SIXTEEN WAS NOT ENOUGH

Acts 12:4-8 NKJV 

4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. 5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 

 This is one of the most amazing stories of the New Testament. James, the brother of John, had been killed by Herod to the great pleasure of the Jews. So, Herod arrested Peter and put him in prison. And he sanctioned four squads of soldiers to guard him. The word squad is the Greek word tetrads, which means squads of four. Herod assigned 16 soldiers to guard Peter. But it was not enough.   

Peter was in prison, but. But constant or earnest prayer was offered to God on his behalf by the church. That’s a great word. The church was praying, and they were serious about it. What happens next is not directly attributed to the prayers of the church, but it’s not a leap to assume that the prayers made a difference. If the prayers of the church had been inconsequential, they would never have been mentioned.   

Peter is locked down tight the night before he was going to be brought out and displayed to the people. He had a soldier on either side of him, chains on his hands, and fourteen guards between Peter and freedom. And yet Peter is sleeping. Not worrying. Not panicking. Not frantically praying but sleeping and sleeping quite soundly. Peter was sleeping so deeply that when the angel of the Lord showed up in the prison and light was shining, the angel had to strike Peter in the side to wake him up. If Peter was facing death, he either didn’t know it or wasn’t worried about it, but if you can sleep that deep in prison, you are in great shape.   

For the sake of time, I did not read the entire account of Peter being freed from prison. The short version is that the chains just fell off his hands, and he got dressed with two guards on either side of him. He then followed the angel past two sets of guards and out of the prison. There was a big iron gate that led from the prison to the city, and it opened by itself with no one present. One of the biggest things we take away from this story is God is so much greater than anything man can come up with. And God is not nearly as limited as we sometimes make Him out to be.   

We can only imagine the chaos that broke out in the prison the next morning when they discovered Peter was missing. Herod examined the guards, and undoubtedly, they all had the same answer. We have no idea what happened to Peter. Herod, not being a gracious soul, commanded all the guards to be put to death. I bet no one ever volunteered for Christian guard duty ever again.   

 APPLICATION   

God is big and not limited. Serious, consistent prayer makes a difference. God can circumvent anything man comes up with. And angels are a big help.   

  PRAYER  

Thank You, Father. You delivered Peter, and You are still delivering Your people today!