TOPIC: THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS ll
MEMORISE:
Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. Acts 12:5
READ: Acts 12:1 -11
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
MESSAGE
For anyone who is not born again, it is dangerous to be around angels. In Acts 12:20-24, Herod was smitten by an angel and worms ate him up because he was filled with pride. In 2 Kings 19:35, when a king thought that he would deal with a child of God, he came with a mighty army and a single angel killed 185,000 soldiers in one night. Anyone not on the side of God would be treading dangerously when walking around Angels, and unfortunately for such people, there are Angels everywhere.
On the other hand, anyone who is born again is very safe because there is always at least one angel walking around him or her. Such a person would have a security detail better than that of the president of the most powerful country on earth. The unfortunate thing, however, is that many born-again Christians have made their Angels redundant.
In our Bible reading for today, Herod took James and killed him, but when he took Peter, an angel came to rescue him. If you look at the difference between both incidents, you will see that when Herod took James, the Church did not pray. They did not activate the ministry of the angel of God, but when he took Peter and they prayed, the angel's ministry was activated.
There are many things we suffer even though we have Angels around us and this is because we don't pray. When your prayer altar is cold, your angel is rendered redundant. As you make petitions to God either in your understanding or in the Spirit in the place of prayer, God issues instructions to your Angels.
Pray to activate the ministry of Angels in your life. In 2 Kings 19:20, God sent a message to King Hezekiah thus saying "Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria l have heard".
It was the prayer of Hezekiah that activated the angel who went out and killed 185,000 soldiers of the Syrian army in 2 Kings 19:35. If he had not prayed, he would have been easy pray for his enemies.
KEY POINT
When you pray, you activate the ministry of Angels in your favour.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:2 Corinthians 3-7
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 22: SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
1 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
2 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
3 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
4 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight.
This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the everlasting prize,
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of pray
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