| Our verse to DATE the Word on December 5 (12/5) is Acts 12:5 |
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| Acts 12:5 says “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” |
| The POWER OF PRAYER Acts 12 tells of the RISE of persecution by King Herod. For the context of our verse to DATE notice Acts 12:1-4. Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when King Herod had arrested Peter, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.” The scene is FRIGHTENING. James is dead, the first disciple to be a martyr. Peter has been arrested and is in prison so that soon he can be executed. Church leaders and members have to be asking what should and can we do. There are numerous answers that we might consider. For the early church, the answer was PRAYER! The answer to the problem was PRAYER! And Acts 12:5 tells us that as Peter is kept in prison the church is in constant prayer! I have to tell you that Acts 12:5 is one of my favorite verses on the subject of prayer. As a college student, I read The Power of Prayer by R. A. Torrey and he had a whole chapter on Acts 12:5. In Acts 12:5 you find 12 powerful words about prayer. BUT CONSTANT PRAYER WAS OFFERED TO GOD FOR HIM BY THE CHURCH. Now R. A. Torrey wrote a full chapter in a book on those 12 words. I will not attempt to do so here. I do however want you to consider WHAT was done here. There was PRAYER. Someone said PRAYER is POWER RELEASE AT YOUR EARNEST REQUEST. Not only notice the WHAT was done here but WHO DID THE WHAT. The CHURCH prayed. The PEOPLE of God took the problem of Peter in prison to God in prayer! May I ask you if you are part of a PRAYING church? I am in agreement with a quote from Dr. Jerry Falwell in which he said, “NOTHING OF ETERNAL SIGNIFICANCE EVER HAPPENS APART FROM PRAYER.” Are you a part of a church that when there is a problem the first thought is let’s take this to God in prayer? I hope so but if not then you should lead the charge to prayer! Notice also who the prayer was OFFERED TO. It was offered to GOD! It was offered to the One and only who could do the miraculous! Where do you go for help? My go-to is the LORD based on Psalm 121:1-2 “I will lift up my eyes to the hills — From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.” Don’t you love how David added the part about the Lord making heaven and earth? What a reminder that there is NOT ONE THING you will bring to God that He will be unable of handling! Friend, your help is the LORD! 12 words tell the response to a crisis. God’s power was released, and Peter was miraculously delivered out of prison. The answer was so powerful that it was shocking to the level of unbelief for when he showed up at the prayer meeting Rhoda could not believe it out of excitement and when she told the prayer warriors he was at the door they could not believe it. Now don’t get upset with this group because I am sure you have had prayers answered that you responded with “I just can’t believe it.” The bottom line is the church prayed to God and God answered in a mighty way! Verse to DATE the Word on December 5 (12/5) is Acts 12:5. It says “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” With Peter in danger, the church believed in the POWER OF PRAYER! Continue Strong by taking EVERYTHING TO GOD IN PRAYER! And remember to DATE THE WORD |