Printer Friendly VersionActs 12:5: “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church
was earnestly praying to God for him.” (NIV)
This chapter opens with the King having James the brother of
Jesus killed. He sees that this pleases the people, and he has Peter captured
and put into prison. The tension seems to be in the air in Jerusalem. Will
the church survive? The King’s intent is clear, that he will have Peter’s
life taken as well. Things are looking bleak. Have you ever been in a place
in your life where things are going so badly that it doesn’t look like
you have a chance?
This passage reminds each of us that in our lives there will be times of difficulty.
Things do not always go our way. There are times when our plans and wishes
seem to be all but forgotten. Plans change, dreams dissipate, wishes waste
away. We are left to wonder if there any hope. Remember, just because you
are going through a difficult time does not mean that God does not care about
you. Peter is in prison, and James has been killed -- this is the reality
of the situation. Too many times believers act as though they must ignore
reality. One of the best things you can do today is face your reality. Quit
kidding yourself and trying to kid others that you are in a difficult place
and you need God’s help.
Peter is facing the impossible. He is in prison and there is
a sentence of death hanging over his head. Any way you look at it, in the
human realm his situation is hopeless. Yet it is in times of impossibility
that God comes and gives us strength and help.
The transition verse of this passage is verse five. It speaks
of both the reality of the situation and the hope. The reality is ‘so
Peter was kept in prison.’ That is exactly Peter’s situation. The
Bible does not try to sugar-coat the truth; it merely reports the reality
of his circumstance. The Bible does not record where Peter wishes he was,
but reports exactly where he finds himself, in prison. Again, where are you
today? Not where would you like to be, or where would you be if you had another
choice, but rather what is actually happening in your life right now?
The transition of this entire story is the second half of verse
five: …but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Prayer makes
a difference. Prayer does not ignore reality. Prayer is more than an exercise
in wishful thinking. Prayer makes a real difference. The difference is seen
throughout this passage. Peter is sound asleep, even with a death sentence
hanging over his head. So, we see that prayer was making a difference in Peter’s
life.
There is in the middle of verse five a conjunction, the word but. It is this
conjunction that makes all the difference. This little three letter word reminds
us that in spite of our reality, there is another reality that is taking place.
That reality is that the church was earnestly praying. Notice that it is the
church that was praying. The community of faith is gathered and is lifting
Peter and his need to the Lord. There is power in a praying church. It is
not a feeble attempt at trying to carry on; there is real power gathered when
the church prays.
I can remember a time in my life when I needed prayer. I am
not sure that I had faith to even believe as I should have, yet a prayerful
believing congregation of believers gathered around me. And God came and answered
their prayers on my behalf. Where would any of us be without the power of
praying believers? Perhaps in all of the things that church should be involved
in, the one that is the most important is to be praying for and with one another.
Verse five reminds us that the church was earnestly praying.
They believed that God was the only one who could help them. This church took
seriously their role as intercessors. They believed that if they brought Peter
and his circumstance to the Lord, then something wonderful could happen.
During this night in prison while Peter is still sleeping, an
angel comes and wakes him up and supernaturally takes him out of the prison.
Help comes to Peter according to the context of this passage in response to
the praying church.
We are also shown in this passage that when Peter went to report
that the prayer had been answered, he met with some resistance. The young
lady attending the door hears Peter’s voice. She announces that Peter
is at the door. It would be great if the folks praying would have risen to
their feet and started to sing the Doxology. Or if they would have embraced
each other and said, “I knew the Lord was going to release him.”
Yet that is not their response. They responded by saying to the young lady,
“You must be crazy.” It wasn’t that they did not have faith.
Their problem was the same problem that we have today; we think God has to
answer prayer according to our time table. They thought God would not answer
their prayers until they were done praying. After all, isn’t that in
the Manual? How could Peter be out of prison if we are not done praying?
What would happen today, in our lives and in the life of our
church? Would it be alright with us if God decided to do things on His timetable
and not ours? Would it be alright for him to work in ways we have not even
conceived He might work? This passage reminds us that there will be times
when it will be hard for us to believe the answers when they come.
The answer to the question of the message is very clear. It does do good to pray. It does good for those we pray for and it does good for those doing the praying. We learn we can trust God.
