Bringing Guns to a Knife Fight
I hate it when I’m trying to have a calm & clear discussion with someone and then… it turns ugly! What was once a nice chat, is now an argument because the other party just had to “bring a gun to a knife fight” in the form of a cheap insult. The introduction of the “gun” has ruined what was once a level playing field!
That’s kind of like what happens when we pray… we have a deadly weapon at our disposal!
In the book of Acts, chapter 12 tells us about Peter being arrested by Herod. This was not an uncommon occurrence for the early church, but it’s remarkable to see what happened!
Verse 5 says:
“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”
Sounds pretty simple, if not “uneventful”, right? But as we read on, we see where an angel sent from God rescued Peter despite being shackled and surrounded by guards.
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 sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches…”
So what’s the connection here? The church prayed, God listened, took action, and Peter escaped.
Now, could Peter have escaped on his own? Possibly, but not very likely.
Could God have sent an angel just on His own desire? Again… possibly, but not very likely.
Why? Because God wants to hear from us! (Imagine that, right?)
But there’s something else at work here! The enemy (that satan guy) attacks God by going after His children. Wherever God is (which for an omnipresent God means: everywhere) the battle is taken to Him! That means believers are walking targets. So why are we surprised when someone has a personal failure?
We answer these attacks by standing in the way, coming in-between our brother or sister in Christ and fending off the attacker! This is called “intercessory prayer” because it literally means “intervening” or “mediating”. When we pray, we’re armed with a weapon that outmatches anything the enemy has in its possession! The problem has historically been using it!
Notice back in verse 5… the word “earnestly” is used here. Earnestly is defined as “seriously” or “intensely”… the church was in constant, fervent, deep prayer for Peter to be rescued! And you know what? It worked!
Now, you might be like everyone else sending up prayers for your family members and close friends, but the question is this: Are you praying for your church family? For the worship leaders? For your pastor? For the person sitting near you? For your neighbors? For your co-workers? The list goes on…
There are many of our fellow believers in need of prayer for their health, finances, relationships… because these areas are all crucial “battlefields” where spiritual warfare takes place on a constant moment-by-moment basis. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 for believers to “pray without ceasing” and for good reason! The enemy never stops attacking, so neither should we!
Let’s take up arms and fight back! Find the time in your daily schedule to be an intercessor for God’s children!
