Acts 12:1-19 – God’s Provision is Best

Read Acts 12:1-19

Things are heating up in Jerusalem. The Christian movement continues, but King Herod has figured out a way to get the Jewish people excited. Persecute and kill Christians. He no longer has his great persecutor, Saul in the trenches. What a great loss that must have been.

At Herod’s request, James was killed and Peter was arrested. What a scary time. We hear the church “prayed very earnestly for him” (him being Peter). Because it was Passover, King Herod realized it wasn’t the proper time to put Peter’s trial and death on public display. He would wait, and Peter would be silenced while in prison.

You may recall Peter escaped previously from jail, so Herod made sure it wasn’t going to happen again. Talk about overkill. He was chained to two soldiers, and as many as 16 guards were standing by! No human should be able to get away now! But the joke was on Herod. When God has your back, no amount of human strength or bondage can stop God. The people were praying, too, but they probably weren’t asking for Peter’s release, only his protection. God’s protection included release, an even better answer to prayer.

Do we sometimes do that? Limit God in our prayers, that is.  We often pray for what we want and forget to pray God’s will be done. God’s ideas are so much better. Sometimes we don’t even notice a prayer has been answered because we are so focused on our outcome, not the outcome God thought best.

Perhaps we don’t pray at all because we don’t know what to ask. We’re afraid to tell God what we want. We figure he already knows what’s in our hearts, it doesn’t matter. We need to get that notion out of our heads at once. Prayer is a very powerful tool. Sometimes prayer is all we can do for someone. We can come to God with honesty, tell him the desires of our heart, but also rest  in his wisdom. God will work with the circumstances we find ourselves in, even if they aren’t what he had hoped for us.

The whole topic of why God lets bad things happen often surfaces. We need to stand firm against the evil one using the power of God we have inside us. When it can’t be helped, we need to have no doubt that God is crying along with us and wanting to restore normalcy and blessing as soon as possible.

Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie says the formula for creative intercessory prayer (when we pray on behalf of others) is: listen carefully, ask boldly, trust completely, knowing the answer is in God’s plan. He uses everything for His glory and our growth, if we allow him. The church wasn’t asking boldly enough here, they should have been asking for Peter’s release. God’s answer was in excess of their request. We shouldn’t limit God with our expectations or requests.

Think about that and what you have been praying for lately. Have you put limits on how God will respond?

Let’s pray. Lord deliver me from any fear of rejection or worthiness. May I step boldly forth to serve others in your name. Bless the ministries David and I are part of, and bring unity of heart to those involved. Still my heart from any anxious thought. Fill my heart with joy. I am so thankful for all you have given me. May I share these gifts wisely to bring you honor. In Jesus’ name. Amen.