Are You Sleeping with the Enemy or Poised for the Prophetic?
In Acts 12, we find that our beloved brother Peter was imprisoned by King Herod, who intended to kill him to appease the Yahudim after Pesach. Herod had already killed James the brother of John and I imagine Peter and his assembly could certainly feel the breath of the hunter on their necks. Yet, Peter had a sure-fire insurance policy working on his behalf: his assembly was praying day and night, night and day for him. Surely, Yah heard their prayers as we read that a malakim (angel) came to wake Peter and deliver him from the prison.
Peter's deliverance from the grip of Herod was a pure miracle from the hand of Yah. He was surrounded by four squads of soldiers; two soldiers were in his actual prison cell and he was shackled with two chains. Still, the malakim of Yah was able to maneuver directly to Peter within the walls of the two wards without incident. Upon arrival, there was Peter sleeping between the two guards. The malakim had to hit him to wake him up and then instruct him to prepare for the journey of deliverance.
Tonight, during assembly, we enjoyed a couple good chuckles about the fact that the malakim had to hit Peter to wake him. At first glance, we all agreed that it seemed to be a bit contradictory to be hurt by your deliverer. Then we all agreed to varying degrees that sometimes that is what our people need before they get in line to do what they are supposed to do. Shortly thereafter, a thought came to me, partly in jest, that Peter was hit because he was delinquent in duty. He had a whole assembly praying round the clock for him as he slept soundly among the enemy. Even more, I supposed he should have been on watch mode even more because it was Pesach. As a 1st century Israelite familiar with the Pesach tradition passed down for generations, it should have been foremost in his mind that the children of Israel were commanded to eat the Pesach in haste with their loins girded and shoes on their feet. Pesach was known to be an appointed time set by The Most High to visit Israel so much so that even the Messiah’s death occurred during this important time period.
I can just imagine being in a deployed or training environment with a soldier sleeping on duty. Just the thought of such lack of discipline in the face of the enemy in a warzone could cause some of the most humane leaders to resort to hitting or at least secretly harboring the thought in the mind. As soldiers we are trained to not quit our post until properly relieved. The most elite soldiers are trained to survive, escape, resist, and escape when caught by the enemy.
Of course, this analysis contains a bit of conjecture about events which happened a long time ago. For all I know, Peter may have been beat to exhaustion. What I do know is that ultimately it was the will of the Father for Him to be sleep. However, there may still be a bit of a lesson for meditation for some of the warriors of Yah. In Mark 13:33 and Luke 21:36, we are instructed to "watch and pray". In other words, it is not good enough to just "watch"; staying up late at night, scanning through FB posts, watching tv, playing video games is not enough. Nor can we be satisfied to just pray. We know faith without works is dead but works without faith also needs to be examined.
Praise Yah that He honors our feeble work, but He is deserving of our best. He gave a twofold command, "watch" (prepatory command), and "pray" (command of execution). Watch or be on the lookout for the visitation of The Most High, because He promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. He confessed that His love for us is stronger than death and that His jealousy for us was stronger than the grave.
Don't you want to see Him when He walks into your prison cell to deliver you? Then watch and pray. I have been waiting all my life for the knight in shining armor and now I know I have been waiting all this time for Him. I want to see Him when He walks into the room shining in all His kabod (glory), making a mockery of all the chains and fetters placed on me!
Peter did well that he had a reputation amongst the assembly which stirred up his brothers and sisters to sacrifice their bodies in a way that some cannot even do for the members in their own household. Still, if the Father is willing, I want to be awake, alert, and on guard to be obedient to His word, "watch and pray" when He comes to deliver me. I do not want Him to have to hit, tap, or shake me awake like a baby. I pray that I can see Him come in His full kabod. Now, I am going to watch to see the riches of my reward come in on the horizon with all the pomp and circumstance that only He can orchestrate. As one of my brothers so eloquently stated tonight, (I want to be) poised for the prophetic (fulfillment of His word).
