Set the Captives Free

Read Acts 12

Acts 15:5-7

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 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. 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.

Peter was put in prison and guarded by four squads of four soldiers, but the church earnestly prayed for him. An angel of The Lord came and told him to get up, and the chains fell off his wrist. The first point that continued to come to mind, Peter was in prison, and the church earnestly prayed for him to be free. Do you know someone who is in captivity that the church needs to pray for earnestly? Captivity can look like addiction, pride, anger, fear, depression, anxiety, and the list goes on. The captivity may be chaining them down, and it looks like a hopeless situation.

The second point that God laid on my heart was, after the prayers, an angel of the Lord came, and Peter’s chains fell off his wrist. God freed Peter because the church earnestly prayed and did not give up. We must not give up on praying for people God places on our hearts, even if you have prayed for years for chains to be broken. Continue to pray and wait for God to break the chains. Trust that God is working, even when we do not see it.