Acts 12:1-12 (BBE)
1 Now, about that time, Herod the king made cruel attacks on the Christians.
2 And he put James, the brother of John, to death with the sword.
3 And when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he went on to take Peter in addition. This was at the time of the feast of unleavened bread.
4 And having taken him, he put him in prison, with four bands of armed men to keep watch over him; his purpose being to take him out to the people after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison: but the church made strong prayer to God for him.
6 And when Herod was about to take him out, the same night Peter was sleeping in chains between two armed men, and the watchmen were keeping watch before the door of the prison.
7 And a great light was seen shining in the room, and an angel of the Lord came to Peter and, touching him on his side so that he came out of his sleep, said, Get up quickly. And his chains came off his hands.
8 Then the angel said, Put on your shoes and get ready to go. And he did so. And he said, Put your coat round you and come with me.
9 And he went out after him; and he was not certain if what was done by the angel was a fact, for it seemed to him that he was seeing a vision.
10 And when they had gone past the first and second watchmen they came to the iron door into the town, which came open by itself: and they went out and down one street; and then the angel went away.
11 And when Peter came to his senses he said, Now, truly, I am certain that the Lord has sent his angel and taken me out of the hands of Herod, against all the hopes of the Jews.
12 And when he became clear about this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John named Mark, where a number of them had come together for prayer.

Prayer is the key! When life turns upside down, we tend to look for solutions elsewhere, ignoring the power of prayer. Often, prayer is the last thing so many of us do when stuff happens, but it should be the first and automatic response to every strike of life.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says we must pray constantly and continuously.
When a problem seems to be hopeless, some people think there is no use to pray. Others give up after they have prayed once or twice. We think God either can’t hear or won’t answer us, so we forgo uttering those few words of prayer but according to Daniel 9:23, God not only hears but answers as soon as we’ve uttered our prayers.
How many times have we prayed, expecting the Lord to answer us in what we want but then ignoring every sign that points to a different answer from what we want? I don’t know what the brethren in our text were expecting when they gathered to pray for Peter’s deliverance, but not recognising and accepting the answer to their prayer is something we all do so well.
Peter was in a serious situation. There was no earthly help for him. There was no law and no lawyer to help him be freed. But his friends were praying!
The disciples gathered at Mary’s home, where they prayed without ceasing for Peter. No doubt, day, and night, all the time he was imprisoned, prayers were offered on his behalf. The days went by, and Peter was still in prison. The night before Peter was to be brought before the people for trial as he slept, chained between two soldiers, there was a sudden light in the prison, and the angel of God appeared. Peter thinking it was a vision, still obeyed the angel. He rose, dressed up and followed the angel. They went past all the wards, the outside gate opened of its own accord. The Angel left him after they passed through the iron gate, leading to the city.
Peter had been delivered from prison. Not by a lawyer or any man because God had sent an angel to perform this miracle.
When Peter knocked at the door of Mary’s home, Rhoda opened the door but was so excited and happy that she forgot to let Peter in. Rhoda went to tell the others. They had prayed for Peter many days without ceasing. When their prayer was answered and he was delivered, it seemed too good to be true. They could scarcely believe that it was Peter who continued to knock outside the door. When they saw him, they were astonished?
Picture Elijah praying for fire in 1 Kings 18 and not believing when the fire fell from heaven.
Jesus said in John 14:13 that He will give us WHATEVER we ask! So, how come we ask one thing and expect another or worse, we don’t expect anything when Proverbs 23:18 already promises that our expectations will be met and won’t be cut off.
Have you been praying for a specific need? Keep thanking the Lord, for He will surely answer. He sent an Angel for Peter; He will send one for you. Just keep praying without ceasing! He heard and will answer.
Shalom