The apostle Peter found himself in a hopeless situation. Herod the king had authorized the killing of the apostle James, the brother of John. Now he had Peter put in prison, under the guard of four groups of soldiers. After the Jewish Passover he intended to put him on trial, possibly to face execution.
Was Peter anxious? It would not appear so. In the jail, chained between two soldiers, Peter was asleep! The other soldiers stood guard at the entrance to the prison (Acts 12:6). Acts chapters 4 and 5 tell how Peter had been in prison before for preaching the gospel. He had experienced God’s deliverance. So here he is sleeping peacefully.
Peter’s fellow Christians gathered out of concern for him. They came to pray. “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5). Peter’s friends prayed earnestly, with sincere urgency. They prayed to God, to the only one who could do something about this hopeless situation. They prayed specifically, for Peter. They prayed together. There is power in united prayer. Agreement in prayer pleases God.
The rest of the New Testament supports what we read here. We are instructed to pray continuously (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Paul asked the church in Rome to join in his struggle by praying ( Romans 15:30). He said to the Corinthians, “You help us by your prayers” (2 Corinthians 1:11). We are to be devoted to prayer (Colossians 4:3). Paul requested prayer support from the entire church at Thessalonica (2 Thessalonians 3:1).
What happened as a result may only be described as a miracle. Suddenly Peter was awakened by a bright light and an angel. The heavenly messenger ordered Peter to get up, get dressed and to follow him. Peter’s chains fell off and he followed the angel out past the guards. The massive prison gate opened by itself and Peter found himself on the street where the angel left him (Acts 12:7-10).
Peter then went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. This was possibly the home where the disciples had met with the Lord Jesus in the upper room for his last Passover with them. It may have been the place where they gathered for prayer after Christ’s ascension. Acts 12:12 says that there were many people there praying for Peter.
The location was familiar to Peter. When he arrived and knocked on the door of the outer entrance (it was a large house), a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. She was so excited when she recognized Peter’s voice, that she ran back inside to tell the group that Peter was at the door. She had forgotten to let him in!
If that detail is not embarrassing enough, the reaction of the group is even more distressing. “You are out of your mind,” they told Rhoda. “It must be his angel” (Acts 12:15). This group of valiant prayer warriors didn’t believe it when God answered their prayers. Peter kept knocking until they came and let him in. “They were astonished,” the scripture says (Acts 12:16).
These human touches are all too familiar to us who struggle with weak faith. One of the ways we may strengthen our boldness in prayer is to pray together. One believer’s faith strengthens another’s. We often find the believers in the book of Acts gathering for corporate prayer.
Another lesson from this story is how the news of Peter’s deliverance came through a humble servant girl. She was persistent and insistent. Her faith and enthusiasm shine brightly in contrast to the pessimism of the others.
Also this is a reminder that God is listening when his people pray together. When Peter told his story to the Christians, he “described how the Lord had brought him out of prison” (Acts 12:17). God got all the credit for his intervention and protection. He answered their prayers.
Their faith was weak but it was not non-existent. It is not the amount of our faith that gets answers from heaven, but the focus of our faith. These believers were appealing to the God of heaven, the only one who could do something about this impossible situation.
Pastor Randy Faulkner