Peter in prison! What a jolt!
Peter had moved from Pentecost to prison, from jeers to spears. He was guarded by sixteen soldiers. One wonders why such a defenseless man needed such a group to watch him. Could it be that Herod feared the supernatural, seeing he knew that Jesus escaped such a group that guarded Him?
Had Peter been hedged in by sixteen hundred soldiers, the problem would not have been increased nor the escape less sure. Peter was bound not only by two chains, but also by the thick walls of the prison, by the three wards of the prison, and finally by an iron gate.
When Peter is in prison, does the church organize a plan to get him released? No. When Peter is jailed, do the believers offer a plea to Herod or suggest a price to offer the lawmakers for his freedom? No. Peter had released others at the hour of prayer; now others must believe for his release.
Some shabby interpreters of this story have said that when the pray-ers heard that Peter was at the door, they were unbelieving. I cannot accept this assumption. I am sure that they prayed with expectation. I like to think that they were for the moment staggered by the immediacy of the answer. They could be excused if they raised their eyebrows when Peter said, “I got out quite easily with an angel escort “ (Next time you pass through the magic self-opening door at your supermarket, remember that the first door to open of its own accord was operated from above!)
There is no weapon formed against prayer that can neutralize it. Some things can delay answers to prayer, but nothing can stop the full purpose of God. “Though it tarry, wait for it.”
The first requirement in prayer is to believe.
- Believe that God is and that “he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
- Believe that God is alive and therefore has power-not only for Peter’s deliverance, but for ours.
- Believe that God is love and that He cares for His own.
- Believe that God is power and therefore no power can stand against Him.
- Believe that God is truth and therefore cannot lie.
- Believe that God is kind and that He will never abdicate His throne or fail in His promise.
Mr. Bunyan shows us his Christian held captive by the Giant Despair in Doubting Castle. The key to his deliverance was Promise. We Christians are in captivity on many levels today personal, domestic, church, and missionary enterprise. But fetters break and dungeons fall when prayer is made by the church unto God...
- Prayer without ceasing;
- Prayer that might shatter our status quo;
- Prayer that drains us of every other interest;
- Prayer that excites us by its immense possibilities;
- Prayer that sees God as the One that rules on high, almighty to save;
- Prayer that laughs at impossibilities and cries, “It shall be done”;
- Prayer that sees all things beneath His feet;
- Prayer that is motivated with desire for God’s glory.
This calamitous hour in the affairs of men demands a church healthier than the one we have. This blatant manifestation of evil in the youth and in the violation of God’s commandments throughout the world calls for a faith that will not shrink.
Can we let our prayer swords rust in the scabbards of doubt? Shall our prayer harps hang tuneless on the willows of unbelief.
- If God is a god of matchless power and incredible might,
- If the Bible is the unchangeable Word of the living God,
- If the virtue of Christ is as fresh today as when He first made the offering of Himself to God after His resurrection,
- If He is the one and only mediator today,
- If the Holy Spirit can quicken us as He did our spiritual fathers, then all things are possible today.
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Copyright (c) 1994 by Leonard Ravenhill. This article is reprinted by permission of the publisher.
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