Greg Laurie - The Power of Prayer (03/02/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie teaches on "The Power of Prayer" from Acts 12, showing how the early church's constant, united prayer led to Peter's miraculous deliverance from prison. He urges believers to pray fervently, according to God's will, together, and with faith—even amid doubt—for personal needs, national revival, and the upcoming harvest crusade at Dodger Stadium.
The Power of Prayer – Introduction and Opening Prayer
We are going to have a special Bible study this morning where we are going to, in preparation for what we are about to undertake at Dodger Stadium, talk a bit about prayer. So I would like you to turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 12. And the title of my message is "The Power of Prayer". And what better way to start a message on prayer than to pray. So let's pray together.
Father, we ask Your blessing now on this time of Bible study. We want to know more about how to pray effectively. How to see our prayers answered in the affirmative. So speak to us as we open Your Word. We ask it now in Jesus' name. Amen.
Acts chapter 12. As we approach the tenth anniversary of 9-11, I wonder, has America changed? In the immediate aftermath of that unthinkable attack, we saw a dramatic return to faith on the part of many Americans. You remember the scenes yourself, I'm sure. Prayer meetings on street corners. There were people gathering together in neighborhoods to hold a vigil. Members of Congress standing on the steps of the capitol building and spontaneously breaking into God bless America. Church attendance overflowing. Churches were packed on the Sunday following 9-11. People were trying to make sense of it turning to God.
Has America Forgotten God After 9/11?
But things didn't stay that way very long, did they? One of the things you were praying about was, would we be attacked again? It was great concern. Would there be another terrorist strike against our nation? And we prayed. And yes, we want to thank God for our security and for our experts out there that do their best to protect our country. But we have to also acknowledge that it has been God's mercy that America has not faced another full-blown terrorist attack since 9-11, though there have been attempts.
But is that what we have done? Well it is interesting. They are having a commemoration ceremony at Ground Zero on 9-11. And there is not a single person offering a prayer in that event. Not a single pastor or minister of any kind or any person that is going to give thanks to God. Have we forgotten that the Lord came through for us? And this just reminds us that we ask the question, what is it going to take to wake America up to our spiritual need?
Let me say this. The answer is not a political one. We are in a political cycle right now. There is a lot of talk about who the next occupant of the White House will be. And we think about what candidate is the most qualified and so forth. And I think you know that I believe that we as Christians should register and vote and find a candidate that represents a biblical worldview as much as possible. But at the same time we understand that no congressman, no senator, or even a president can turn our country around. No single person.
America Needs a Spiritual Awakening, Not Just Politics
It is not a political answer America needs. It is a spiritual answer. And the only real answer is a spiritual awakening. A revival must hit America. The classic verse. You are way more responsive than the first service. They were asleep at this point. I was actually walking shaking people out of there. No. That is not true. But the classic verse that is often quoted, and I think it totally applies, was given initially to the nation Israel but applies to any nation at 2 Chronicles 7:14. You have probably memorized it. God says, If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.
We want God to heal our land. But what does God say? If my people… You know a lot of times we have more focus on who is in the White House than what is going on in God's house. When God looks at a nation that is having problems He points His finger at His people. If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. So often we are quick to point out all the problems in culture, etc. But God says, you know, I've been kind of looking at you. You that are called by my name. We that are a part of the body of Christ. We that are in the church.
The question is, are we experiencing spiritual revival? Here is what the Lord is saying. If you want to turn a nation around, God's people need to live as they should. That first century church turned their world upside down. And what do we know about them? We know they were a Bible teaching, gospel preaching, praying, obedient church. So the question arises, is that where we are at today? I think sadly the answer is no.
Concerns About Compromise in the Modern Church
The time when we need to engage our culture with the one truth that has any hope of transforming it, many among us have turned away from the answer. We have one pastor who wrote a book questioning the biblical teaching on hell. Now of course that got a lot of coverage in the press because most people in the media don't believe in what the Bible teaches. So they embrace this idea of a so-called Evangelical preacher saying that he was not certain that what we have always taught and believed about hell is found in the Scripture is really accurate.
