Saturday, January 2, 2016
Bible Lesson: Intercessory Prayer: The Church Prays For Peter's Deliverance From Prison.
Bible Lesson: Intercessory Prayer:
The Church Prays For Peter's
Deliverance From Prison.
Bible Text:
Acts 12:1-19 NLT
(James Is Killed and Peter Is
Imprisoned)
1 About that time King Herod Agrippa
began to persecute some believers in the church.
2 He had the apostle James (John’s
brother) killed with a sword.
3 When Herod saw how much this
pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place
during the Passover celebration.
4 Then he imprisoned him, placing
him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod
intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover.
5 But while Peter was in prison, the
church prayed very earnestly for him.
Acts 12:5 KJV
Peter therefore was kept in prison:
but prayer was made without ceasing of the
church unto God for him.
(Peter’s Miraculous Escape from
Prison)
6 The night before Peter was to be
placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two
soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.
7 Suddenly, there was a bright Light
in the cell, and an Angel Of The Lord stood before Peter. The angel
struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!”
And the chains fell off his wrists.
8 Then The Angel told him, “Get
dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your
coat and follow Me,” The Angel ordered.
9 So Peter left the cell, following
The Angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t
realize it was actually happening.
10 They passed the first and second
guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this
opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started
walking down the street, and then
The Angel suddenly left him.
11 Peter finally came to his senses.
“It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent His Angel and
saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to
do to me!”
12 When he realized this, he went to
the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered
for prayer.
13 He knocked at the door in the
gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.
14 When she recognized Peter’s
voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she
ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind!”
they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”
16 Meanwhile, Peter continued
knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were
amazed.
17 He motioned for them to quiet
down and told them how The Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell
James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he
went to another place.
18 At dawn there was a great
commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter.
19 Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough
search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the
guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to
stay in Caesarea for a while.
This is now Peter's
2nd escape from jail.
Acts 5:17-21 NLT
(The Apostles Meet Opposition)
17 The high priest and his
officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
18 They arrested the apostles and
put them in the public jail.
19 But an Angel Of The Lord came at
night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then He
told them,
20 “Go to the Temple and give the
people this message of life!”
21 So at daybreak the apostles
entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began
teaching.
Herod, to please
the Jews, killed James, the brother of John, and imprisoned Peter,
with intent to do the same to him, and would have were it not for
one thing, the praying church!
Peter was chained
between two soldiers (probably due to his earlier escape), while two
soldiers watched over him.
The praying church,
this is why the Apostle Paul said....
Hebrews 10:25
KJV
Not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one
another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
We need to pray
collectively, for the victory of the church of Jesus Christ, and we
need to pray for each other, this we do in the church.
Chains of
imprisonment, enemy sentries, forces of evil, with iron doors of
confinement, will all melt away as the church begins to pray.
God hears, and
is with us:
Genesis 28:15
NLT God's promise to His people.
"...I am with you, and I will
protect you wherever you go...I will not leave you..."
Exodus 33:14 KJV
And He said, My presence shall go
with thee, and I will give thee rest.
Deuteronomy 20:1
KJV God's promise to His people.
"... The Lord thy God is with
thee..."
Isaiah 43:1-3
KJV God's promise to His people.
1 But now thus saith The Lord that
created thee, ...and He that formed thee,...Fear not: for I have
redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.
2 When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not
overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be
burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3 For I am The Lord thy God, The
Holy One Of Israel, thy Savior..."
Matthew 18:20
KJV
For where two or three are gathered
together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 28:20
KJV
Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
John 14:16-18
KJV
16 And I will pray The Father, and
He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for
ever;
17 Even The Spirit Of Truth; whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth
Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless:
I will come to you.
Romans 8:15 KJV
For ye have not received the spirit
of bondage again to fear; but ye have received
The Spirit Of Adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father.
Galatians
3:26 NLT
For you are all children of God
through faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 4:6,7
NLT
6 And because we are His children,
God has sent The Spirit Of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to
call out, “Abba, Father.”
7 Now you are no longer a slave but
God’s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His
heir.
Dear
Christian, feeling alone, in a dark stormy world, hear again our
Savior's voice.
Matthew 14:27
KJV
But straightway Jesus spake unto
them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
John 16:33 KJV
These things I have spoken unto you,
that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Ephesians 4:1
NLT Apostle Paul
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving
The Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have
been called by God.
We have been
called to be intercessors:
Job
16:21 NLT (Job's
prayer)
21
I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates
between friends.
22
For soon I must go down that road from which I will never return.
Joel
2:17 NLT
Let
the priests, who minister in The Lord’s presence, stand and weep
between the entry room to the Temple and the altar. Let them pray,
“Spare your people, Lord!.."
Romans
1:9 KJV
For God is my witness, whom I serve
with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make
mention of you always in my prayers;
Ephesians
1:15,16 KJV
15 Wherefore I
also, after I heard of your faith in The Lord Jesus, and love unto
all the saints,
16 Cease not to
give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Ephesians
3:14-19 NLT
14 When I think
of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
15 the Creator
of everything in heaven and on earth.
16 I pray that
from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner
strength through His Spirit.
17 Then Christ
will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots
will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
18 And may you have the power to
understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how
high, and how deep His love is.
19 May you experience the love of
Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be
made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from
God.
Ephesians 6:18
NLT
Pray in The
Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be
persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Philippians
1:3,4 KJV
3 Every time I think of you, I give
thanks to my God.
4 Whenever I pray, I make my
requests for all of you with joy,
Colossians 1:3
KJV
We always pray for you, and we give
thanks to God, The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians
4:12,13 KJV
12 Epaphras, a member of your own
fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He
always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and
perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of
God.
13 I can assure you that he prays
hard for you and also for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
I Thessalonians
1:2,3 KJV
2 We always thank God for all of you
and pray for you constantly.
3 As we pray to our God and Father
about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the
enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Timothy 2:1
KJV
I exhort
therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
James 5:16 KJV
Confess your faults one to another,
and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Dear friend, keep
praying!