Answered Prayer
from Deliverance on SermonAudio Hosted by Steve Rockhill
In this evening message from Acts 12:1-17, Pastor Rockhill considers the dramatic deliverance of Peter from Herod's prison and the fervent prayer of the church that surrounded it. He sets the scene against a shifting tide of persecution, as the Roman authorities, in the person of Herod Agrippa I, take up the sword against Christ's people, martyring James and seizing Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Pastor Rockhill's central burden is that God truly hears and answers the fervent prayers of His people. While Peter lay chained between soldiers in a maximum-security cell, the church gathered to pray—not as a last resort, but as their first line of defense. He draws on James 5, that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, and on Peter's peaceful sleep as a picture of confidence in a sovereign Lord. The account exposes the believers' own surprise when the answer came: Rhoda's joy, the gathering's disbelief, and their astonishment when Peter stood knocking at the gate. Pastor Rockhill gently rebukes the doubt that so often accompanies even faithful prayer, reminding hearers that the God of the impossible delights to work beyond what we imagine. The application is pointed and pastoral: believers are called to pray persistently, confidently, and without doubt, trusting that God answers according to His holy and perfect will—always for our greatest good and His glory. What a privilege, Pastor Rockhill urges, that we may bring our petitions before a God who hears, cares, and acts.
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