That doesn't alarm me. There are always going to be people that will question God's word. What concerns me is that there are even some believers that would read something like that and say, yeah, what about that? Or then I read about a pastor of a megachurch that said this last week. He thinks we should no longer use the terminology saved or born again in our preaching. Because culture doesn't understand that. Another Christian blogger who is very popular came out and questioned the whole idea of evangelism.
Now I expect this kind of behavior from nonbelievers. But from people in the church it causes me to be concerned. To these misled people and those that would follow them I would say this. There has never been a time where it is more significant for us to warn people about the reality of hell. And tell them that yes they need to be saved and born again. And yes we need to do it through evangelism. And that is why we are going to Los Angeles with the message of the Gospel.
The Call to Evangelism and Crusade Ministry
We are going to put feet to our faith. You remember that the apostle Paul felt led by the Lord to go to Rome. Why Rome? Because Rome was effectively the epicenter of the planet at that time culturally and historically. And in many ways Los Angeles is one of the most influential cities not only in our nation but in all of the world. So we want to go to the place that influences the country. We want to influence the influencers.
But some would say, oh Greg you know the whole idea of crusade evangelism. That is so passe. That is so over with. Really? Tell that to over 100,000 people that filled Angel Stadium a few weeks ago. Tell that to the over 11,000 people that came forward to make a commitment to Christ. Listen. Crusade evangelism which is simply presenting the gospel to as many people as possible is never going to be over with. It has its origins back in the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost or Paul and Mars Hill.
God will always honor the preaching of His word. The gospel will always be the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. It never goes out of date. It never goes out of style. C.S. Lewis said, quote, go ahead and clap if you want. I don't want to interrupt you. C.S. Lewis said, quote, all that is not eternal is eternally out of date. End quote. The gospel message is eternal.
Now let's think about this early church that changed their world turning it upside down. Is that what we are doing today? Or is the world turning us upside down? I mean think about the daunting challenge the church of the first century faced. They had no political base. No voting bloc in the Roman Senate. No emperor of Rome that was sympathetic toward them. These first Christians did not out-argue the pagans. They outlived them.
How the Early Church Overcame Persecution
Christianity made no attempts to conquer paganism and dead Judaism blow by blow. Instead the Christians of the first century out-fought, out-lived, and out-prayed the non-believers. And that is because they recognized that their weapons were not physical. They were spiritual. We don't read that the Christians armed themselves and led a revolt against Rome. My goodness. Rome had the most powerful military on the face of the earth at that time. No.
The first century believers said let's fight fire with fire. Let's recognize this is a spiritual battle and let's use spiritual weaponry. And what is that spiritual weaponry that God has given us to fight the battle today? It is primarily prayer and the preaching of the gospel. Again prayer and the preaching of the gospel. The problem is we don't use this weaponry. We use political means or other avenues trying to solve the problems. And we end up like a person trying to put a forest fire out with a squirt gun.
Let's use the weapons that God has given us. Let's start praying. And that brings us to Acts 12. Because it is a classic chapter on how to face difficulty. And if you have come here today facing any kind of a challenge or hardship. There is something hanging over you right now. Maybe your marriage is in serious trouble. Maybe you have a physical problem and you need God's healing touch. Maybe you have a prodigal son or daughter. Maybe you have problems at work or a lack of work. Or whatever it is you are facing. Here are some things you need to know about prayer.
Acts 12: Peter's Imprisonment and the Church's Prayer
Acts chapter 12 is our text. And I am going to read verses 1-5. Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. He killed James the brother of John with a sword. And because he saw it please the Jews he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
But Peter was kept in prison. I want you to underline the latter part of verse 5. This is very important. But constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. Underline that. Constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. We are going to break that verse apart.
But who was this wicked man known as Herod? Well, there is a lot of Herod mentioned in the New Testament. And we might think it is all the same guy. But actually we are dealing with a number of different people all with the same name. All from the same family. The Herod before us here is your consummate career politician. The main thing for him is he just wants to stay in power. So he has James arrested and executes him. He sees that curries favor with his constituents if you will. So now he is going to execute Peter as well.
