07 June 2026 - Martin McCrory - Persecution and Prayer

Acts 12 lays violent hands on the church through Herod, beheading James and locking Peter away during the days of unleavened bread, while the church pours out earnest prayer to God. The text sets Peter between two soldiers, chained, yet asleep like a child, a sign that God grants peace before he opens prison doors. The angel of the Lord walks Peter past sentries, through the iron gate that opens of its own accord, and into the street where Peter comes to himself and confesses, the Lord has rescued him from Herod and from all that the people were expecting. The house of Mary throbs with prayer, and the answer knocks while saints keep asking, a comic and holy scene where Rhoda recognizes the voice, and faith must open the gate.

Herod’s orbit then shifts to Tyre and Sidon, to royal robes threaded with silver and a sunlit glow that looks larger than life. The crowd shouts, the voice of a god, not of a man, and the angel strikes him for refusing to give God the glory. Pride shows a predictable pattern. Proverbs says praise is a fire-test, Romans says misdirected worship sits under wrath, and Psalm 115 warns that idols make their makers mute and blind. Celebrity culture flatters, superiority swells, presumption licenses violence, blame shifting hides responsibility, and then worms have the last word. But the word of God increases and multiplies.

Prayer and persecution stand together. The community prays for James and for Peter. One dies and one lives. John 21 already set Peter’s path, when you are old, another will carry you, so Jesus frames even death as a way to glorify God. Sovereignty does not silence faith, it steadies it. The church prays like Gethsemane, heal and deliver, yet not my will but yours. A testimony of disappointment was offered, where silence tried to swallow prayer, yet grace held the soul in place until voice returned.

Persistence and proclamation become means of grace. A praying church is not a dying church. The saints gather together and then pray, constant, fervent, intense, asking the Spirit for help when words fail. Peter instructs, tell these things to James and the brothers. Testimony ought to run like Passover through the room. Christ, the Passover Lamb, has been slain, and prison doors still open. When recognition is refused, when prayer is poured out, when saints gather and then go tell, Acts says what God loves to say, the word of God increased and multiplied.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Pride follows a predictable path Pride starts with a need for recognition, grows through flattery, and ends by stealing glory from God. Proverbs names praise as a furnace, Romans warns that misdirected worship invites wrath, and Psalm 115 says idolaters become like their idols. Herod’s silver shine feels like heaven, but it breeds presumption, violence, and blame shifting before the fall. God resists the proud, and the worms finally preach the last sermon. [12:56]
• 2. Prayer births peace before rescue Peter’s chains clink, but his heart rests, showing that God often sends peace before he sends an angel. Supernatural calm becomes the first answer, the night watch before the gate swings open on its own. The church’s earnest intercession does not just change circumstances, it guards minds in Christ. Fear loses its footing when prayer keeps watch. [03:37]
• 3. Sovereignty steadies unanswered prayers James dies and Peter lives, yet Jesus had already set Peter’s course to glorify God in death when he was old. The believer prays for healing in full faith and still yields, not my will but yours, refusing the cynicism that silence breeds. Sovereignty does not cancel petition, it purifies it. Gethsemane remains the pattern when outcomes cut across desire. [38:29]
• 4. Gathered prayer and testimony multiply The church gathers together and then prays, unceasing and intense, because a praying church is not a dying church. The Spirit helps when words fail, and common prayer carries power that private devotion alone does not carry. Testimony then runs outward, tell these things, because freedom bears witness. When the saints gather, pray, and tell, the word of God increases and multiplies. [43:30]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:10] - Prayer for illumination and transformation
• [01:37] - Acts 12 read Herod, James, Peter
• [03:37] - Supernatural peace under chains
• [05:25] - Angelic deliverance to the street
• [06:54] - Rhoda at the gate and disbelief
• [09:50] - Herod’s oration and fatal pride
• [10:29] - The word increased and multiplied
• [12:12] - Three questions for the church
• [12:56] - Praise as test, pattern of pride
• [15:28] - Wrath on misdirected worship
• [29:12] - Why Peter lived and James died
• [32:37] - John 21 and death that glorifies
• [38:29] - Pray in faith, yield to will
• [43:30] - Gathered prayer and go tell

1. In Acts 12, how did the church respond to Peter’s imprisonment, and what was the outcome of their prayers?
2. What contrasts are highlighted between Herod’s actions (e.g., seeking praise, executing James) and God’s response to his pride?
3. According to the passage, what happened to Herod after he accepted the crowd’s declaration that his voice was “the voice of a god”?
4. How does Peter’s demeanor in prison (e.g., sleeping peacefully) reflect the relationship between prayer and God’s peace? [03:37]

1. Why might God have allowed James to die while miraculously rescuing Peter, even though both were prayed for by the church? [30:07]
2. Proverbs 27:21 says, “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.” How does Herod’s story illustrate this principle?
3. The sermon mentions that “prayer births peace before rescue.” How does Peter’s calmness in prison demonstrate this truth, and what does it reveal about God’s priorities? [03:37]
4. Acts 12:24 concludes, “The word of God increased and multiplied.” How do the events of this chapter—persecution, prayer, and Herod’s downfall—ultimately lead to this result?

1. Pride often starts with a desire for recognition. What practical steps can you take to redirect praise or admiration you receive toward glorifying God instead of yourself? [12:56]
2. When have you experienced a situation where prayers seemed unanswered (like James’ death) or answered unexpectedly (like Peter’s rescue)? How did you reconcile your trust in God’s sovereignty with your disappointment or joy? [38:29]
3. The church in Acts 12 prayed “earnestly” and “constantly” together. How can you prioritize both personal prayer and gathering with others to pray, even amid busyness or discouragement? [43:30]
4. Herod’s story warns that idolizing anything (even self) leads to spiritual blindness. What habits or relationships in your life might subtly compete with your worship of God? How can you confront them?
5. Peter instructed the church to “tell these things to James and the brothers” after his rescue. Who in your life needs to hear your testimony of how God has worked in your struggles or answered prayers?
6. The sermon emphasizes that “a praying church is not a dying church.” What would it look like for you to deepen your commitment to prayer—individually or in community—this week? [43:30]