Focal Passage: Acts 12:6-18
The study this week focuses on a topic that we talk about a lot but in many cases do very little of. We confess our belief in the power of prayer, but often times fail to apply that power to our lives as we should.
Let me give you an example. All of us encounter problems in life. And, if we are believers, prayer is something we will probably do. But, most often it is not the first thing we think of doing. And for some, it is the last option they turn to after we have tried to resolve the problem ourselves and failed.
Sometimes when we face problems we can become so focused on the situation that we forget about the power that is available to us is only a whisper away. No one can pray too much.
Our problem, for the most part, is that we don’t pray enough. The Scripture reminds us to pray continually without ceasing. Why? Because we are to be in a constant conversation with God.
Nimmo
Think of it this way, if you are in the presence of someone else, the normal way we relate to each other is through conversation. The same is true in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Prayer doesn’t have to be in a certain place, posture or vocabulary. Prayer is just a conversation and it doesn’t even have to be vocal. It’s like the old hymn says, “Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.”
As we begin our study, we find that Herod Agrippa has killed James, the brother of John, and has jailed Peter. All this was an effort to please the Jews and gain their favor. Herod, seeing that the killing of James had pleased the Jews, no doubt had plans to do the same with Peter.
While Peter awaited his fate, the church in Jerusalem was praying earnestly for him. God responded to their prayers by sending an angel to release Peter from his situation and prison. This is where the story gets incredible, so incredible, that Peter was having a hard time believing it was really happening.
The chains just fell off his wrists and he and the angel just walked past the guards as if they were invisible. Then the iron gate to the prison just opened on its own and they walked out. Peter thought he was having a vision.
After the angel had left him, Peter went to the home of John Mark where the church was praying.
This is where it gets a little humorous. He knocks on the door and a servant girl answers the door. She gets so excited upon hearing Peter’s voice that she runs to tell the others without opening the door. They think she is crazy because they obviously didn’t believe it was possible for God to answer in that way. But they were wrong.
We serve an incredible God and nothing is impossible for Him to do. But, the key to unlocking the impossible is prayer! B&R
