THURSDAY - JULY 23

Read. Acts 12:1-19
About that time King Herod began to harass some who belonged to the church. 2 He had James, John’s brother, killed with a sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter as well. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 He put Peter in prison, handing him over to four squads of soldiers, sixteen in all, who guarded him. He planned to charge him publicly after the Passover. 5 While Peter was held in prison, the church offered earnest prayer to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was going to bring Peter’s case forward, Peter was asleep between two soldiers and bound with two chains, with soldiers guarding the prison entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared and a light shone in the prison cell. After nudging Peter on his side to awaken him, the angel raised him up and said, “Quick! Get up!” The chains fell from his wrists. 8 The angel continued, “Get dressed. Put on your sandals.” Peter did as he was told. The angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.” 9 Following the angel, Peter left the prison. However, he didn’t realize the angel had actually done all this. He thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself. After leaving the prison, they proceeded the length of one street, when abruptly the angel was gone.

11 At that, Peter came to his senses and remarked, “Now I’m certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod and from everything the Jewish people expected.” 12 Realizing this, he made his way to Mary’s house. (Mary was John’s mother; he was also known as Mark.) Many believers had gathered there and were praying. 13 When Peter knocked at the outer gate, a female servant named Rhoda went to answer. 14 She was so overcome with joy when she recognized Peter’s voice that she didn’t open the gate. Instead, she ran back in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.

15 “You’ve lost your mind!” they responded. She stuck by her story with such determination that they began to say, “It must be his guardian angel.”16 Meanwhile, Peter remained outside, knocking at the gate. They finally opened the gate and saw him there, and they were astounded.

17 He gestured with his hand to quiet them down, then recounted how the Lord led him out of prison. He said, “Tell this to James and the brothers and sisters.” Then he left for another place.

18 The next morning the soldiers were flustered about what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod called for a thorough search. When Peter didn’t turn up, Herod interrogated the guards and had them executed. Afterward, Herod left Judea in order to spend some time in Caesarea.

Reflect. We read here about King Herod, this is a different King Herod than who we encounter during Jesus’ ministry. This is Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great who was king when Jesus was born. He is the second cousin of Herod Antipas who was king during Jesus’ ministry. 

• The Christians are experiencing persecution and harassment again. James is killed, and Peter is arrested. Peter’s imprisonment was guarded with the strictest precautions to ensure he did not escape. 
• During this story we learn that the believers are fervently praying for Peter and during this time of prayer an angel comes to Peter and delivers him from captivity. The prayers of the faithful were answered. God’s deliverance comes even as those who were praying did not expect it to happen. 
• Prayer connects us with God, though there is no mechanical connection between the power of prayer and God’s action or answering prayer. When have you seen God act powerfully in prayer? What answered prayers have you seen in your life?

Pray. Take time to intentionally pray today. If it is helpful, use the acrostic “PRAY” to help guide your intentional prayers: 

• P — Pause. At the beginning of the time of prayer take a moment to pause. Focus on your breath; focus on God being present with you in this time. Maybe even say a brief breath prayer as you are breathing, such as “Come, Lord Jesus, come.”
• R — Rejoice. Now move into worship and praise of God. You will notice in the prayer of the believers that they were facing immense obstacles, and as they began to pray they did NOT go straight to their desires and needs. The prayer in Acts begins by the believers praising God for who God is and what God has done in the past. When you pray, take time to rejoice and express thankfulness to God. At this point, you can say thank you to God for something in your life; or you can praise God for God’s character as they did in Acts. 
• A — Ask. It is only after they rejoiced did the believers in Acts ask God for anything. Even though God knows what you need, God still wants you to ask. So take time to name your needs and desires to God. 
• Y — Yield. In this concluding moment in prayer, you place yourself in a posture to yield to God’s Spirit.
  

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug. Bobby. Collier. Glenn. Adam.  Mary.  Clyde.  Linda. Betty Carolyn. Jeff. Albert. Richard. Lois. Ross. Tiny. Donald. Bill. Barbara. Andreas. Helen. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeremy. Jeff Green. Lyric. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman.