ACTS 12:1-17
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him.9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; 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, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
Acts 12:1-17 TRUSTING OUR FATHER GOD
FATHERS’ DAY
Springford Baptist Church: June 18, 2023.
On Mother’s Day we were giving thought to a pattern of constantly praying.
I said at the conclusion of that message:
“I am so thankful that all of us can make a habit of being constantly in prayer! When we pray, we are depending on God and choosing to bring everything to God in prayer. We are inviting God’s Holy Spirit to bless us and to help us and guide us and our families. This is the best thing Moms can do with every concern and it is the best thing any of us can do-to be a family of faith together constantly in prayer and trusting Jesus”!
Well on this Fathers’ Day, I want to address this important matter of both praying and trusting.
When we are praying for family members, those closest to us, we can and should pray constantly, but this matter of trusting needs some further examination…
We know in our heads that we can trust God with everything when we are praying for family members: for brothers and sisters for children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews.
It is convincing our hearts of this and entering into a place of settled peace and trust in God that can be the challenge.
Think of it this way: A father has asked a trained driving instructor to teach his daughter to drive. However, the father insists on sitting in the back seat and shouting out directions and sometimes even leaning into the front seat to grab the wheel, convinced that they are headed straight for an accident.
Rather than trusting the driving instructor, the father keeps panicking and thinking that unless he takes matters into his own hands, there will be disaster.
Now this is an extreme example and certainly would not be appreciated by any young person. However, it is not unlike us at times in our prayers. God is qualified to take care of things, but we don’t feel convinced that He will so we keep grabbing the wheel and trying to do the steering. Or perhaps we sit in the back seat with our eyes covered so anxious and just waiting for the worst.
God intends prayer to bring us peace, “the peace that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:4-6). This can only come as we actively choose to trust our Father God!
Looking at our Scripture for today in Acts 12:1-17, we see that there was a great deal of concerted prayer going on while Peter was in prison.
There was good reason to fear for Peter’s life because King Herod had already had James the brother of John put to death.
vs. 5 “Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”
There it is praying and bringing this pressing need to God. Exactly the right thing to do.
But what about the trusting part?
vs. 9 Peter follows the angel leading him out of prison, but doesn’t think it is really happening. Peter thinks it must be a vision or a dream.
vs. 10 It is only when they have passed the first and second guard and the iron gate to the city has opened for them and the angel has walked the length of one street with him, that Peter realizes that this is really happening.
Peter like us, may have been aware that God was with him, but not really sure how God would answer the prayers that were being prayed.
It is after God’s answer to prayer that Peter recognizes, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.” (vs. 11)
Of course, it is one thing to trust when we see a miraculous answer to prayer, but real trust is finding peace with God as we wait for the answer.
There is more to see about this challenge of praying and trusting our Father God.
The next thing that happens is that Peter goes to the house where many people had gathered and were praying for him.
When he knocks at the outer entrance a young girl named Rhoda comes to the door.
vs. 14 We are told that she is so overjoyed to hear Peter’s voice that she runs back to tell the others, “Peter is at the door!”
It is worth noticing here in Scripture that the church was praying earnestly for Peter who was in prison and facing execution.
Their prayers were urgent and needed to be answered right away if Peter’s life was to be saved!
Yet, what happens when the angel of the Lord leads Peter right out of the prison and Peter goes to the house where many people had gathered and were praying?
They can’t believe it.
The exchange between Rhoda the servant girl and the people gathered for prayer is intense.
She is telling them that Peter is at the door and they are telling her that she must be out of her mind.
When she still insists, they decide that it must be Peter’s angel. They grasp at any explanation, but that God has answered their prayers in a miraculous way.
Poor Peter is out in the street still knocking. “Hello it’s me Peter. It’s really me. How about letting me in”?…
WHAT DO WE EXPECT WHEN WE PRAY?
vs. 15 The people praying for Peter do not believe the answer that God brings. They are praying, but must have some different expectation of how God is going to answer their prayers. Theyare not really trusting God to work this out in His way.Are we ever like that when we pray? So focused on how we think our prayers should be answered that when God’s answer comes we will not believe or accept it.If we keep on refusing to believe what God is doing or can do, then we are not trusting.When we are not trusting, peace will escape us.Think of prayer as placing every need and concern in the hands of God our loving Father in Heaven whom we have learned over and over again that we can trust. The key to trusting is leaving things in God’s hands and not snatching them back to worry over and try to resolve ourselves. Trusting is really expecting God to take care of things, everything!
God is patient and continues to teach us about Praying and Trusting!
How good it is that when we as parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles are praying for our families that we really can both pray and trust God. What is beyond our ability is not beyond God’s and although our strength is limited, our Father God’s is not!
As we choose to pray, we can also choose to trust and the result is to welcome the peace of God which truly does pass all understanding!