The Book of Acts ~ Study Forty-One

"Power of Prayer"


Acts 12:1-19 (NLT) About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. This took place during the Passover celebration. Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison
   The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.
   So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.
  Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”
   When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”
  “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”
   Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.
   At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.


Do you know who "James" is? There are two James' in the twelve disciples ~ James the brother of John (sons of Zebedee) and James son of Alphaeus. There is also James the half brother of Jesus who wasn't a believer or follower until after Jesus' death and resurrection. The James we are reading about now, is James brother of John (son of Zebedee). He was one of the first disciples called by Jesus and the first to be martyred.


Matthew 4:20-22 (NLT) And they left their nets at once and followed him.
   A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too.  They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.


Why did God allow James to be martyred and saved Peter? This is a question that we all ask when one person is healed and another isn't. Why does God act a certain way toward some and not others? Why does He seem to answer prayers for some and not others? Here is a quote from IVP New Testament Commentaries that may help us understand:


"The reason that Peter is rescued while James was executed may be found in the term rescued. Acts 26:17 uses the word to describe God's protecting hand on his witnesses to make sure they fulfill their responsibilities. As long as it is necessary that a particular servant of the Lord be actively deployed in accomplishing Christ's mission, he or she will be rescued. Any martyrdom is still a mark of God's sovereignty, not a sign of his weakness; his gracious purposes, not his sadistic pleasure, may be traced in it. Any rescue is a sign of the triumphant advance of God's mission and a mark that nothing can thwart the accomplishment of his purposes.The Church Is Astonished (12:12-17)"


When God sees that a person's purpose on earth is complete, He takes them home. It's not defeat, it God's sovereignty. This is a controversial statement but it is one that satisfies me. You have to decide on your own what God's purpose is. It's one of those things that I have to trust that God knows what is best and that He loves people far better than I can. His grace far out-reaches ours and His wisdom no one can begin to have. It's during this time that we must trust Him through difficult times.



Psalm 116:15 (NLT)The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.

God isn't unfeeling and cruel. He does care deeply and sees the pain and fear those of us who are left here on earth feel. The early church in Jerusalem was feeling this same thing after the death of James and the imprisonment of Peter. Instead of being angry with God, they prayed and boy oh boy did God answer their prayers. Prayer is the Church's only source of power and we often don't realize the power we are tapping into when we pray believing God.

Luke presents prayer as "the natural atmosphere of God's people and the normal context for divine activity." IVP New Testament Commentary

James 5:16 (NLT) Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (Emphasis mine.)

While the believers were on their knees, Peter was asleep in prison. He was chained with both arms and laid between two soldiers. Herod had him under heavy guard twenty-four hours a day. Remember that this was during the Feast of Unleavened Bread during Passover Week.

Does that sound familiar? About 10 years earlier Jesus was imprisoned and faced a trial like Peter. Jesus died on a cross and ultimately rose to life. His work on earth was complete and He would soon be by His Father's side in heaven. Apparently
Peter's work wasn't done yet, because while he was asleep an angel busted him out of jail.

What are you facing that has you trapped with seemingly no way out? It may not be a physical prison, but one that has you bound and unable to move. Do you have someone who is praying for you? Who could you call and know that they will fervently pray with and for you?

The angel walked Peter out through the gates and disappeared. Peter knew now that he wasn't dreaming, he was really free. He went right to his place of support ~ the Church. He went to those who loved him and were praying for him. When he knocked on the door,  a servant girl answered the door. (FYI "Rhoda" in Greek is "Rhode" and means "rosebud.") She was so scared, she left Peter outside while she frantically ran to tell the others. Before they even went to the door to check things out they were trying to justify what she saw, "It must be Peter's angel." It wasn't until they opened the door to the answer of their prayers did they realize that God had really heard them.

Do you try to qualify what God has done or do you just accept what He has done on face value? We don't have to justify anything that God has done or make it plausible. When God acts are response should be praise and acceptance.

Ephesians 1:3 (MSG) How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. 

God the Father of our Master Jesus wants to take us to "the high places of blessing in Him". Why do we resist or fill in the blanks of how we think He should answer our prayers? I want to trust Him with the answers and it's my goal to start doing this. How about you?

Peter was a walking, breathing answer to the prayers of the saints huddled in Mary mother of John Mark's home. Let's tap into the power given to us. It's the only power that we have and man, its  powerful. It's more powerful than any power on earth. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the death. It may seem that we are defeated on this earth sometimes but we are victorious in the eternal realm. God is good!

Psalm 44:2-3 (NLT) You drove out the pagan nations by your power and gave all the land to our ancestors. You crushed their enemies and set our ancestors free. They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them.

It is His "right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them." Our best defense is Jesus and the light of His face.