May 13, 2002
LifeWay Family Bible Series for May 26
Prayer for persecuted unleashes God's power
___Acts 12:1-19
___By Barbara Kent
___University Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___Do you know personally anyone who has been persecuted for their faith? If you do not, you are very much in the majority of believers in our country today. The recent incident involving the arrest of relief workers to Afghanistan, which included two young women who are graduates of Baylor University, is still fresh on our minds.
___The experiences of believers in the first century described in the Scripture for this week might have given comfort and hope to those relief workers during the long, difficult days while they waited for the outcome of their situation.
___Arrest and imprisonment of Peter
___The Herod in these verses is Herod Agrippa I, a grandson of Herod the Great who built the Temple and killed the babies in Bethlehem. He took action to win the goodwill of the Jews by instigating a siege of persecution against the leaders of the church. James, the brother of John, was the first to be martyred by Herod.
___When he saw how his action pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter, guarding him around the clock with shifts of four soldiers each (v. 4). He was taking no chances that attempts might be made to free Peter (v. 4). Herod intended to keep Peter a prisoner during the Feast of Unleavened Bread and put him on trial as soon as Passover was ended.
___The church prayed
___While Herod plotted to find the optimum time to put Peter on trial and thus win the favor of the Jews, the church prayed for Peter. They petitioned God on Peter's behalf. The church prayed without ceasing (v. 5). These prayers were a force which Herod had not anticipated.
___An angel of deliverance
___Several things in these verses capture my interest. First, Peter was sleeping soundly on the night before Herod intended to bring him to trial (v. 6). He was bound by chains between two soldiers, who also must have been asleep. Why worry? Peter was securely bound. A little sleep was in order.
___Second, the angel of the Lord appeared in the midst of light and struck Peter on the side (v. 7). The angel apparently was none too gentle with Peter. Apparently he pulled the sleeping Peter to his feet and told him in no uncertain terms to be quick about it and to get himself out of there. The chains binding Peter fell off (v. 7).
___Third, the angel left nothing to chance--he commanded Peter to put on his clothes and sandals, to wrap his cloak about himself and to follow (v. 8). Peter did as he was told, but he thought he was dreaming (v. 9).
___Fourth, the angel and Peter passed two sets of guards and when they reached the gates to the city, they opened before them (v. 10). They moved out the gates and down the length of a street before the angel left Peter (v. 10).
___It was only then that Peter realized what had happened. He realized God had sent an angel to rescue him from Herod and the Jews, who would surely have pressed to have him killed (v. 11). As soon as Peter grasped what had happened, he headed for the house of Mary, mother of John Mark, where the believers were praying for him (v. 12).
___Surprised by answered prayer
___Rhoda heard Peter's knock and recognized his voice. She interrupted the prayer meeting to announce Peter was at the door, all done without bothering to open the door and let Peter in (vv. 13-14).
___I love that little scene. Whoever recorded that scene for us to read must have seen the humor in the situation. After all, who among them really expected God to answer their prayers? Read on!
___The response of those praying was: "You must be out of your mind" (v. 15). When Rhoda insisted, they relented just enough to say, "No, it cannot be Peter. It must be his angel" (v. 15). How would you have reacted?
___Meanwhile, Peter was still standing outside the door, knocking--and probably not too patiently. Peter might well have wished the angel had stayed around long enough to open that door!
___When those praying finally opened the door, they, indeed, found Peter and were astonished. Peter quickly told him what had happened, gave instructions for them to inform James, the brother of Jesus, and the other believers, and left for another place where he could lie low.
___Finding a way to minister
___Whether or not we know personally persecuted believers, there are those who are being persecuted, and there are missionaries serving in countries where persecution is a real possibility.
___We can be faithful to pray for the safety and protection of those who serve in difficult and dangerous places. We can stay in contact through whatever means to encourage them, letting them know of our prayers and concern.
___We can learn from this passage that God is greater than the strongest forces of evil in our world though his will may not always intercede as he did for Peter. His faithful presence can be a source of strength and comfort, regardless of the outcome of persecution.
___Question for discussion
___
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