So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
Acts 12:5
Perhaps the prison story that has the most detail in the New Testament is that of Peter in Acts 12:1-19. King Herod realized that arresting and executing church leaders increased his popularity with the Jews. So, he arrested and imprisoned Peter, put him under heavy guard, and made plans to put him on public trial. This trial would have most likely ended in Peter’s execution.
The night before the trial, an angel appeared to Peter and told him to get up. His shackles suddenly fell to the ground. The angel instructed him to get dressed – it was time to go! Peter had been sleeping so well, he thought he was having a dream.
Peter walked through the prison, passing by the first and second guards unnoticed. The gate that led out to the city opened on its own! At this point, the angel left Peter, and it suddenly dawned on him that this was real and not a dream.
Amazed, he went to Mary’s house. Mary was the mother of John Mark, a disciple and companion of the original twelve apostles. The upper room in her house was packed with people praying, no doubt for Peter in captivity and that he might somehow escape his impending execution.
When he knocked on the door, a servant named Rhoda answered and recognized his voice. She was so shocked that she left him outside the door to go tell the others. They came to the door and were surprised, to say the least, at who they found. Peter told them to spread the news of his release among the Christians, and he then left for another place.
We can glean at least two lessons from this story. First, notice that the church was praying for Peter. This was a key (pun intended) to his supernatural escape. We should be lifting up our persecuted and imprisoned brothers and sisters in Christ in prayer daily. They are enduring solitary confinement and torture, often without hope of ever seeing the light of day again unless they renounce their Savior. We should pray specifically that the Lord would send His angels to protect and comfort them, to give them strength in their hour of need, and even release them if it is His will.
Second, just as the Father sent His son Jesus Christ to literally set captives (like Peter) free, He also came to spiritually set people free. Those who are not saved are captive to sin and will suffer an eternal separation in Hell from their Savior when they die. This will truly be a torture like nothing ever experienced here on earth. It will never end. God doesn’t want this to be mankind’s fate. Isaiah 49:9 states that the Lord came “to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’” We need to help these unsaved prisoners all around us find their freedom in Christ!