front, we are confronted with the possibility of persecution, a
country in crisis and violence all around. If we focus in on the problems and
our anxieties they become bigger. This is because the more you
focus on something, the bigger it becomes. Let me urge you to turn your focus
on God. He truly is BIGGER than all of our problems and He is our only hope. He
is a God that sympathizes with us in our difficulties, comes beside us in our
struggles and hears our prayers. “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and
saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
He is a God of power. In a world where there is often little
reason to hope, we can know that our God is more powerful than ANYTHING the
enemy throws our way and is truly sovereign over every detail of our lives. Go
to Him in prayer. This scene with Peter begins (12:5) and ends with prayer
(12:12). We praise Him for His power, His care for His people, and the mighty
deliverance He brings. “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only
God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17).
Thank you for this reflection. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that prayer is as powerful and dynamic as it is described by other Christians or by Christian writers, in our own time or in the Bible. This reflection is a wonderful reminder that prayer is available to everyone - even me - to communicate with God. I seem to forget that he wants to hear from us and calls us to prayer in love.
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