Acts 12:5-17

The Danger of Prayer

While Herod waited for the end of Passover, the church waited in prayer. They asked God to be with Peter, whether in simply requesting that God help sustain his faith or have him released, cannot be said with assurance. The Greek words used by Luke suggest there was a prayer being offered up around the clock. The night before Herod intended to call for Peter, the apostle lay chained to two soldiers with two more outside the door. One of the Lord's angelic messengers awakened him and caused the chains to fall off his hands. Then, he told him to dress and led him out of the prison. Peter did not think any of this was real, but thought he was dreaming. The apostle followed the angel past the first and second guard posts, through the gate, which seemed to open automatically, and out into the street.

Once he was in the street, Peter finally realized he was free! The awestruck apostle now saw that the Lord had sent his messenger to deliver him out of the murderous hands of Herod. After thinking for a moment, Peter went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, to tell the church of his miraculous release. A girl named Rhoda recognized the voice of the apostle at the gate. In her excitement, she did not let him in but went to inform the others in the house that Peter was outside. At first, they thought she was crazy. Then, they thought she had heard Peter's angel.

Finally, the apostle's insistent knocking caused them to go see for themselves. They were amazed at what they saw, despite the fact that they had been praying to God in Peter's behalf for days. Herein lies the danger of prayer, God may give you that for which you have been asking! Peter related the story of his deliverance by the Lord. Then, he told them to inform James and the brethren and he departed (Acts 12:5-17).