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Acts 12:11
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!”
At this time the early Church was growing fast and this was making King Herod increasingly nervous. He was determined to tighten the screws and so he arranged for the killing of James, the brother of John. This went down very well with the Jews and so he decided to arrest Peter, the leader of the Church, and kept him under the closest possible surveillance. He was guarded by four squads of four soldiers each, and chained as he slept between two guards. King Herod must have assumed that nothing could possibly go wrong, but he hadn’t taken God into account! That night, an angel woke Peter up and led him out of the prison (vv6-10).
Not unreasonably, Peter first assumes that his dramatic rescue is a wonderful dream. But, as our text reveals, he suddenly realises that he really has been set free! Now he has to reckon with the fact that the impossible has happened. One of the biggest challenges of the Christian life is acknowledging that God really is in the business of doing miracles. He does them all the time. As we go about our daily life, we need to raise our level of expectation. When we pray for someone to be healed, we shouldn’t be surprised if God actually does heal them. When we pray for our sins to be forgiven, we should take it in our stride when we become overwhelmed with a sense of God’s peace. When we pray for restoration in a broken relationship, we should be quick to praise God when it happens. We need to have open arms to God’s daily miracles.
Question
What miracle are you praying for today?
Prayer
Lord God I worship you for your miraculous power and your endless love. Amen
Released on 30 Jun 2024
Acts 12:14–15 When she recognised 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!” “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “...
Acts 13:2–3 One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent th...
Acts 13:5 There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant. This verse describes the start of the first missionary journey. It was an incredibly important...
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