The Different Herods in Scripture
But this is not the same Herod we read about earlier in the Gospel of Matthew. First of all there was Herod the Great. Herod the Great was the Herod that was in power during the time of the birth of Christ. He was known as Herod the Great because of his great architectural skills. He was the one that rebuilt the second temple. Herod was the one that built many other edifices still standing to this very day. You can visit his retreat known as Masada in Israel. And this was a man that built huge buildings but he was also known for his tyranny and his cruelty.
This is Herod who had members of his own family executed because he thought they might be a threat to his throne. So when these wise men came from the east looking for the one that was born King of the Jews there is not a worse thing you could have said to a paranoid tyrant like Herod. This is the same Herod that had all those little innocent baby boys killed in Bethlehem thinking one of them might be the Messiah. That is Herod number one. Herod the Great.
Herod had a son known as Herod Antipas. That is the Herod that was in power and had John the Baptist put to death. And that is the same Herod that was so wicked that when Christ appeared before him he did not speak a single word. Now that brings us to Herod number three. And that is the Herod in our story now here in Acts chapter 12. He is the grandson of Herod the Great and the son of Herod Antipas. He has James murdered. He has Peter imprisoned.
The Church's Response: Constant Prayer
And he wanted to take every precaution so Peter would not escape. Verse 4 says, He delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him. Why? Well because Peter had been in prison before and got out. And Herod knew this. And a matter of fact the angel delivered Peter on that occasion. And the angel would deliver him again unbeknownst to Herod. So he took every precaution. Peter was behind two gates, chained to two guards, and guarded by fourteen more.
So what did the church do? Well we read here that they organized a boycott of all products made in Rome. Some of you are going, I didn't see that verse there. Yeah that is because it is not there. So what did the church do when Peter was in prison? Well they developed a writing campaign. They have Herod overthrown and someone else put in his place. No we don't read that either do we?
What did they do? They did something we don't do enough of these days. They prayed. Again verse 5. Constant prayer was offered to God for Him by the church. Though all doors remained closed, one was still open, the door of prayer.
Have you ever played knock and run? How many of you have played knock and run? You know what knock and run is? You knock on doors and run. Right? Sad thing is I still do that at the age of 58. I do. So if you have had a mysterious knock on your door and you saw a bald man running down the street. That was probably Pastor Jeff. No.
But even in hotels. This is true. I will be walking through a hallway of a hotel and I will knock on doors. I usually do it when people are around me. I will knock on the door and say, we better run. They will run down the hallway and I will laugh. Because I knocked on doors of closets. But they didn't notice that. See. They thought I knocked on a person's door.
Don't Pray and Run – Expect God to Answer
But we can be that way in prayer. We will come to God and we will pray. Lord I pray that... and then we will run off. Because we don't expect an answer. The early church did. They believed that God answered prayer. Martin Lloyd-Jones said, and I quote, of all the blessings of Christian salvation none is greater than this, that we have access to God in prayer.
So here in this chapter we are going to find out how to have prayers that will get answered in the affirmative. See in effect God answers all prayer. Right? Yes. No. And wait. Sometimes God will say no to our prayer. We will say, well God never answers my prayers. No. He answered it. You just didn't like the answer.
But how can we have our prayers answered more often in the affirmative? Is there anything that we can do to cause God to say yes instead of no? Well I believe the answer to that is yes. And we will find them right here in this story.
Principle number one. The prayer that has power is the prayer that is offered to God. Again the prayer that has power is the prayer that is offered to God. Now I know some of you are thinking, well that is like the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I mean isn't all prayer offered to God? No it isn't.
Principle 1: Pray to God with Focus and Reverence
Why would you think that? Haven't you ever prayed and had your mind wander? I mean while you are actually praying usually it is when someone else is usually praying. You are going, oh yes Lord. Oh hallelujah. Amen. And really what you are thinking is, did I turn the iron off when I left the house? I don't know if I did. Oh I need to call so and so. Oh you know for lunch I think I am going to get a hamburger.
