Crying and Laughing
Opening Prayer
Loving God, I pray today in the name of the One who taught us to pray. I give thanks for listening and delighting in our devotion.
Read ACTS 12:1–19a
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.
18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Herod’s Death
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Fervent prayer is not to twist God’s arm but to express concern for the one prayed for.
Think Further
Why was Peter rescued and James (son of Zebedee) killed? Surely the church was praying fervently for them both. Why are so many of our brothers and sisters brutally treated today, while others of us live pretty cushy lives? Politically, it’s possible that Herod Agrippa I (grandson of Herod the Great), keen to please both his Roman superiors and Jewish compatriots, tried it out on James first because he was lesser fry; when that worked, he went for the top guy. Then, in stark contrast, we have this very humorous story of Rhoda’s response to Peter’s knocking—a gentle reminder that, sadly, we don’t always expect God to answer our prayers!
Peter, meanwhile (and probably the other apostles), stayed out of sight for a while—possibly until after Herod died (in A.D. 44). James (Jesus’ brother) gradually assumed the leadership of the Jerusalem church, taking Peter’s place (Acts 15:13; 21:18). One thing is certain: the progress of the Gospel was not hindered by the brutality of Herod. “When the church prays the cause of God will go forward” (I. H. Marshall). This, surely, is a challenge to us in these days of great suffering for many Christians in different parts of the world. The rallying call of the early church was “Christ is Lord”—not Caesar, or any other human ruler. The Gospel is not bound, even though Christ’s servants may be silenced.
Thankfully, suffering and humor can go hand in hand, as they do in this passage. Even in the varied suffering any of us goes through, keeping a sense of fun and finding positive things in what’s happening can help keep our hope and trust alive. Paul urged the Philippians to think about lovely things (Phil. 4:8). Doing so can often transform negative circumstances, even though the suffering is not
removed.
Apply
What causes you grief? Are you still able to believe that God is working out his purposes?
Closing prayer
God of faith and hope, I pray for those who face intimidation and pressure for following Jesus. Strengthen them with Your presence, for You promise to accompany those whom You send out.
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