Acts 12:5 — But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
Peter was in trouble. When King Herod Agrippa had the apostle James killed with a sword, this made Herod popular with the Jews who were persecuting Christians. Herod arrested Peter and put him in prison. The night before Peter’s public trial, Herod had Peter chained to two soldiers. Peter and the other apostles had escaped from prison once before with an angel’s help (Acts 5:17-20), so Herod ordered four squads of soldiers to guard Peter to prevent his escape.
Chains? Prisons? Guards? Can they stop God from rescuing His servants? No. Paul and Silas were beaten, chained, and placed in the deepest, darkest cell in a Philippian jail. However, when Paul and Silas began to pray and sing, the prison was shaken, the chains of every prisoner fell off, and the prison doors swung wide open. The guard and his family became Christians!
In Peter’s case, the local church held an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to help Peter. God heard those prayers and sent an angel to wake up Peter. The chains fell off Peter’s wrists. The angel told Peter to get dressed, put on his shoes and coat, and follow him out of the prison. Peter and the angel walked past all four squads of soldiers and out the iron prison gate which opened all by itself. Peter was free!
Prayer and praise work wonders when those prayers and praises are directed to God. Instead of complaining about their circumstances, Paul and Silas sang God’s praises, and Peter simply went to sleep as though he did not have a care in the world. Let people know when you are facing difficulties so they can pray very earnestly for you. We are the body of Christ, so when one member is hurting or has a need, the entire body is affected. As the song says, “It is amazing what praising can do,” and isn’t it good to have somebody praying for you?
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