Nothing can stop prayer (Part 4)
Verse of the day: Acts 12:10 “They passed the first and second guards and came to the Iron Gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him”
The exit day is finally arrived for Peter. This morning we will meditate on the triumphal exit of the prison but we need to be aware about something: before reaching the Iron Gate, Peter and the angel had to pass through two guards.
Not only chains have to fall but there are two other indispensable trials before reaching the Iron Gate which is the final step. Every time we pass through a period of trial, God is busy arranging many things in us as long as we have a positive attitude in persevering in prayer. If we are in a period of trial where we are stuck without being able to move on and we start to complain and murmur against the Lord, we stay before the same gate because we haven’t understood the lesson. We cannot move to the next class (at school) without succeeding the one we presently are. Once we succeed to pass through the first gate, we move on a little bit to finally arrive before the second gate. Again, we have to prove that we are able to pass through the second gate (trial) otherwise we will not move on. I also have to precise that trials of the second gate are more difficult than the ones we face on the first gate as the exam of the fourth grade is more difficult that the exam of the second grade. The explanation is simple: The more we move on, the stronger.
The verse of the day tells us that after having passed the first and the second guards, they reached the gate leading to the city. The city represents our destination (or calling) according to the perfect plan of God. What is interesting is that after having passed all the gates and arrived at the Iron Gate, the gate opened by itself! Brothers and sisters in the Lord, I have to announce you that once the chains fall and we pass through the first and second gates, the iron door will open by itself because at that level all is accomplished and the test is successful.
I don’t know on which step you are now because there are three steps: The chains that bind us, the first guard and the second guard. Some still have hand and feet bound, others are free from chains but are still stuck by the first gate while others wait for the second gate to get open in order to see the Iron Gate getting open by itself.
In the next part, I will finish this teaching by talking about how God fulfills His will in a prison.
Chris Ndikumana
