The Bible tells us of a very popular, much preached on event in the history of the Church.  It is the deliverance of Peter.  You can find this story in Acts 12.  So here’s the scenario:  Herod had taken James the Apostle and killed him by the sword.  It had pleased the people so much that he proceeded to take Peter who at that time seemed to be the leader of this rebellious group calling themselves “The Church.”  He succeeded in capturing Peter with the intentions of bringing him before the people for public execution after Passover.  He placed Peter in prison under the supervision of four squads of soldiers.  According to traditional estimations of a squad the total number was sixteen soldiers to guard one man.  He was sleeping, chained to a soldier on each side behind two guard posts and finally behind the great iron gate to the prison.  Escape seemed impossible.

            The Church at Jerusalem had gathered together for prayer on behalf of Peter.  It was then that a strange thing took place.  The Bible tells us that an angel appeared and woke Peter up telling him to fix his clothes and put on his sandals.  As Peter stood the chains fell from his hands.  There he could see the two guards he had been chained to still sleeping.  He followed the angel right past the first guard post and then the second and finally arriving at the iron gate and it opened all by itself allowing them to step into the street.  All this time Peter thought he was seeing a vision.  But after they had gone down the street to the next one the angel vanished and there stood Peter right out in the open.  It had been no vision.  They angel had miraculously led him right past those sixteen men and right out the front gate of the prison. 

            Now here’s where the story takes a bit of a humorous twist.  Peter went immediately to the home of Mary, mother of John Mark, where they had gathered together for prayer on his behalf, and knocked on the door.  A young girl by the name of Rhoda answered the door only to see Peter standing there.  But they were praying for Peter to be released.  It couldn’t have been Peter at the door because he was in prison!  When she told the others they just couldn’t believe it and said that it must be his spirit, thinking that perhaps they had already killed him.  It never dawned on them I guess that God could answer their prayer.  Of course when they finally let Peter in they saw it was really him and gave praise and glory to God.

            Coming together for victory can also mean that we are coming together for prayer.  When we pray together, praying in the will of God we can see the miraculous happen.  More often than not we don’t succeed in our prayers because we have “asked amiss.”  James 4:3 tells us “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”  Asking God for things that will bring us temporary pleasure or wealth are not the things the Lord generally answers because we are not genuinely asking in Jesus’ Name (on behalf of Jesus).  To know how to get prayers answered we must first study about the kinds of things Jesus asked for.  His requests were never selfish but always for others or to bring a teaching to others.  So first of all we must be focused on asking for the things Jesus Christ would pray for – again that is asking in Jesus’ Name.

            Secondly we need to come together and pray together for those things if we are going to see victory in the Church.  I am not suggesting that God doesn’t answer individual prayers because He does.  But when it comes to things of the Church then we need to be focused in our prayers together.  And if we are asking according to what Jesus would have asked for and in the long run it is in the will of God the Father our prayers will be answered positively.  It was God’s will that Peter be miraculously delivered from Prison.  So the prayers of the group in Mary’s house were prayed according to the will of God and they were answered.   So it will be for us.  When we come together and bind together in prayer agreeing on the will of the Lord we will see results and we will gain the victory.   That is how we come together for victory.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.?  Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.