Gracepoint Church, Peabody
The Apostle Peter waited in prison, expecting that he would soon meet the same fate as the Apostle James who had been beheaded a few days earlier. Herod would have killed Peter already, except the timing was bad for the crazy “king” since the days of unleavened bread were at hand. And the Jews had scruples about such things.
So Peter sat and waited for his execution. But while he waited, the church prayed. They didn’t just toss up a random prayer for Peter whenever the mood struck. No, Acts 12:5 says, “So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”
The key to understanding the kind of praying is in the word “fervently.” It means “earnestly, strenuously, completely stretched to its full potential, without undue let up.”
Now that’s an intense prayer meeting! When was the last time you prayed for someone else like that?
No great spiritual awakening has ever taken place without this kind of prayer. The Church today needs to relearn how to pray fervently. And that lesson starts with me and you.