Surprised By Answered Prayer Acts 12:1-19

 Sermon by Pastor Dennis Gleason -- May 6, 2007

¹About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. ²He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. ³When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish leaders, he arrested Peter during the Passover celebration ⁴and imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod’s intention was to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. ⁵But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

⁶The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, chained between two soldiers, with others standing guard at the prison gate. ⁷Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel tapped him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. ⁸Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

⁹So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was really happening. ¹⁰They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate to the street, and this opened to them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

¹¹Peter finally realized what had happened. “It’s really true!” he said to himself. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jews were hoping to do to me!”

¹²After a little thought, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. ¹³He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. ¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”

¹⁵“You’re out of your mind,” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally went out and opened the door, they were amazed. ¹⁷He motioned for them to quiet down and told them what had happened and how the Lord had led him out of jail. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.

¹⁸At dawn, there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.

I love the story Howard Hendricks tells about how his father came to know Christ. Howard was at home one day when the phone rang and a young pastor from Arlington, Virginia. He said, "Are you sitting down?" Howard said, "Yes, why?" The young preacher said, "Your father just trusted Christ this evening." After he picked himself up off of the floor Howard said, "He what? You've got to be kidding!"

Howard Hendricks wrote in his book, "Footsteps," Such an inappropriate response grew out of long detours in our father-son journey. Ever since I received Christ as a boy my concern has been for the salvation of my family and loved ones. On repeated occasions I had broached the subject of the gospel with dad, but his response was less than excited.

My father has always been a very important person to me. Not that I approved of everything he said or did or that I imitated him consciously in any way. We weren't really close friends, either. But he was important in my life because of the indirect impact he made upon me.

Dad was a military man. He had seen action around the world. During the periods when he was embroiled in battle, I would become very sensitive to his spiritual need. I and my family prayed for him, but at times I'm afraid my faith sputtered. His response was always the same: Son, don't worry about me. I'll work it out with God (as if God could be manipulated like a Pentagon official). Through a strange turn of events God brought a man into Howard Hendricks life. His name was Butch Hardman. One day before we knew each other Butch was boarding a plane in Detroit when a friend handed him a cassette tape. The man said, "Ever hear Hendricks? Here's a tape you should listen to." On that tape Howard Hendricks related his father's spiritual need for Christ. Butch listened to the tape and something about it reminded him of his own father with whom he had shared Christ shortly before he died. He began to pray for this unknown man, George Hendricks. Some months later Butch attended a pastors' conference in Philadelphia where Howard Hendricks was the speaker.

After the conference Butch was driving the church bus down the street, having discharged all his passengers. He saw a man standing on the corner who reminded him uncannily of Howard Hendricks. Could it possibly be...? He backed up the bus, stopped, got off, and went over to the man. "Are you by any chance Howard Hendricks' father?" It is easy to imagine the startled response. "Er-ah yeah -- you a student of my son?" "No, I'm not, but he sure has helped me. Got time for a cup of coffee?" the man said. That encounter began a friendship, skillfully engineered by the Spirit of God. Butch undoubtedly sensed Mr. Hendricks hesitancy when he discovered he had met a preacher. For a long time Butch did not invite him to attend his church. He simply suggested that Mr. Hendricks drop by the office of coffee. Patiently he endured the smoldering cigars and his endless repertoire of war stories. Before long he also learned that Mr. Hendricks had been diagnosed as having a terminal throat cancer. Months later Butch was at his bedside. "Mr. Hendricks, I'll be leaving shortly for a Holy Land trip. Instead of my listening to you tonight, would you let me tell you a story?" Butch had earned his hearing and he began simply to relate the interview of Jesus Christ with Nicodemus as recorded by the Apostle John. At the conclusion of his story, Mr. Hendricks accepted Butch's invitation to receive Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. Then he got up out of bed, stood, and saluted with a smile. "Now I'm under a new Commander-in-Chief!" That night Butch called Dallas.

Howard Hendricks says, "The last time I saw dad alive I could not believe he was the same man I had known. His frame was wasted, but his spirit was more virile than I had ever known."

In accordance with Mr. Hendricks specific provision in his will, Butch Hardman conducted the crisp military funeral in Arlington cemetery where the gospel of Jesus Christ was presented to the small group of family and military attendants. As the guns saluted their final farewell, I knew God had vindicated forty-two years of prayer.

Forty-two years of prayer. Forty-two years of wondering if God was ever going to move. Forty-two years of asking, but surely as the years rolled along the expectation of anything significant happening had to dwindle. After forty-years of prayer Howard Hendricks joined a long line of folks who have been surprised by prayer. My friends, we need to pray with confidence that He is able, He is capable, and He is willing to do that which will bring Him glory and honor. My prayer for you is that God might surprise you with the answer to all of our prayers that you surrender your life to Christ and allow Him to surprise you with the gift of eternal life.

