Acts 12 begins with the imprisonment and death of James, the brother of John. One of Jesus earliest disciples had run his course and gone to glory with his Lord. King Herod saw that this pleased the Jews(man pleaser) and seized Peter and put him in prison, during the Feast of Unlevened Bread. He intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover(around Easter time), however an angel thwarted his plans.
V5,6,7 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was ‘earnestly praying’ to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with chains and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly and the angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell, he struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
V11 then Peter CAME TO HIMSELF and said, “now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent His angel and rescued me”.
So at the last minute God sent His angel to open the prison doors in the cell in Jerusalem. One apostle had already gone home but the prayers of the Church were answered (Heaven seems to leave ‘some’ answers to the last moment, but never too late). In the early part of the story the angel told Peter to, “Put on your clothes and sandals”, but ‘he had no idea what the angel was doing was really happening’.
Peter didn’t understand what was actually happening to him, that God was releasing him. He followed instruction blindly and came out of the cell. I believe God is still in the business of releasing people from prison today, perhaps prisons of their own making, or prisons conspired by the enemy. In any event, through earnest prayer the doors opened and Peter walked free. In V11 it says ‘he came to himself’, he understood he was free and decided to get away.
There follows the funny incident where Peter knocks on the door of the house where the disciples were gathered and though the servant Rhoda knew his voice, she left him at the door. Peter kept knocking until they let him in, told them what had happened and then left. It’s always a good idea to testify(speak out what God has done for us, go public) and reinforce our freedom.
God wants to help us and deliver us, it may take the earnest prayers of others but at some point we ‘have to come to ourselves’ and walk away from what has been holding us!
God bless you and help you this day to walk away from all your prison chains.