"Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church...Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, 'Arise quickly!' And his chains fell off his hands" ~Acts 12:5 & 7~
Ever faced a situation that you are completely exhausted with? I know I have a few of those in my life. I've fasted, and prayed, laid out fleeces, asked for signs...and God has answered, yet the answer appears delayed....God has to get my attention in the weirdest ways. I've been trying to get the kids little pool cleared up for them to enjoy for the summer. I've worked and worked, and had decided that maybe this was as good as it would ever be. Yet, I was determined not to give up. Then suddenly, it just cleared. It's the strangest moment to see your hard work just pay off all at once. Our spiritual lives are just like that. When we have a situation in our life we are exhausted with, we need to stay in constant prayer, never giving up. Here with Peter, I'm sure the church felt the situation was difficult, maybe even impossible. I bet they had no idea what their prayers were accomplishing the moment Peter's chains fell off. Yet the church kept on, offering up constant prayer. Our lesson...offering up constant prayer, especially over those situations we are most exhausted with, and one day the chains will just fall off, and the water will clear.
