Prayer in the Midst of Persecution

Before we begin today, I want to encourage you to go back and read all of Acts 11. We will not read any of that chapter today. I want us to go to chapter 12. We will begin reading at verse 1.

What kind of trials are you facing today? What kind of persecution are you facing? The things we go through we may not think of it as persecution, but we may think of it as trials. I said a few weeks ago that all of us will go through trials.

For the past few months our church has faced trials. The finances of our church is down, just like they are for some of you. Over the last few weeks we have had to make cuts to our budget. These are times of trials. We might could even call this persecution of the enemy. Satan wants to see this church, and every other church that wants to move forward, fail. It is during this time that we must get on our knees as a united church and we must fight this spiritual battle that we are going through.

Look at Acts 12:1-25

Acts 12:1–25 NIV

1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 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. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 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 has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” 12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” 15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. 18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

The Church was in a Dire Situation

Acts 12:1–3 NIV

1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

Things did not look good for the church.

King Herod was arresting those that were a part of the church. He was making it a practice of persecuting them. Herod beheaded James, one of the disciples. And now he had taken Peter prisoner. Things did not look good for the church.

To them, they felt like they had lost two of their church leaders. These were two founding members. One killed and the other take to prison.

How did the church respond?

Acts 12:12 NIV

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.

The Power of Prayer

Peter knew that the church was praying.

Prayer changes things.

It doesn’t matter what you are going through, prayer will be the key that helps you to get through what you are faced with.

When we are going through trials, that is not the time to stop praying. Also, don’t go through it alone. We need to lean on others and let them pray with you.

Trust God’s Sovereignty

You know it had to be a scary time. James, one of the disciples, was killed by Herod because of his belief in Jesus. The believer’s didn’t lose faith. Their trust was not in man, but it was in God.

What is the sovereignty of God?

It means that God is in charge of everything and everyone.

God is sovereign over your finances. He is sovereign over the church’s finances. God is sovereign over your health. God is sovereign over your family. God is sovereign over everything.

We must put our faith and trust in God and know that he will keep you going, no matter what you are going through.

This world likes for you to put a lid on Christ. They are okay if you talk about God, but when you talk about Jesus that is a different thing. Not everyone believes in Jesus like you and I do.

The truth is Jesus will set you free. The key to making it through everything is to make sure that you put Jesus at the center of your life. He will never fail you.

When the church in Acts thought that all hope was lost, what did they do? They didn’t give up and say, “well, we had a good run.” They join together in prayer and believed that God would get them through the persecution they were facing.

This week I want you to pray for this church. I want you to pray specifically for our finances. And if you can this week, I want you to think about a sacrifice that you can make to help this church financially.

I want us to end this service this morning by all of us coming forward and praying and asking God to bless our little church.