Read Acts 12
Acts 12 tells us of the church’s history with King
Herod. He persecuted the early church, arresting and killing some of them (v.
1-4). Peter was one of those arrested (v. 3, 5). The night before his trial,
Peter was chained and heavily guarded (v. 6). That night he was visited by an
angel who miraculously released him! He was able to walk right by the guards
unnoticed. The gates to the city even opened themselves for him (v. 10). The entire
time Peter thought he was merely seeing a vision (v. 9). It wasn’t until he was
long freed that he realized what actually happened (v. 11). Peter went to the
believers to tell them what happened (v. 12). The next day Herod had the prison
guards executed because they failed to detain Peter (v. 19). Acts 12 closes
with the story of Herod’s death. He failed to give praise to God, so he was
struck down and eaten by worms (v. 23). With yet another hindrance eliminated,
the church continued to spread the word of God (v. 24).
Journaling
and Prayer
1. Our God is truly miraculous! We worship the same
God who miraculously intervened on behalf of His people in the Book of Acts and
throughout history. He is worthy of our worship. Spend some time praising God.
Praise God for specific things He has done, drawing on what you’ve learned of
Him from the Bible and your personal experiences with Him. Worship God for His
characteristics (e.g. He is faithful, powerful, loving, sovereign). Discipline
yourself to spend a good amount of time in prayerful worship. If you get stuck,
ask God to show you more reasons why He is worthy of worship and pray these
things back to Him.
2. The storyline in Acts 12 could rival that of
even the most fascinating stories in our world. And this story is true! The
Bible is so rich. God designed it to captivate our attention and change our
hearts. Spend some time thanking God for the gift of His Word. Ask Him to give
you a deeper hunger to meet with Him in the Word.
3. Pray for someone you know who needs a miracle.
Miracles may come in obvious forms like healings or they may come in less
obvious forms like mended relationships, salvations and answers to longstanding
prayers. One powerful tool God has given us in intercession is our imagination.
Imagine what this situation would be like if a miracle happened. What does it look
like? How do people feel? What do they think? As you imagine this, pray for the
things you’re imagining to be fulfilled.
