empowering prayer: Pivotal points

We continue our series on Empowering Prayer. The election is heating up. The battle lines are drawn. This is why we have been praying for the health of our nation during this election year. It is not just about the person who will be elected, we need to refocus our energy and vision on the sovereign God. His power reigns. Prayer is a process of refocusing our lives on God’s power even when we feel powerless. This week we turn to an instance in Acts 12:5-12 when Peter is set free from prison. If you read the first part of the chapter you will discover that James, the brother of Jesus, was the second Christian martyr. King Herod had James put to death and he thought that he would have no problem taking the life of Peter. Prayer becomes the focal point of power in this passage. The church prayed together for Peter to be delivered. The prayer of these Christians not only helped to deliver Peter but in the process, King Herod, who was seeking to please people by killing these Christian leaders, was held accountable. This moment is a pivotal point for the early church.  In the sermon Pivotal Points we begin to recognize that the experience of these early believers also helps us to live into the turning points of our lives.  God was doing more than just getting Peter out of trouble.  God was working to help Peter and these struggling believers take advantage of this pivotal moment. All of us will come to a turning point in our lives. A place where we will have to make a choice. These words can help us to make the turn and find the power of God giving us hope and strength. Our most sincere prayer is that you will be set free from the tyrannical power of fear and desperation by the illumination of our living God as you read Act 12:5-12.

Acts 12:5-12 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. ⁶. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. ⁷ 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. ⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. ¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” ¹² When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. (NIV)