Yeah these are the thoughts that are going through your mind. They are not evil thoughts necessarily. They are just other thoughts. And they are certainly not thoughts that are preoccupied with God's glory. So you can be praying. You can have your hands folded. Your eyes closed. And not be praying at all.
Have you ever been praying and as someone else is praying you open your eyes and you are looking around and you make eye contact with someone else doing the same thing? Kind of an awkward moment you do, oh. Kind of like you cheated in prayer. The reality is you can pray with your eyes open. That is why when you drive you should always pray with your eyes open.
You can pray with your eyes closed. In the Bible we have people praying with their eyes open, their eyes closed, their eyes lifted to heaven. We have them on their knees, laying on their face, lifting their hands. Any posture is acceptable. But the main thing is your prayer should be unto God.
Jesus told the story of the Pharisee that prayed thus with himself. Meaning his prayers effectively went no higher than the ceiling because there was no thought whatsoever of the God he was addressing. So our prayer needs to be offered to God.
The Lord's Prayer as the Model for True Prayer
And that is why Jesus gave us the model for all prayer and what we call the Lord's Prayer. The disciples came to our Lord and said, teach us to pray. They didn't say, teach us a prayer. There is nothing wrong with praying the Lord's Prayer verbatim. It is a beautiful prayer. But it really is more of a model or a template for prayer.
For Christ began by saying, after this manner, therefore, you should pray. Guys, this is sort of a form for prayer, if you will. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Now if we wrote the Lord's Prayer it would probably go along the lines of, Our Father who art in heaven, give us this day our daily bread. I mean let's just get to this thing. But Jesus says, no. When you pray, pray Our Father. So right off the bat Our Father speaks of intimacy. It speaks of relationship. It speaks of closeness.
Our Father who art in heaven. That speaks of the majesty and the greatness and the power of God. Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Lord I glorify you. I worship you. I praise you. I acknowledge your greatness. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, before I offer a word of personal petition I want to just say I want your will more than my own.
If you take more time to contemplate the greatness of God I think it will affect your prayer. In some occasions your prayer might be shorter. In other occasions it might be longer. But certainly it is going to be effective because you recognize I am speaking to God Almighty.
Aligning Our Will with God's Will in Prayer
And here is the objective of prayer. Listen to this. To get my will in alignment with God's will. Prayer is not trying to get God to do what I want Him to do. Prayer is getting me to do what God wants to do. It is aligning my will with His. So the thing I need to ask myself is, is this prayer that I am praying according to the will of God?
You say, well Greg how would I know that? Through careful study of the Scripture. Verse John 5:14 says, this is the confidence we have in Him. If we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And we know that He hears us whatever we ask. And we will have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Listen. Nothing lies outside of the reach of prayer except that which is outside of the will of God. So am I praying according to His will? If I am, Jesus says, you will have the petitions you have just prayed. God answers the request that He inspires. Thus I need a good working knowledge of the Scripture.
So when I pray for provision I might say, well Lord you have told us in your word that you will supply all of my needs according to your riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Now why would I say that? To educate God? You think God is saying, well I didn't know that. That is good stuff. Well you wrote it Lord. No, no, no. I am reminding myself. And I am basing my prayer request on a clear promise of Scripture.
Lord you have promised to provide for me. I am claiming that promise. Taking hold of it. And it also bolsters my faith because now I am about to come to the Lord and ask for Him to answer that prayer. Quoting Scripture in prayer. In Acts 4:25-26 the apostles quoted Scripture when they prayed.
Jesus said in John 15, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Or a better translation from the Greek would be Christ speaking, if you maintain a living communion with me and my words are at home in you, you shall ask at once for yourself whatever your heart desires and it will be yours.
Now God is not a genie that is going to answer every request you offer. But God will answer your prayers if you are maintaining a living communion with Him and His word is at home in you because you will be praying for what God wants you to pray for.
