So far Luke has been showing us how the advance of the Christian movement was unstoppable. The church is advancing and “the gates of hell” are not prevailing against it, though resistance is strong (in accordance with Jesus’ promise in Matthew 16:18). As we saw yesterday, here again in Acts 12 there is an attempt to squash the Christian movement. It simply cannot, however, be held down and that is what God is signifying by Peter’s miraculous escape from prison. Today I want you to note how the way forward was opened up. While Peter was in prison something very important was happening: the church was praying. Even though they were praying for Peter they could not believe it when he actually turned up at the door! Maybe they were expecting that God would cause Herod to be lenient on Peter or something like that, but they never expected Peter to be set free. Again, this is not just a miracle; it is a sign. God was speaking to his people and telling them that they should raise their expectations. He wanted them to know that, when they got together and prayed for a way forward, he would answer their prayers. Moreover, God was showing his church how things were going to go forward. We move forward in God’s purpose as we pray. Prayer clears the way. God wants us to move ahead with him and the way we do this is to pray the way forwards. As we do this, we will become an unstoppable force for God.
Pray for the way ahead so that you will realise God’s purpose this week.
Read Acts 12 again
