An Angel of the Lord

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

February 26, 2021

An Angel of the Lord

Suddenly an 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.

Acts 12:7

Read: Acts 12:6-19

This is a fun passage to read. My favorite part is when Rhoda recognized Peter’s voice at the door, she left him there, locked out, and ran to tell the others, “Peter is at the door!” (v.14) I am also amazed at how Luke is able to record the intricate details of the Angel leading Peter’s escape from jail. I wonder how many times Peter regaled Luke with this story.

There is also an interesting insight to prayer in this passage. Verse 5 tells us that the church was earnestly praying to God for Peter. But when Rhonda kept telling the people Peter was at the door, they didn’t believe her; they thought it was Peter’s angel. (v. 15) Did they assume he had already been executed? Romans 8:26-27 tells us that when we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit intercedes for us, perfectly according to God’s will. I may talk to God about how I see the concerns in my life, but my ultimate prayer is like the one Jesus modeled for us in the Garden of Gethsemane, “"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42) I always want to leave room for the Holy Spirit to intercede for me.

My Takeaway: Herod was determined to kill someone, so he had the guards executed. Herod confirms what Lord Acton would note in 1887, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.