23/08/2026
REFLECTION 34— August 23, 2026
By Cosmas Ilechukwu.
The General Overseer, CRM.
LABOURING IN PRAYERS (7)
“Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (Acts 12:5).
The devil is deliberate and strategic in his assaults against the church and the interests of God in general. Having watched the church grow in exponential proportion since Pentecost, he felt understandably threatened and therefore moved to halt the growth and expansion of the Jesus movement. He instigated his riotous mob of religious bigots to murder Stephen on trump-up charges. The murder of Stephen did not seem to have provoked any serious response from the church except for the fact that they must have felt bad about it with some probably shedding some tears. Emboldened by the seemingly docile response of the church to the killing of Stephen, the devil extended his audacious assaults by instigating Herod to kill Apostle James. The murder of James evoked joyful celebration among the Jews and that intensified the blood thirsty instinct of Herod so much so that He that arrested Peter and put him in the death row. Here is the Bible record of the event: “And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover” (Acts 12:3-4). Peter was saved from death because the church laboured fervently in Prayers. Could James have been similarly delivered if the church had prayed for him?
The arrest of Peter was certainly Satan’s unwarranted overreach that provoked a decisive response from the church. The church responded with united prayer. “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (Acts 12:5). The church fought back with united, determined, and fervent prayer for Peter’s freedom and restoration to ministry. The united prayers of the church unleashed the army of heaven for Peter’s rescue. “And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.” (Acts 12:6-7,11). The united prayers of believers activate the ministry of the angels and get them working alongside believers to protect and defend them form Satan’s attacks.
We are yet to fully Understand enormous influence of the united prayers of the church in the realm of the spirit. When believers pray together in unity, God unleashes His power to not only break the power of evil over people and territories, but also the shatter the cycle of fear that impedes the witness of the people of God. When the powerful Sanhedrin threatened the apostles to stop preaching Christ or perish, they called the church together for a prayer offensive the rocked the earth. They prayed: “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30). What followed next was an unprecedented demonstration of God’s power in answer to the prayers: “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31). In answer to the fervent intercession of the church, the ominous cloud of fear was broken and dispersed and the disciples found fresh power and voice to go on with their life and ministry to the glory of God. There is power in the united fervent prayers of believers. May we dare to pray boldly and fervently in Jesus name .
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