Praying for Salvation According to God's Will
So our prayers should be unto God. That is principle number one. And here is another thing to consider. When we are praying for someone to come to Christ, is that according to the will of God? In other words, does God want people to be saved? Does God want people to be saved? Yes or no? Yes. Good. Good answer.
Because we are told that in 2 Peter 3:9, God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. So when we are praying for the salvation of someone we are praying according to the will of God. In fact Paul specifically asked for prayer as he preached the gospel.
In Ephesians 6:18-19 he said, Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert. Be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere. And then he says, And pray for me too. Ask God to give me the right words as I boldly explain God's secret plan that the good news is for the Gentiles too.
Hey, pray for me. That God would give me boldness and the right words. You know people will sometimes come to me and say, Greg how can we pray for you as the crusade approaches. And my response is the same as Paul's. I would say pray for me that the Lord would give me the right words.
I take what I do very seriously. And believe it or not I spend a lot of time preparing my messages. And I write them out word for word. I actually have notes that I preach from you know. But there are times when I get up to speak when some thought will come to me that I had not considered previously. It is not in my notes. And I will share it.
And I have had people come to me later and say, it is when you said that one thing that I decided I wanted to become a Christian. I mean think back on the day that you became a believer and if it was through preaching you will probably remember one thing that was said. We don't remember. Point number four was very good. But point number five really resonated. And I enjoyed these other verses. Now you don't remember that stuff. You just came. You heard it. And something just jumped out and got your heart. Right?
So I pray for those right words as I get up to speak. And we all need to pray for those right words from the Lord. But we are praying for non-believers. However, that doesn't mean we can just claim someone to be saved. I claim that this person will be saved in Jesus' name. Well you can claim it all day long. But they still have to respond to the gospel.
God wants people to be saved but He has also given us our free will. So rather your prayer should be, Lord, open their eyes and show them their need for Jesus Christ. Why do we pray that? Because we are told over in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that Satan has blinded the eyes of those that don't believe. And then Paul tells us over in Acts 26 that when conversion takes place a person's eyes are opened and they turn from darkness to light.
So when you are praying for a non-believer pray something like this. Lord, we know that You want people to be saved. So I pray for, insert name here. And I pray that You will open their eyes and show them their need for Jesus Christ. Lord, wherever they are right now, Lord, get their attention and show them how much they need You.
Yes. Our prayers should be unto God. Our prayers should be aligned with the will of God.
Principle 2: Pray with Intensity and Earnestness
Principle number two. The prayer that prevails is the prayer that is prayed with intensity. The prayer that is offered continually and passionately. I mean think about what these guys were facing. James the beloved apostle. James who was always there with John. James and John. He was gone to heaven now. It must have been a shock. They were mourning the loss of this great man of God.
And now Herod has arrested Peter. And it is the night before his trial and potential execution. So they are praying. But this is not just kind of a kickback, yawn, Lord, help out Peter what is for dinner. This is O Lord. Help Peter. O Lord, deliver Peter.
In fact the word that is used here for constant can be translated earnestly. Or another way to translate it. Stretched outwardly. Praying with agony. It is the idea of a soul in a stretch of earnest desire. To pray with intensity. The same word by the way is used of Jesus in Luke 22:44. We are in the Garden of Gethsemane. We read He prayed more earnestly.
And a lot of times our prayers are just so, you know, laid back. Oh yes, Lord, I pray You will just save them. I really want this person to come to Christ. Really? When is the last time you prayed for them? It was a month ago? Really? Maybe you should pray more often. Maybe it should be a prayer you offer every day. And maybe you are just going about your business and they come to your mind. Pray for them right now. Oh Lord. Save this person. Lord. Bring this person to You.
And you keep bringing this request to God over and over and over again. Listen. The prayer that prevails with God is a prayer into which we put our whole soul stretching out toward God in intense and agonizing desire. Much of our prayer has no power in it because there is no heart in it. If we put so little heart in our prayers we can't expect God to put much heart in answering them.
These believers probably prayed through the night.
