Praying Peter Out of Prison
Acts 12:5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church (NKJV)
Frequently God's people find themselves in the midst of a prison situation. Prisons take many forms- some are in prisons of loneliness- some in prisons of depression- prisons of discouragement- prisons of fear. Regardless of the type of prison, there is a means of escape. It seems that everywhere I go, I hear about affliction among the body of Christ. People are fighting battles and demons that they have never fought before. Some are facing giants seemingly much more fierce than Goliath.
I'm afraid that the "quickie" prayer is not going to get Peter (or you and me) out of prison. I say this with conviction and with humility because I've tried many times (to no avail) to free Peter with a "now I lay me down to sleep" prayer. I've found that it's only when I prevail in prayer that the prison doors open. If you're like me it seems that there is a great war going on in the earth and in the heavenlies to steal my time. I must have time for family, for work, and for ministry, (and hopefully some downtime to rest- yeah right!). But somewhere in the mix I must incorporate some prevailing prayer.
When Peter was facing certain martyrdom, the church was not content to just say "we'll be praying for you Brother." How many times have we said that to someone, only to forget to even pray for them later? No, the early church didn't say that- they got down to business with God and rang the prayer bells of heaven (sorry for all the church cliche's today). It says that "constant" prayer was offered up to God by the church. Ladies and gentlemen, there are some issues that simply aren't going to budge until we start praying constantly about them. I know there is a theology out there which says you don't need to pray, but merely speak the word and stand by faith. I certainly believe there is a time for making bold confessions of faith- but equally (if not more) important is that constant prayer offered up to God.
We later read that God dispatched His angel and delivered Peter. Luke recorded this in Acts for a reason. It was not simply another event in the early church history, but something of import. Luke wanted his readers to know that when prayer is offered up to God constantly....deliverance comes. I hope this encourages you today- you may be praying and praying and praying and have yet to see the answer...but I assure you it's on its way!
Don't give up- keep praying!!!
3 comments:
Prayer is one thing that should mark us a Christians. People of prayer. Isn't it interesting that when Ananias was fearful to obey the Lord and go pray for Paul, that Christ told him that he was praying?Certainly as a good Pharisee, Paul could say his prayers with the best of them, but we know God didn't hear that kind of prayer. When the Lord tells us someone is a man of prayer, we can put it in the bank (preacher cliche!).
You mentioned Luke, in his gospel, he tells of Jesus speaking on persistance in prayer, and ends it with, "When the son of man comes, will he find faith in the earth?" The need to cry out to God in prayer is intense, and it's only getting more so as the end nears. Sorry my post is so long, Brother, but you know from prior conversations that this topic strikes a chord in me.
God bless!
~Jeff
Amen Bro. Jeff! (preach on!)
I certainly believe prayer is important, but I think we sometimes miss the praise first. Yes, there are times I just get down to business with God from the start, but more and more I have discovered that if I spend time in worship first the heavens are opened up to me. The worship seems to keep the lines of communication open if you will. It is as if I feel God standing beside me so I can just sit down and chat with Him at any moment when my life is full of worship first.
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