We are all very much aware of the fact that God answers prayer. We have personally experienced it on numerous occasions. We keep on praying and God continues to answer. Can you for a moment imagine God refusing to answer your prayer? He is loving and kind. He is gracious and encouraging. Because He is who he is, when you pray, He answers.

Now, we also know that God’s answers to our prayers are yes, no or maybe. There are those times when we get what we are asking for. And there are times when we don’t get it the way we want it. God always has reasons for a yes or for a no. And then there are those times when now is not the time but later is just fine. And we get the answer right now as a maybe.

In our text Peter has been arrested by King Agrippa. Persecution has begun again and it has claimed the life of James the brother of John. James was himself arrested and murdered by Agrippa. The Jews in Jerusalem were quite happy with that turn of events.

It appears as if the only one of the Apostles who was taken and killed at this time was James. Most likely he had come back to Jerusalem for some reason alone. The fact that he alone was arrested and killed seems to argue for that.

Agrippa had so pleased the leading Jews that he had Peter arrested too. The time is about 15 years after the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is also the “time of unleavened bread”. That means it is Passover time. On the 15^th anniversary of the arrest and death of Jesus one of the key followers of Jesus was himself arrested. He will be put to death at approximately the same time that Jesus had been. King Agrippa is apparently going to make a great show of having captured the great Apostle Peter and make a spectacle of his death.

He has Peter placed in prison. He is guarded there by a squad of four soldiers. Herod must have been aware of the fact that Peter was miraculously set free from prison once before and he does not want that to happen again. So, two soldiers are chained to Peter. One is chained to one side and the other soldier is chained to him on the other side. The other two men are guarding the doors to the prison. Peter is effectively detained without possibility of escape. And Herod intended to bring Peter “up to the people” the day after the Passover. He is to be led from his prison cell to the hall of trial and there condemned to death. The plan is to duplicate the execution of Jesus. King Agrippa has ensured that the proper measures had been taken to keep Peter from escaping.

Peter is in prison and the church is praying. Our text tells us that the people in the church are praying strenuously for Peter. The mortal danger that Peter is in is laid before the Lord in prayer.

Think about it for a moment. Persecution has come to the church. Stephen was martyred. James the brother of John has been murdered. King Agrippa “made away with” James. That expression is always used in the Scriptures to indicate that the person was murdered.

And now they have Peter in custody.

So the church prays strenuously for Peter’s protection and that God would release him from prison. I think that is what is meant by the phrase “Prayer, however, was being made strenuously by the church to God concerning him. They are praying that God’s will might be done. And of course, in this case God’s will was obviously that he be set free.

That is how they were praying. And God might yet deliver Peter from his prison cell.

What is Peter doing about this time?

Acts 12:6 makes it clear that Peter is not troubled by any of this at all. He is asleep. Now, get the picture. He is asleep between two soldiers. He is tied by chains to these two men. They are asleep, these two. The other two soldiers are on guard duty. We don’t know for sure the time of night, but can speculate that it was after midnight. Peter cannot toss, turn or even stir in his sleep without awakening the soldiers chained to him.

God has accepted King Agrippa’s challenge. Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him and there was a bright light shining in his cell. The angel has to slap Peter on the leg to wake him up. What does that tell you about how worried Peter was about this time? He really has no hope of getting out of the prison. But he is at peace with God and how the Lord leads us. And the very thing Herod Agrippa is trying to stop is happening.

The Angel tells Peter to put his sandals on and to grab his robe. Peter’s release from prison here is every bit as easy as it was the first time. The chains fall off. Out Peter goes. He walks out of the dungeon, through the halls up to the main door of the prison. He walked out as if none of the guards were even there. And when he came to the main door of the prison, it opened automatically for him just as if it had an electric eye to open it.

There are those who believe that the chains fell noiselessly of his hands and feet. But I don’t think so. And I don’t believe that it would have mattered if there was noise that might have on other occasions startled the guards. God is so much in charge of this event that those prison guards were useless in trying to keep Peter in prison on that night. None of the guards saw or heard anything. It is likely that Peter has between 3 to 5 hours to make his escape before the next squad of soldiers come in to take the place of his guards.

The angel and Peter go through the first and then the second guard and come to the gate, the iron one, the gate to the city. Out of the prison they go leaving behind the prison undisturbed with all its locks and bolts in place, with its guards in their proper places and their prisoner gone!

