“Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” (Acts 12:5, NKJV) As we read the Book of Acts, we see the rapid growth of the church. The followers of Jesus demonstrated passion and reckless boldness in spreading the gospel. Wherever they went, they took the message with them. There was revival, but there was also opposition. Herod had just killed James, the brother of John, and Peter was his next target. Herod was just waiting for the Jewish feast days to end before Peter would suffer a similar fate. Peter already sat in a prison cell—chained to a guard on each side and with two more guards at his cell door. He was under around-the-clock watch. Escape was impossible—or so they thought. While everyone slept, an angel of the Lord woke Peter. As his chains fell off, Peter followed the angel’s instructions to get dressed and follow him. The angel then led him through the prison and out the gate to freedom. The guards and other prisoners knew nothing until morning when they discovered Peter was missing. Constant Prayer Across town a number of believers were holding a prayer meeting at…

“For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.” (Exodus 12:23, ESV) For several generations the children of Israel lived in Egypt, although their status had shifted through the years. Joseph, who had once guided Egypt through a great famine, was long forgotten. The Israelites were now slaves and life was hard. Centuries earlier, God had given Abraham the promise of a permanent homeland. In Genesis 13:15 God told him, “For all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever” (ESV). Egypt was not their promised land, and the Lord sent Moses to lead them out of Egyptian bondage. It was now time for Abraham’s descendants to leave. Opposition by Pharaoh  Although God brought a series of plagues upon the land of Egypt, Pharaoh refused to allow the Israelites to leave (Exodus 7-11). With each judgment upon the land, Pharaoh’s heart only grew harder. Nine times he refused to let them go, even as the plagues became progressively severe. Each…

And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “(Luke 11:5-6, NKJV) Jesus was a storyteller. When He wanted to teach a lesson, He often wrapped that lesson in a parable to help His listeners understand. One day His disciples observed Him praying. As He finished, one asked, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” Jesus began with the basics of prayer. Today we refer to it as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Many of us memorized this prayer as a child. It’s really a pattern or a template of how to pray rather than words to memorize and repeat. Within just a few verses, the Lord captures the importance of worship, consecration, forgiveness, intercession, and protection. Prayer persistence But the Lord did not stop with these prayer basics. He continued with a parable that taught something else they needed in their prayer life: persistence. The parable told of a man asleep when a sudden knocking at his door woke him.…

It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand” . . . Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. (Judges 7:9 and 16, NKJV) Gideon was a reluctant leader because he did not feel up to the task God was calling him to perform. God desired Gideon to lead an army against the Midianites. Although he began with 32,000 men, God said that was too many. Eventually, after God reduced their numbers, Gideon had only 300 men left to fight. This was not a great military strategy but it was a great “God strategy.” No one would be able to deny that deliverance came from the hand of the Lord, not by the efforts of men. As if having only 300 men wasn’t scary enough, they were heading into battle with a very unique type of weaponry. Each man was equipped with a trumpet and a pitcher with a torch inside. If they came out of this battle victoriously, it would not be because of their…