I caught something good in the Word this morning, in Acts 12. It’s an account we’re all familiar with, about Peter getting locked up in prison, and the church prayed for him, and an angel came and brought him out of the prison, and the church could hardly believe it when they saw him.
Well, this morning I noticed how long he was in prison before God got him out. Acts 12:3 says it was the days of unleavened bread when Herod put Peter in prison. And vs.4 says Herod intended to bring him forth to the people after Easter. Then vs.6 says it was the same night before Herod was going to probably kill him, like he had done to James, the brother of John (vs.2), that the angel came and delivered him.
The days of unleavened bread was a 7-day period, and though they certainly weren’t celebrating Easter as the day Jesus rose from the dead back then, whatever “Easter” was, it’s clear that it followed after the days of unleavened bread. One thing is almost certain… this was not Peter’s first night in prison. It could have been a couple days, several days, or maybe even longer.
So here’s the church, praying without ceasing unto God for Peter. “Praying without ceasing” is not something that happens in a half hour. This was not just another need on the list at their Friday night prayer meeting. This was not just one more thing to mention when they prayed at mealtime. This was something for which many gathered together at Mary’s (John Mark’s mother) house to pray. When Peter showed up at the gate, it was the middle of the night, and many were gathered there “praying” (present tense).
How many days and nights had they been praying? Did they stop to eat? Were they praying in shifts, while some got some sleep? There are plenty of questions not specifically answered in these scriptures, but one thing is sure… they were serious. Serious enough, that they didn’t give up, or let up, after the first night when it might look to some that their prayers weren’t being answered.
These praying saints sometimes get criticized for not believing it when God answered their prayers, and it’s true, and there’s a good lesson in that, but we all know that people who don’t believe, don’t keep praying… especially not all night! Those who don’t believe give up, and they quit praying.
Believers keep praying. They keep pushing back the lies of the enemy that wants them to give up. They don’t back off when the enemy says things like, “God didn’t deliver James, so it’s probably not His will to deliver Peter, either.” “God didn’t move for you last night, so why expect any different tonight?” “Just leave it in God’s hands. He’ll do whatever He’s going to do anyway.” “Don’t you know you’re being ‘religious’, with all this praying?” But they keep praying, because they believe God hears, and that God answers. And He absolutely DOES!
We have no way of knowing whose prayers, or whose faith, or whose life God was honoring, but we know that somebody, or maybe all of them, made a difference, and God moved in a mighty miraculous way, and Peter didn’t get killed like James did.
Let’s pray like WE are the ones that will make the difference!
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