Peter seems surprised by all this. While I think he knew and believed that God had everything under control, he appears to think that this is all a vision. We find in verse 11 of our passage that “…Peter having come to himself….” His thinking that this is all a vision or a dream lasts until he is out in the street. He is suddenly aware that the Lord has taken him out of the prison and out of King Agrippa’s hands. He was following the leading of the angel, but now he must begin thinking for himself. This is so because the angel leaves him after he has gone the length of one street. He is on his own.

Having been given his freedom, he now uses it to escape from King Agrippa. He clearly sees his present situation in light of his imprisonment and begins to determine what his next steps should be.

His first action is to go to the house of Mary, the mother of John…this is John Mark. It just so happens that there have been many believers who have gathered there to pray for Peter. Luke tells us that there were many people who were celebrating the Passover there in Mary’s house and that they were strenuously praying for Peter. There is nothing to indicate that Peter knew that they were all there praying for him. I think he is going there to let someone know that he had been set free miraculously and finding the people there was simply providential.

When he gets there he knocks on the door. The door is locked and he needs entry into the house. Those who are in the house at this late hour are not aware that it is Peter. Perhaps they thought that it was a raid on the house, bringing persecution and death to them.

A servant girl named Rhoda – Rose- is sent to answer the door at the outer entrance. Peter undoubtedly knew the household well. She recognized Peter’s voice. And when she did she left him standing outside the outer door and ran back to where the rest of the people were praying for Peter. She believes the evidence of her ears. It is Peter! He is safe! Our prayer has been answered! Her heart is instantly flooded with joy and so much so that she forgets to unlock the door.

“Peter is standing under the portal!” she claims.

Those others gathered there to pray for Peter don’t believe it. They think she is crazy…out of her mind. Peter is in prison. After all, is that not what we are praying about right now? Rhoda is the only one of the bunch who really believes that their prayer has been answered. It must be his angel…they say. It can’t be him, because we all know that King Agrippa has him in prison. And no body can get out of there. Maybe they have been praying that Peter would be comfortable in prison, or were asking God to keep King Agrippa from killing Peter. It is obvious that they were not asking God to release him because they are surprised when he shows up and don’t believe it at first.

Peter of course is still at the door, knocking.

And when they finally went to the door with Rhoda, opened it and saw him, they were astonished. Rhoda was right and everybody else was wrong. They were totally surprised that he was standing there before them.

The question for us is this: Why were they surprised when God answered their prayers?

Prayer changes things…right?

– Moses prayed and God spared Israel from judgment.

– – Joshua prayed and God caused the sun to stand still.

– – Hannah prayed and God gave her a baby boy.
– Solomon prayed and God gave him wisdom.
– Elijah prayed and God sent fire down from Heaven.
– Jonah prayed and God brought him out of the belly of the whale.
– The thief on the cross prayed and God gave him eternal life.

Is the issue a matter of faith…believing that God will spare Peter in this case?

On May 1, 1990, cable television giant Ted Turner accepted an award given by the American Humanist Association for his work on behalf of the environment and world peace. At the banquet, Ted Turner told the captive audience that he had a strict Christian upbringing and at one time considered becoming a missionary. Ted Turner told the crowd that he had been "saved" seven or eight times as a child, but that he became disenchanted with Christianity after his sister died, despite his prayers. Turner said the more he strayed from his faith, "the better I felt." (Spokesman-Review, May 1, 1990)

What a tragedy! H had abandoned his faith because of his misunderstanding of the purpose of prayer. I don't know what you think of Ted Turner, but it can hardly be refuted that he is a brilliant man. What a tragedy to learn that his brilliance, which has been used to build a television empire, could have been used to further the cause and Kingdom of Christ. There is power in prayer! Prayer does "work," but not in the way it is being portrayed today. The purpose of prayer is not to benefit us by getting us what we want, to lower our cholesterol count or heart rate, or to allow us to get back at those who have gotten under our skin.

The purpose of prayer is to draw us close to the heart of the Father so that our wills, our deepest desires, our passions will be those of the Father and not our own. When we draw close to the heart of the Father then He will be glorified through our lives, our words, and our works done for His glory!

The followers of Jesus were praying, but they weren't praying with expectation. We need to pray with expectation. What I am saying is this, when you come to know the desires of God's heart for your situation, ask for Him to move in the situation, and pray with expectation.

We need to be like the little boy who had been sent to his room because he had been bad. A short time later he came out and said to his mother, "I've been thinking about what I did and I said a prayer." "That's fine," she said, "if you ask He will help you." "Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me be good," replied the boy. "I asked Him to help you put up with me." (Our Daily Bread, June 15)

When we pray we need to say, "Lord I don't know how, I don't know how long, I don't know who You will use to accomplish Your will, but I know that You will act and I will wait with expectation for Your mighty hand to move!"

 --Dennis Gleason