Principle 3: Pray Together in Unity
Bringing us to principle number three. They prayed together. They prayed together. Back to verse 5. Constant prayer was offered to God for Him by the church. Know this. There is power in united prayer. It is better to pray with your fellow Christians than just to pray solo. It is great to pray by yourself. But get together with other believers.
You say, well why would that matter? Think about a Roman soldier in battle. Maybe you have seen it depicted in a film. But the Romans were great military tacticians and they used their shields very effectively. They would go into battle and they would have a wall in front of them. And if they came under attack they would pull their shields together on the front, on the side, on the back and over the top so there was a barrage of arrows they would just hunker down and they were like just a box and all the arrows would hit. Then they would break out and counterattack. Very effective.
That is what it is like when we pray together. We link our shields together. Instead of just This one person out on the field with your shield and your sword. No. You are next to me. And you are next to the other person. And we all stand together as a wall of prayer warriors marching forward. See that is what it is. That is what we need to do.
And Jesus gave us this promise in Matthew 18:19. If two of you will agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it will be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Let us understand what that doesn't mean before we understand what it does mean. That doesn't mean that two Christians can just get together and decide to pray for the same thing and it will automatically happen because two of us are agreeing together. Because two people can pray for a stupid thing. Right? In fact we are told over in James that you have not because you ask not. And when you do ask and you don't get it it is because your motive is wrong and you are only praying for your own pleasure.
Sometimes I pray for things that are just not right or things that would be harmful to me. And God will say, no I am not going to answer that prayer. So just because two misguided believers agree about one thing doesn't mean that God will necessarily do it.
Go back to point one which was pray according to the will of God. So the assumption here is we are in alignment with God's will and thus we are praying together for something that we know God wants to do. For instance when we pray for people to be saved we are praying according to the will of God. When we pray for a spiritual awakening to sweep our nation we are praying according to the will of God.
So let's align our will with His and pray together.
Principle 4: Even Prayers with Doubt Can Be Powerful
That brings us to principle number four. This one is a little different than the first three. In fact it might come as a bit of a surprise. But it reminds us that these first century believers were people just like us. They were flawed. They weren't super Christians. Here is principle number four. They prayed doubtingly. Or another way to state it. They prayed with doubt. That's right.
This comes out clearly in the story. Yes they prayed fervently. Yes they prayed together. But they also prayed with an element of doubt. Yet even though their prayer was weakened it still was mightier than Herod and mightier than hell.
Clearly there is a place for faith in our prayers. And no doubt on many occasions our prayers have been hindered because we did not pray with any faith whatsoever. Having said that I must say that I certainly don't agree with the so called word faith teachers that would tell us faith is a force that must be harnessed and we speak things into existence as we say this must be done in Jesus name and you must have a positive confession and believe it is done.
I even heard one of these guys say on one occasion we should never come to God and say thy will be done. Instead we should pray my will be done. Really? I don't want to hang around with that guy when lightning hits him some day. Can you imagine going to God and saying my will be done. What are you crazy?
Jesus taught us as we already pointed out in the Lord's Prayer to say not my will but thine be done. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. Even Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane said to the Father three times not my will but yours be done. Don't ever be afraid to say that.
So this idea of just having your faith you know name it and claim it. Gab it and grab it. That is stupid. But having pointed that out there is a place for faith. But even if your faith is weak come with as much faith as you have. Because as we are going to see in a moment their faith was honored. Though it was somewhat diminished as evidenced by their reaction.
The Father's Cry: I Believe, Help My Unbelief
But there is a great story of a man who had a demon possessed boy. He came to Jesus. He said, Lord touch my son. Jesus said, if you believe all things are possible to him who believes. And the father cried out with tears, O Lord I believe. But help my unbelief.
And Jesus said, sorry bro that is not good enough. You have to name it and claim it man. No. Jesus didn't say that. You know what Jesus did? He healed his boy. Because that was good enough for God. Lord I believe. Help my unbelief. Lord I am just going to be honest right now. I do believe. But I have my moments of doubt. But right now with as much faith as I can muster. Lord I believe. That is acceptable.
