Acts 12:1-6: a reflection

1Now about that time, King Herod stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly. 2He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. 3When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread. 4When he had arrested him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him. 6The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.

Herod has just executed James, and now he has arrested Peter, intending to kill him too after the feast. Peter is in prison, bound with chains between two soldiers, four squads assigned to guard him, execution set for the morning. And two things happen in the darkness. The church, we are told, was earnestly praying to God for him. And Peter, on the very night before his planned execution, chained between two soldiers, was sound asleep.

Notice both. First, the church did not merely wring its hands; it prayed, earnestly, constantly, to God for Peter. Facing the loss of another leader, the believers turned their fear into fervent prayer. And second, Peter's astonishing peace. On the eve of his execution, in chains, he slept, so soundly that the angel who came to free him had to strike him to wake him. That is not the sleep of a man without a care; it is the sleep of a man whose life is in God's hands and who has entrusted it there completely.

Both are worth taking to heart. When those we love are in danger, the church's response, earnest, constant prayer, is ours to imitate; prayer is what we do in the face of what we cannot control. And Peter's peace is worth longing for: the ability to rest, even sleep, in a dire situation, because our life is genuinely entrusted to God. Whether you are the one praying for someone in danger, or the one facing the danger yourself, this passage points the way: pray earnestly, and rest in God. Peter slept in chains because he trusted the God the church was praying to.

Lord, while the church prayed earnestly for Peter, he slept peacefully in chains the night before his execution, his life entrusted to you. When those I love are in danger, teach me to turn my fear into earnest prayer, as the church did. And when I face danger myself, give me Peter's peace, the ability to rest in you because my life is truly in your hands. Help me both to pray fervently and to rest in you.