“So Peter was kept in prison but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”
– Acts 12:5
I wish we had time to dive into the rest of this chapter. It is an incredible chapter of jailbreak in response to prayer. But that’s, that’s the point. Peter was imprisoned here in Acts 12:5. Right after James had been beheaded. And what is the church doing? They are praying earnestly to God for him. As I read this text, I can’t help but to think about the fact that we have brothers and sisters right now in prison for the Gospel. I think about brothers and sisters in North Korea who are in prison for the Gospel. So are we praying earnestly for them? In the church are you praying earnestly for our persecuted brothers and sisters in the world? Imprisoned brothers and sisters in the world. And I just want to lead us to do that.
May we be faithful to pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who have been imprisoned because of their devotion to Jesus Christ.
The Bible calls us to pray for, intercede for our family. We have family. Now just picture it. You have family members in prison in North Korea and other places in the world. So may it not be said that we, to use the language of first Samuel, sinned against God by failing to pray for them. So God, our Father, right now we come before You on behalf of your sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters in prison in different places around the world.
We’ll think specifically about North Korea right now. We know, we know that there are many of our brothers and sisters who are in labor camps right now. In prison languishing apart from their families because they’ve professed faith in You, because they have trusted in You for salvation, because they shared the Gospel with somebody, because they have sought to lead your church in underground locations. So God we pray for your provision for them. We pray for their release. God we know we’re praying to the same God who brought about jailbreak in Acts 12:5.
Prayer For The Church Family Under Persecution
Nothing is too hard for you oh God. We pray for their release, we pray in faith for their release. We pray in faith for their sustenance, for their joy, that they would, like we see in Acts chapter 16, that they would be able to sing in prison, that they would worship you. They would know your love for them. God that they would know your presence with them. Lord, we pray for your provision for their families in their absence.
God please help their families. God we pray for our imprisoned brothers and sisters. And we pray that you would help us to be faithful to continually pray for them. Earnestly pray for them. And we pray that just like we read in Acts 12:5, the end of this chapter, your word would continue to go forward. And we pray that your word would go forward in those prisons. We pray that your word would go forward in North Korea. We pray that your word would go forward in places around the world where Christians are persecuted and imprisoned. May your word continue to increase and multiply to your glory. Even in the midst of persecution we pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
