| “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” – Acts 12:5 |
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| In a CRISIS the CHURCH CALLED ON GOD Acts 12 tells of the terrible RISE of persecution by King Herod. For the context of our verse to DATE notice Acts 12:1-4 as it says, “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 must be asking what should and can we do. There are numerous answers that they might consider. However, for the early church, their answer was PRAYER! Their first answer to the problem was PRAYER! Their first answer to the CRISIS was CALLING ON GOD. As Peter is confined in prison the church is constant in prayer! It is worth noting 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? Where do you go first for help for yourself or for others? My go-to is to take it to the LORD based on Psalm 121:1-2. It says, “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.” I must tell you that I love how David added the part about the “Lord making heaven and earth.” What a reminder that there is NOT ONE THING you will ever bring to God that He will be unable to handle! Acts 12:5 gives us 12 words for responding to a crisis. Notice them again. “But constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” With prayer being offered God’s power was released, and Peter was miraculously released out of prison. The church prayed to God and God answered in a powerful 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 jeopardy, the church believed in the POWER OF PRAYER! Continue Strong by taking EVERYTHING TO GOD IN PRAYER! And remember to DATE THE WORD |