The early church grew quickly, yet it wasn’t without hardship or resistance. Peter and John are imprisoned, Stephen is stoned, the believers are scattered. And now in Acts 12, before the church takes another leap forward, there is another serious setback, another occasion for tears. What do you do when your comfort doesn’t last and your plans are interrupted by yet another crisis? You pray. That’s what we learn from Acts 12, as a new wave of persecution against the church is launched by King Herod Agrippa. First, he brutally takes the life of the apostle James, a promising young leader full of passion and zeal. And when he sees that it pleased the Jews, Herod seeks to further increase his approval rating by imprisoning the chief apostle of the church. Sitting on death row, the situation certainly looked bleak for Peter, even hopeless. “But earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.” Some people wonder if prayer matters since God is sovereign. But the church knew Peter’s life was in God’s hand, and that’s why they prayed! (v 1-5; see Psalm 31:14-15). Meanwhile, Peter is sleeping soundly on the eve of his planned execution. When an angel shows up to orchestrate a jailbreak, he seems rather groggy, that’s for sure! He’s not sure if it’s a dream or reality. But as chains fall, gates open, and guards snore, Peter follows the angel right out of the prison and into the street! Suddenly the angel is gone and Peter is wide awake (v 6-11). So why was Peter rescued by an angel, but not James? Did the church forget to pray for James, or was his faith lacking? No and no, but God has more than one way of answering our prayers. In the providence of God, He was pleased to allow James to glorify Him as a martyr, while allowing Peter to glorify Him through an escape from death. The Lord actually rescued both men: Peter was delivered from Herod’s evil deed; James was brought safely to heaven. With a new lease on life, Peter joins the believers at their all-night prayer meeting. We have to smile as we read the account, don’t we? They’re so busy praying for Peter’s release that they don’t believe it could really be him out there knocking at the front gate! Praise God that He may answer our prayers in dramatic ways, even when we doubt that He could actually do so! (v 12-19). As for Herod, he was a powerful and evil ruler, but certainly no match for God and no threat to His purposes. As John Stott put it, “The chapter opens with James dead, Peter in prison, and Herod triumphing; it closes with Herod dead, Peter free, and the word of God triumphing” (v 20-25). For further meditation: