January 22, 2006
"The Power of a Praying Church"
The Power of a Praying Church—Part 3
Acts 12:1-19
God is looking for better men and women.
...The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
—James 5:16
The yes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
—2 Chronicles 16:9 (NLT)
Three basic types of people:
- People who have no purpose in life
- People living with the wrong purpose
- People who have found the right purpose in life
Question: How does a person find their purpose in life?
Live for the center of God's will.
"Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" Jesus replied, :You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."
—Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT)
"You can never know God intimately, without spending time in His presence."
If we are to live in the fulfillment of God's purpose, then we must do two things. We must love God, and we must be an expression of His love to others.
1. Godly leadership recognizes prayer as a high priority for themselves and their church.
Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
—Acts 6:3-4
The church prays for its leaders.
2. Godly leaders know that God sees our trials.
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil...
—Psalm 34:15-16, also 1 Peter 3:12
Question: Why was James allowed to die while Peter was rescued?
"We may not always know his ways, but we know His sovereign will is best."
—Dr. Warren Weirsbe
3. Godly leaders never underestimate the power of a praying church.
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
—Acts 12:5
4. God's people can rest confidently in His sovereign plan.
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.
—Acts 12:6
5. God always mixes the miraculous with the practical.
Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Wake, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 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. 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. 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.
—Acts 12:7-10
6. God graciously honors even the weakest of faith.
When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
—Acts 12:14-16
"Am I asking God to do according to my way?
Lifework
What miracle are you asking God to do for you?
Then Jesus told his disciples... that they should always pray and not give up... will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones...
—Luke 18:1,7
Prayer, Miracles and the Work of God
Personal and Small Group Study
Getting Started
- If you were arrested for being a Christian, what evidence might they point to as proof of your guilt? What could some "well meaning" character witness point to as proof of your innocence?
- What miracles have you seen God accomplish during your life?
Digging Deeper: Read Acts 12:1-19
- Last week Peter and John were thrown into prison by the Sadducees. In our passage this week they have been imprisoned by Herod. What do you learn about Herod's character in this passage? This Herod was nephew to the Herod who ruled in Jesus' day.
- Why would Herod join with the Jewish leaders in opposition to the church?
- Describe the prayer meeting being held for Peter. Where was the prayer meeting being held?
- What was Peter's situation in prison? How is it that Peter could sleep at a time such as this?
- How did the church respond when Rhoda reported that Peter was at the door? What does their response show about their belief and faith?
- Why would God save the life of Peter and not James? Read John 21:18-19. How might Peter answer this same question?
Applying It To My Life
- Who are the power players in this passage? How does this passage put the different types of power at work, in perspective?
- What lesson do you learn about how Christians ought to face opposition?
- How is your experience in prayer similar to the Christians in this passage? If God answered the prayers on your prayer list, which ones would lead to the biggest surprise?
- Peter was miraculously delivered from prison, yet he went into hiding from Herod. Do you think that was the right decision? What do you see as the overlap between God's power and human common sense?