Day 18: Acts 12:1-25

In our reading for today we see persecution, angelic visitation, divine intervention, miracles, and the role of intercessory prayer in the church. Let’s take a look at how this plays out.

We start in verse one with King Herod exercising his legal authority to persecute the church. He has James the brother of John executed and seizes Peter with the same intent.  But in Acts 12:5 we see something of significance come on the scene… “but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.” In between the time of Peter’s arrest and Herod’s intent to bring Peter out to “the people”, the church has undertaken to praying for him.

In the next verse we see angelic intervention bringing Peter deliverance from captivity in a miraculous way! I’m not going to spend any time describing the events or the results. You can read that for yourself.

I rather prefer to examine an important question.

I suggest that Holy Spirit put it in the hearts of the believers to seek God’s intervention on behalf of Peter in this time of crisis. The important question to ask is this, “What if the church had NOT prayed?” Would God have intervened if the church had NOT been in prayer about this very thing? I believe that verse 5 is included in the scriptures for a particular reason. That reason is to show that God acts in response to the prayers of the saints.

James 4:2 says this: “You have not, because you ask not.”

Matthew 7:7 says: “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened unto you.”

There is Scriptural evidence of this expectation from God: if we want Him to be involved in our lives in some way, we must express that desire. We must send Him an invitation, a request, that acknowledges that we need Him, and that we desire His intervention.

I could relay numerous instances in my own life or in the life of my family and others, where we were in a position that required nothing less than the hand of God to intervene in order for things to work out in a way that was good. We have faced devastating circumstances, health issues, financial challenges, employment concerns, relationship issues, future direction and opportunities, and so many other things. When we have “made prayer unto God” concerning these, we have discovered Him to be One that is interested, and He has consistently made His provision available to me, my family, my church, my friends, and my ministry. I say “my” in this not because of pride, but because it is my testimony of His faithfulness.

I have discovered that “my God shall supply ALL my needs according to His riches in glory” (Phil. 4:19). I have learned that He cares about each of us, and that His ear is listening, and He patiently waits for us to invite Him to be a part of our lives. He is truly generous towards us in not withholding one good thing from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)

I share all this to come to the next part. In learning of His faithfulness towards us and our concerns, we come upon the opportunity to learn of His heart not only for us, but for others. As we begin to understand His response to prayer, we discover that there are times when He may call upon us, to “ask of Him”. We may discover His concerns, and begin to partner with Him to bring about His intervention in things He may want to do.

Remember this: God can do anything, but He tends to limit Himself to ONLY doing those things that we invite Him to do.  We have not, because we ask not. How sad it is that so many things COULD have been different in our lives, or the lives of those we are in connection with, if we had simply made a request of God!

I invite you to make this a pattern in your life, as did the saints in Acts 12: “Ask of Him.”