Week of Prayer – 2024

Week of Prayer – 2024

Subject – How God Rescues 

By Rick Welborne

--Peter is arrested and put in prison.

Acts 12:4-5 (NKJV)
⁴  So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
⁵  Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.                                 ¹²  So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

--Because the church is praying an angel shows up to set him free. 

--The Bible tells us that constant prayer…earnest prayer was going up for him. It seemed like a hopeless situation. When God allows us to go into these situations, He is getting ready to do great work.

--There are times that life and even God will make sure that you do not have crutches or anything else to lean on except for Him. Prayer and God. God and prayer. 

--Anything God can do; prayer can do because prayer is our link to God. The prayer of faith is the link to God’s power. Nothing is impossible with God…nothing is impossible when we pray.

E. M. Bounds – There are only two kinds of people on the earth, people who pray and people who don’t. 

--Imagine how important to God your prayers must be. Every prayer ever uttered by Christians have been kept in bowls. Even after we die, our prayers will still chase down the prodigals.

--How many of you remember Cornelius in the book of Acts? An angel came to him and said that God has seen your kindness to the poor and He has heard your prayers.

--He did not pray in Jesus Name because he was not a believer. He sent for Peter to come and to tell them the good news about Jesus. He prayed so much that it moved God to do something on his behalf.

Psalm 50:15 (NKJV) ¹⁵ Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." 

--So many times in the day of trouble, we do everything but call upon the Lord. We worry and call friends. We have a pity party, we get grouchy, and we get irritable. But we do not call on Him Who can save us.

Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)                                                                                                                                            ³  'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' 

--Didn’t Jesus say My House shall be a house of prayer? Not singing, not preaching, not anything else. When Jesus saw the money changers using His House as a place to make money…He made a whip. He was angry.

--When we pray God says that He will open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings. When you call I will answer. God understands prayer that does not even use words. A sigh, a tear, a groan.

Romans 8:26 (NIV) ²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

--It is so hard to get people to pray yet God has promised to rescue us when we pray. Have you ever had your back up against a wall and had no place to turn but to God in prayer? No hope! Like this story with Peter.

--Peter is in a prison where if he gets help, it will be from the church. If he gets food or clothes, it will be from them. About the only option he is looking at with Herod is death. So hopeless except that the church is praying.

--The disciples are in a situation where everything seems hopeless but they remember what Jesus said…Ask and it will be given, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened.

--Paul said that first of all men and women should pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting. Prayer should be the first thing. The church is full of knowledge but little prayer is going on.

--Imagine the prayer going up for Peter…Rescue our pastor, please don’t let them kill him, Oh, God, set him free. Can you imagine the tears? They didn’t pray just for a couple of minutes…they continued in prayer.

1. When people pray in sincerity something from heaven shows up.

--There was an angel…a light showed up in the prison. When we pray here, God responds from heaven. We have not because we ask not. We need something supernatural from God. 

--Maybe you are here needing something from heaven…pray until heaven shows up!

2. When people pray in sincerity God wakes people up.

--When the angel came to Peter, what did he do? He smote him in the side and woke him up. When God’s people pray…God wakes up those who are sleeping. Do you know anyone like that?

--People are sleeping…we must pray until they wake up. Our son was sleeping. We had to pray until he woke up. We had to call until God answered…until Josh responded.

3. When people pray in sincerity chains fall off.

--Chains are restrictive. If you have chains on your legs, you can’t run. When we pray personally we find a freedom we did not have before. 

--When we pray God sets people free. Listen, your prodigal can’t be worse off than Peter. I know with the opioid crisis we wonder if they can be free. They can! Pray! I was there before it was popular.

4. When people pray doors are opened. 

--Pastor, the door is not opening…pray! There’s a battle! Pray!

1 Corinthians 16:9 (NKJV) ⁹  For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

--When God’s people pray…doors are opened just like for Peter. God opened the door and set him free. We don’t need a battering ram…we do not need to force it…God will open the door. Pray!