Years ago our seminary sent out young ministers to preach revivals across the country. One of the young men was struggling with his mental health. The church members at the place he preached started reporting threatening phone calls. The calls were traced to his room. When Dan Crawford, the supervising professor found out, he called the young man to bring him home. The young man then threatened Dan’s life. Police arrested the student preacher and put him on a plane back to Ft. Worth with an armed guard. Later that night, Dan received a call. The young man had gotten away from his guard at the airport in Ft. Worth where Dan lived. “What should I do?” Dan asked. “Be very careful,” came the response. The next day the police found the student and arrested him again. Reflecting on that long night of wondering for his own safety, Dan interpreted scripture, “The lamb may lie down with the lion, but the lamb does not sleep very well.”
Imagine Peter chained between two Roman soldiers guarded by fourteen more, trying to rest the night before his trial before Herod, who was more dangerous than a lion. Maybe he slept well because he knew the church was praying for him. During the night, an angel smacked him (that is what the Greek actually says). He rescued Peter from the prison and sent him on his way to safety. Through all of the gates, he passed. Doors opened like they did for Maxwell Smart in the TV series. Then the angel left him. Peter still thought it was a dream. But he soon discovered the dream was coming true.
A preacher of another generation said, “The angel fetched Peter. But it was prayer that fetched the angel.” The most powerful thing we can do for others today is pray for them. When we do, we literally unleash the power of God in their lives. Impossibilities become possible. Miracles happen. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”