Bring as much faith as you have and put it into action.
The Miraculous Answer: Peter's Deliverance
Let's see what happened as a result of their prayers. Acts 12 starting in verse 6. And I am going to read it to you from the New Living Translation. The night before Peter was to be placed on trial he was asleep, chained between two soldiers with others standing guard at the prison gate. Suddenly there was a bright light in the cell and the angel of the Lord stood before Peter. And the angel tapped him on the side to wake him up and said, quick get up. And the chains fell off of his wrists.
The angel said to him, get dressed and put on your sandals. And he did. Now put on your coat and follow me, the angel ordered. So Peter left the cell and followed the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn't realize it was really happening.
They passed the first and second guard post and came to the iron gate to the street and it opened to them all by itself. I love that. It's like a supermarket door just opened up, you know. So they passed through and started walking down the street. And the angel suddenly left him.
And Peter realized what had happened. It's really true. The Lord has sent His angel and has saved me from Herod from what the Jews were hoping to do to me. After a little thought he went to the home of Mary the mother of John Mark where they were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door of the gate and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.
When she recognized Peter's voice she was so overjoyed. And instead of opening the door she ran back inside and told everyone, Peter is standing at the door. So here it is a prayer meeting. They are probably praying for Peter. Oh Lord save Peter. Oh Lord deliver Peter. Guys guess what? Peter is at the door.
The reaction? Verse 15. You are out of your minds. There is that doubt. When she insisted they decided, well it must be his angel. Meanwhile Peter kept knocking. When they finally went out and opened the door they were amazed. And he motioned for them to quiet down and told them what had happened and how the Lord had led him out of jail.
This is such a great story. Here is Peter in prison. And he is asleep. He was probably the only Christian asleep in Jerusalem that night. Everybody else was praying for his deliverance. But Peter had this confidence in God. Reminds us of Daniel thrown into the lion's den. He got a good night's sleep. You know lions make nice pillows. When you are in the will of God.
Meanwhile the king that had sent him there was trying to figure out how to get him out. So the king was up all night in the palace and Daniel slept like a baby in the den. Listen, better to be in a prison with Jesus than in a palace without him.
Peace in Prayer and Sleep in God's Will
So Peter slept. And isn't it a great thing at night to go to sleep in peace? The Bible tells us in Psalm 4:8, I will lie down and sleep in peace. For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 127, he gives his beloved sleep.
You know a lot of times at night we are hit with anxiety, right? Worries. Oh, what about this? Oh, what about that? I can't handle this. Guess what? God has a night watch. I will just say, alright Lord I am going to bed now. There is nothing I can do about any of this. I am going to just leave it in your hands. You can worry about it. I am going to sleep.
Well I know God doesn't worry about it at all. But I know God is in control. And just to be able to go to sleep with a conscience free of guilt. You know, you are not having to lie about lies that you have already told to cover up other lies. Hey, your life is right with God. You have confessed your sin. Lord I committed to you. I can sleep now.
Peter could sleep. His conscience was clear. If he died, he goes to heaven. If he lives, he goes on and serves the Lord. It is all good.
So the Christians were praying. And the Lord answers the prayer and sends an angel. The door opens. He gets out of the prison. But Peter can't get into a prayer meeting. God can get Peter out of a prison. But Peter couldn't get himself into a prayer meeting. The very answer to their prayer is standing at the door and they did not believe.
They said you are beside yourself or you are crazy. Peter keeps knocking. He is persistent. Now look at verse 16 again. This is humorous to me. Now Peter continued knocking. And when they opened the door and saw him they were astonished. Notice the plural pronouns. They opened the door. They were astonished. You almost get the idea that they did all of this together. Peter is at the door. And they all kind of walk together. They all opened the door. And you can see all their heads around the side. And there is Peter. Hello. Can I come in please.
God had answered their prayer.
The Final Outcome: God's Victory Over Evil
Look how things changed as a result of powerful prayer. In the beginning we see a seemingly all powerful Herod wrecking havoc on the church. Herod had the power of the sword and the threat of prison. On the other side we have the church turning to God in prayer.
