At that time King Herod caused terrible suffering for some members of the church. He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John. When Herod saw that this pleased the Jewish people, he had Peter arrested during the Festival of Thin Bread. He put Peter in jail and ordered four squads of soldiers to guard him. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after the festival.
While Peter was being kept in jail, the church never stopped praying to God for him.
The night before Peter was to be put on trial, he was asleep and bound by two chains. A soldier was guarding him on each side, and two other soldiers were guarding the entrance to the jail. Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared, and light flashed around in the cell. The angel poked Peter in the side and woke him up. Then he said, “Quick! Get up!”
The chains fell off his hands, and the angel said, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” Peter did what he was told. Then the angel said, “Now put on your coat and follow me.”
Acts 12:1-8
Why did the Lord send an angel to rescue Peter but allowed the head of James the brother of John to be severed by Herod? The answer I have heard all my life was that there were lots of people praying for Peter. Had they not prayed for James? Actually we don't know much of the story of the murder of James, but we know that no angel stopped the execution!
From the reaction of those who were praying we can clearly see that they did not believe Peter would be rescued from his plight. When Peter showed up at the prayer meeting after being miraculously released from the jail they initially didn't even believe it was him.
There are at least two very important lessons from this story. First of all, we know it was God's will for Peter to be released from the jail. God sent His angel to break Peter out of prison! Secondly, we can know that when we pray according to God's will the thing we are praying for will happen!
It apparently was not God's will that James be spared, but it was that Peter not be killed at this time! Am I so foolish as to think that it would be better for God to change His mind and agree with me, or for me to change my mind and agree with Him?
In the Old Testament we read about God giving the people of Israel a king even though He knew and told them so that it would not be the best thing for them. Because of that the people suffered greatly for many years!
God can see everything. He can see the past, the present and the future. God knows what will happen if He answers your prayer according to your will instead of His. So I must ask myself this question: "Am I willing to pray that His will be done instead of mine?" When I humbly do that I am opening the door for the greatest blessings of all.
"Lord Jesus, I want to pray according to You will. I want to desire the things that You desire and I want to seek the things that You seek. May my prayers be according to Your will that all may one day see how Wise and Glorious and Mighty You are now, have always been and always will be! To You may all praise be given forever! Amen."
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