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An Unleavened Prayer Life
Acts 12:1-25 says, “1Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) 4And 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. 5Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. 6And 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. 7And, 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.
8And 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. 9And 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. 10When 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. 11And 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. 12And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. 13And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. 14And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. 15And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. 16But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. 17But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go show these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. 18Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. 19And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode. 20And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country. 21And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. 22And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 23And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. 24But the word of God grew and multiplied. 25And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.”
Herod Agrippa had killed James, the brother of John, with a sword, and he saw how greatly it pleased the Jewish people. So, he had Peter put in prison, and these were the days of unleavened bread. The church was under heavy persecution, but in the midst of the suffering, God desired to show forth His greatness. Four soldiers guarded him for each of the four watches. He was chained to two and guarded by two others. However, the church was praying without ceasing for his safety. They no doubt each took certain hours of the day to pray, that way a prayer chain was formed for Peter that would never stop. But what was so much more interesting about this is that these were the days of the feast of unleavened bread. Remember that this was a week where the Jewish people did everything in their power to “get rid” of the leaven out of their homes. They scrubbed every item of cooking ware. They even got on their hands and knees and scrubbed the floors of their homes. They looked through every crevice of their home for leaven because it was to be purged from sin. Leaven takes time to form, and they wanted to give absolutely no room for the devil to function in their homes. See, it is much more than just praying. I can ask God for certain needs and desires that I have to be fulfilled, but if I do not get the leaven purged out of my heart and I am still living a life filled with sin, then how or why would God even be willing to answer my prayers? James 5:16 says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” An unleavened prayer life will set many captive souls free!
As the church was praying without ceasing and leaven was cleansed completely out of their homes, God sent an angel to raise Peter up, set him free of his chains and lead him out of the prison. Peter went to the house of Mary, the mark of John Mark, whose house was filled with prayer warriors and intercessors standing on his behalf. Rhoda came to the door and rejoiced as she heard Peter’s voice. The sisters said she was mad, but God had answered their prayers and worked a miracle! Herod Agrippa had all of the soldiers who were guarding Peter put to death. If we are living the lifestyle and maintaining a prayer life that we need for God to work miracles, then why be surprised? They are called miracles for a reason, but nothing is impossible with God. He is without limits, and we must refuse to limit Him based on the magnitude of the need! When people have the same determination to intercede, stand in the gap, for their brother or sister that is in need, God will supernaturally move on their behalf.
On a set day, Herod arrayed himself in his royal apparel and made a great speech. The people began to shout, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.” Immediately, God smote him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten of worms and died. It reminds me of when the children of Israel left the manna over for the next day, not for the basis of the Sabbath, in deliberate disobedience to God’s commands, and the manna spoiled and was filled with worms. This showed that when you try to store up something for the future out of fear that God will not provide when you do not know what tomorrow holds, you are acting in yourself and not in faith. Herod Agrippa became a spoiled manna that led many to destruction. You better not focus on the wrong kind of manna and idolize a man rather than God. We are not to serve the creation, but the creator. This form of idolatry is spoiled manna. The only manna that will feed your hungry soul is that which is in Christ Jesus our LORD!
In this year of purging, we must not only get rid of the sin, but also elevate our prayer life and intercession for those who are in bondage in their lives. It is by raising our relationship with God up another notch will living a sin-free life that we are able to accomplish more in His sight. A minority with God will always outweigh any majority on this planet, meaning that if you will intercede for the lost in an unleavened prayer life, you can conquer more devils than what they can accomplish in a hundred years. When you have dominion over your flesh, you have dominion over the devil. Use that authority!