A prayer meeting took place in Acts 12. It was intercessory... it was earnest... it was because Peter was imprisoned and facing death.
Imagine the scene - EARNEST prayer - "God please release Peter... please set him free... confound the plans of Herod." Similar prayers were going up all over the room. No doubt tears were being shed. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. People tried to ignore the knock, it seemed an intrusion on their prayer time, but the knocking persisted. Unless somebody got up and saw to it the prayer meeting would be increasingly disturbed. Prayers continued to go up "God please release Peter... please set him free... confound the plans of Herod..." while a girl named Rhoda (whose name means "rose") finally got up and answered the door. Hearing Peter's voice she ran back into the crowd, trying to get a word in between the cries of "God please release Peter... please set him free... confound the plans of Herod...." Finally they heard her say, "Peter is at the gate" and their response was, "What? You're nuts... that's impossible."
I love the way the Bible so often shows us as we are. I see myself in this passage so much. I so often quote my life verse - Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things that thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3 KJV) and then when God does just what He promised therein, I'm amazed.
Our God is an awesome God! He promises answer to prayer! Why are we surprised when He does just that? Here we see an amazing and miraculous deliverance was granted in answer to prayer that was, at least to a degree, unbelieving prayer. Imagine the awesome power of prayer if we actually believe in it. If we really believed in prayer, we would do it more. If we really believed in prayer, the midweek prayer services in our churches would be better attended.
Let's start believing in prayer! Oh the privilege of praying for one another... the power that it brings into our church! Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 18:19 KJV) (From "Digging Into the Acts of the Apostles (Volume 1 - Acts 1-14)" by William E. Johnson)
Will you join us Wednesday evening at 6:30 as we pray together? You can pray silently or aloud. You can pray by yourself or with others. You can come and just listen as others pray. No pressure of any kind will be on you to pray or participate in any way you are uncomfortable with. But we need you there - your prayers, whether silent or aloud join with ours and together we approach the throne room of the King. And He hears us. And He answers.
Join in the fight every Wednesday at 6:30 at Friendship Bible Church.
You have friends at Friendship Bible Church!