By the way the story ends with the great Herod giving a speech that was met by adulation from the people who cried out, It's the voice of a God and not of a man. Josephus, a historian who was alive at this time, tells us that Herod was dressed head to toe in silver. That reflected the sun. So he stood there giving his speech, reflecting the sun off of his silvery robe. The people are saying, You are a God. You are a God. Herod is like, Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.
God didn't like that. And he was struck down. Verse 23 says, Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and he died.
Listen to this. God will always have the last word. At the beginning of the chapter Herod is on a rampage, arresting and persecuting church leaders. In the end he himself is struck down and he dies. The chapter opens with James dead, Peter in prison, and Herod triumphing. It closes with Herod dead, Peter free, and the Word of God triumphing. Listen. It is not over till it is over. The power of prayer.
So what do we need to pray about? Well let's think about you for a moment. You have come here today with a burden. Or a challenge. Or a concern. Or a need. Some are more dramatic than others. Some of you just need direction. Lord what do I do next? What is the next step I should take? Maybe you are young and you are thinking about getting married. Is this the right guy Lord? Is she the right girl? Should I go to this college? Should I go work over here? What should I do Lord? I need your wisdom.
Others need healing. You have been given bad news by a doctor. Oh Lord I need your touch today. I need you to touch this body of mine. Others of you need strength to get through a trial you are going through. Lord you have to help me with this. I can't handle this. Others of you need employment. Lord I need that job. You have to help me find one.
Others need help with your marriage. It is unraveling. I don't know how to fix this Father. It is getting worse every day. Some of you are having problems with prodigal sons and daughters. Lord you have to get hold of them. Or you have a loved one you know. Or a friend or a neighbor. It is not a Christian. You are praying for their salvation.
Applying the Principles: Prayer for Personal Needs and the Crusade
Let's take these principles and put them into practice. And now let's also pray for what God is about to do at Dodger Stadium. Let's pray right now:
Father we bring our needs before You. You tell us in Scripture to cast all of our care upon You for You care for us. You are the Almighty God. Creator of heaven and earth. Nothing is impossible to You. So Lord we bring these needs to You now. You look at us as a crowd but you look at us as individuals. You know these things that trouble our hearts. You know these things that cause us anxiety. You know these things that keep us up at night.
We place them in Your hands and we ask for Your intervention. And we especially pray for loved ones that we know. Their very names are in our mind right now. Their faces flash before us. People we know that need You. Lord would You save them. Would You reach out even now wherever they are and wake them up to their need for Jesus Christ.
And Lord we pray for this event at Dodger Stadium next Saturday. We pray that stadium will be filled with people. We pray Lord for a mighty response to the gospel. And we pray that L.A., the city, and the county will know about it. We pray that Southern California will be impacted by it. We pray for thousands of people to believe in Jesus Christ.
We pray Lord for our nation that You will send a spiritual awakening. We pray for a revival. We pray for ourselves. That we would be revived. That we, Your people, would turn from our wicked ways and walk right with You so You would hear from Heaven and forgive our sin and heal our land.
We commit our lives to You. We commit this church to You. We commit this crusade to You. And we ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.
We place them in Your hands and we ask for Your intervention. And we especially pray for loved ones that we know. Their very names are in our mind right now. Their faces flash before us. People we know that need You. Lord would You save them. Would You reach out even now wherever they are and wake them up to their need for Jesus Christ.
And Lord we pray for this event at Dodger Stadium next Saturday. We pray that stadium will be filled with people. We pray Lord for a mighty response to the gospel. And we pray that L.A., the city, and the county will know about it. We pray that Southern California will be impacted by it. We pray for thousands of people to believe in Jesus Christ.
We pray Lord for our nation that You will send a spiritual awakening. We pray for a revival. We pray for ourselves. That we would be revived. That we, Your people, would turn from our wicked ways and walk right with You so You would hear from Heaven and forgive our sin and heal our land.
We commit our lives to You. We commit this church to You. We commit this crusade to You. And we ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.