Partnership in Prayer

Introduction

There is no more dramatic story in the New Testament concerning partnership

and power in prayer than this record given us in Acts 12.

1. In this story King Herod represents the subtle, fearful, and overwhelming power of the Devil against the work of God. Over against this opposition, however, God puts a church or a fellowship at prayer. In other words, whenever Satan comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him (Isa. 59:19).

2. The Enemy’s single purpose in every age is to silence the voice of the gospel, but God’s answer is always the mighty power of prayer.

a. This is why this miraculous intervention is preserved for us. We can read it, study it, and learn the principles that determine victory over every attempt of Satan to thwart the redemptive purposes of God.

3. Notice three important features of this particular prayer meeting.

I. The people at prayer.

Verse 12 is a simple statement of fact with eternal significance. As we

have already seen, Satan had done his best to incarcerate Peter and to silence

the message of life in the city of Jerusalem, but God responded by drawing

together a group of men and women to pray.

A. Three classes of people were present at that prayer meeting.

a. The “Mary” class. It was “the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying”(Acts 12:12).

i. Mary represented the influential people, for it appears that she was a woman of comparative wealth and influence. She had a roomy home that was used as a meeting place for members of the church in Jerusalem.

ii. Thank God for the Marys of church history!

iii. Thank God for the Marys of today who make their homes available for Bible study, prayer, and Christian fellowship.

iv. No one can read the New Testament without observing the central place the home has had in the growth of the Christian church.

B. The “Rhoda” class. “As Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a servant came to answer, named Rhoda” (Acts 12:13).

a. Rhoda, whose name means “rose,” represents the less significant people. Without question, she was a familiar slave who kept the door. But what a fragrance her name and life have given the Christian church throughout the centuries.

b. While God certainly uses the influential people, he never despises the less significant people.

c. The prayers of Rhoda were just as effective and acceptable as the prayers of Mary.

C. The “many” class. We read that “many were gathered together praying” (Acts 12:12).

a. The “many” represent the inconspicuous people. These are the unnamed, common people who hear Jesus gladly, who respond to his message, and who become the members of his church, which is his body.

b. Since the beginning of the church and down through the centuries, the preponderance of people in the church of Jesus Christ have been part of the “many” class, and this is how it will be until the church is complete and Christ comes back to receive his own.

II. The purpose in prayer.

We cannot read Luke’s account here without being impressed with two aspects of prayer that constitute the elements of true purpose.

A. Unity in prayer. “Many were gathered together” (Acts 12:12).

a. Whatever differences might have separated the people involved were now completely lost in the unity of the purpose in prayer.

b. Undoubtedly this is the first secret of prevailing prayer.

c. This is why Jesus declared, “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven” (Matt. 18:19 NIV).

d. And the psalmist reminds us that it is good and pleasant for people to dwell together in unity (Ps. 133:1),

Psalm 133:1

How good and pleasant it is

when God’s people live together in unity!

B. Urgency in prayer. “Prayer was being made without ceasing” (Acts 12:5).

a. The phrase “without ceasing” means that prayer was fervent and intense.

b. This is the second secret of prevailing prayer.

c. It is a prayer of self-denial.

d. When people are gathered to pray with this sense of urgency, they are also prepared to go through with God at any cost.

e. This is “Calvary praying”; therefore, it is victorious praying.

f. When people pray like this, something is bound to happen.

III. The power of prayer.

Peter had been cast into prison. Previous to this, James had been beheaded with the sword. The Christians were apprehensive, so they prayed, and they prayed and they prayed. God has ordered that the miracles that happen on earth are always channeled through prayer, and this case was no exception. The power of God was revealed.

A. First there was an unusual demonstration of power.

a. When Rhoda reported that Peter was alive and was standing outside the door, the ones who had been praying claimed she was mad (Acts 12:15).

b. Without doubt, everyone imagined that Peter would be arraigned before the magistrate the next day and then cautioned and released—all in answer to their prevailing prayers.

c. But God always works far above all that we could ever ask or imagine. Therefore, the divine demonstration of power transcended the preconceived ideas of those faithful prayer warriors.

B. Second, there was an undeniable demonstration of power. “Peter stood before the gate” (Acts 12:14).

a. However unusual the answer was, it was undeniable. Everyone in that fellowship knew that God had answered prayer and that prayer was a miracle-working force.

George Mueller said he never had any need for the orphans in his orphanage that God did not meet. On one such occasion the orphanage ran out of milk. George Mueller prayed, and down the street came a farmer driving two milk cows. There is no limit to the power of prayer.

R. G. Lee said, “Prayer can do anything God can do.”

b. When God hears prayer, the answer is both unusual and undeniable.

Conclusion

Verse 1 -3

1. James is the brother of John.

a. We first meet these two disciples in Mathew 4:21

2. James and John where with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration Mt 17:1

a. James and John’s mother was the one who asked Jesus if her two sons could sit on the left and the right of Him when they get to heaven. Mt 20:20

b. It was Peter James and John who Jesus chose to go further with Him in the garden of Gethsemane. Mt 26:37

3. James and John are the ones that Jesus gave the name sons of thunder to in Mk 3:17

a. It was Peter James and John who went Jesus took in to the house of Jarius the synagogue leader whose daughter had died. Lk 8:51

4. These two brothers where with Peter when Peter says he is going fishing after the crucifixion and before the ascension. Jn 21:2[1]

a. This is when the see Jesus on the shore of Galilee and Jesus tells them to throw there net on the right side of the boat. They did not recognize Jesus.

5. James wasn’t the first martyr but he was the second.

a. Ironical His brother is the only one who died of old age.

Verse 4-5

1. Four squads of soldiers (Peter had a 16 man detail attached to him.)

a. Every six hours they would switch guards.

b. Two of them chained to Peter and two of them at the cell door.

2. Verse 4b After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

a. Herod wanted to make a public spectacle of Peter.

3. Verse 5 The church was earnestly praying to God for him.

a. Acts 1:14 (NIV) They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

b. Ephesians 6:18 tells us 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Verse 6- 12

1. Verse 7 Peter was sleeping so sound that the angel struck him on the side to wake him up.

a. Psalms Psalm 107:14 (NIV) 14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.

b. Is God going to take care of us or what.

2. In verse 9 Peter thought that he was seeing a vision. That is how God spoke to people sometimes then.

a. Acts 9:10 (NIV) 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision

3. Verse 17 James, this the brother of Jesus. He later was the leader of the Jerusalem church.

a. Earlier in Mark, the brothers of Jesus, along with His mother, were looking for Him (Mark 3:31–35).

b. The Gospel of John states that the brothers of Jesus do not believe in Him (John 7:5), meaning that this James does not at first believe in His brother’s messianic claims.

c. Paul seems to imply James’ belief was a result of a resurrection appearance (1 Cor 15:7).[2]

Verse 18-19

1. No small commotion as to what had happened to Peter.

a. The soldiers were scared, they knew what the penalty was for losing a prisoner.

2. Remember when Paul was miraculously saved in prison.

Acts 16:27 (NIV) The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

[1] The New International Version(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011). [2]Viktor Roudkovski, “James, Brother of Jesus,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary(Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).