But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him. Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. Acts 12:5-12 NLT
God had a word for our church a few months ago that we would begin seeing “suddenlies.” A “suddenly” is one of those moments when God does something unexpected that arrests our attention, brings healing and deliverance, and dramatically changes our lives. During this same period, He spoke to me that we were entering a season of the miraculous: “It’s miracle time!”
When God wants to do something in the earth, He always starts by stirring up His people to pray. For Peter, his “suddenly” was the appearance of an angel in his prison cell. Though he was facing a death sentence, there were other factors at work. The people of God were praying. We often forget the spiritual realities that go on behind the scenes that produce our “suddenlies.” When God’s people get together and pray, suddenlies happen.
When we pray with other believers, we have the opportunity to set things in motion in the spirit realm. We can lay the groundwork for suddenlies. When we take time to pray in the spirit, the Holy Spirit is using us to address situations we don’t know about, to dispatch angels to do things we don’t know need to be done, and to orchestrate circumstances for coincidences that are really miracle appointments. Somebody needs a “suddenly” today. Let’s pray!
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