Proclamation:
“So
Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Acts 12:5
Explanation:
These words were written under the influence of
The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion
of the Apostle Paul. This was about the
time when King Herod began arresting believers with the intent to persecute
them. He had James, the brother of John,
publically killed with a sword. When he
saw that the Jews liked that, he had Peter arrested and planned to kill him
during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
While Peter was in prison, the church prayed without ceasing
unto God for him. Peter was chained
between two soldiers, with two guards posted at the door. Suddenly an angel of The Lord came to Peter,
his chains fell off, and the angel led him past the guards and out of prison. (Acts
12:1-12)
Application:
There is power in prayer. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous
man produces great results. (James 5:16)
Jesus said that where two or three are gathered together in His name
that He would be in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20) When the church is on one accord, there is
power in corporate prayer. All of the people
of God in the upper room on the day of Pentecost were on one accord and they were
filled with The Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1) When the believers were gathered together on
one accord The Lord God added to the church daily. (Acts 2:46-47) When the people of God raised their voices
together in prayer to God (Acts 4:24) He heard them and shook the place where
they were and fill them all with The Holy Spirit so that they could speak The
Word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31) Here the
people of God were on one accord praying for Peter while he was in prison,
chained to two guards. As a result of
their prayers, his chains fell off and an angel of The Lord led him safely past
the other guards and out of the gate. (Acts 12:1-12) When the people of God come together on one
accord and pray, things happen, even the impossible things. Jesus said, "With men this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26) Our problem today as believers is that we are
not all on one accord when we come together.
Our churches are more like a filling station where we receive The Word
of God during worship services or learn more about it during Bible study. We are not even on one accord even during our
weekly prayer meetings. We could be
serious world change agents if we were on one accord when we prayed. Collectively, we are only as powerful as our
prayers. "Little prayer, little
power; much prayer, much power; no prayer, no power." (Author unknown) Prayer, individual and corporate, can change
things. God still hears and answers the prayers
of the righteous.
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