(Acts 12)
Once there was a girl, possibly about sixteen years of age, who lived with her father and mother in the dreadful days of the persecution against the early Christians. One evening her mother said: “Rose, your father and I are going to a friend’s house to-night to pray. Herod, the wicked king, who killed the apostle James, John’s brother, has shut up Peter in prison for several days—and to-morrow he is going to put Peter to death. The Christians are to pray to-night for Peter’s release from prison.” “Mother,” said Rose, “I am a Christian too; let me go and pray with you.” Her mother consented. For some hours the Christians earnestly prayed; and after midnight they were still on their knees praying, when suddenly Rose, being nearer the door, heard a knock on the outside gate. She quickly arose from her knees, ran to the door and said, “Who’s there?” “It is I—I—Peter,” came a voice. Again she said, “Who is it?” “I—Peter,” came again the voice. She knew at once it was Peter’s voice, but in her joy and excitement she forgot to open the door, running back into the prayer-meeting room and crying out, “Peter is out of prison! Peter is at the door.” All arose from their knees and said, “Rose, you must be crazy to talk like that.” “No, I am not,” she said; “it is Peter!”
“Isn’t it too bad?” said one, “Herod has already killed Peter, not waiting until to-morrow; and God has sent Peter’s angel to comfort us.” “No,” cried Rose; “no, it is not Peter’s angel; it is Peter himself! I know I am right! Listen, there he is knocking again!”
All heard the knocking and went toward the gate, and there stood Peter, alive and well. “How did you get out of prison?” they exclaimed. “Hush!” said Peter, beckoning them to be quiet; “let me in, and I will tell you!” He stood just inside the gate, and this is what he said: “Last night I was in prison, knowing well that Herod intended to kill me this morning. I was guarded by sixteen soldiers, and each of my wrists was chained to a soldier, one on each side. I knew you were praying for me, and I believed that Jesus would answer your prayers. So I had no worry, but fell peacefully asleep, and in my dream I thought I saw an angel come into my cell; my chains fell off; the angel said, ‘Rise and put on your sandals and cloak and follow me,’ I followed the angel past the first and second cells and the sleeping soldiers, and when we came to the outer gate it opened of its own accord. When we were in the street the angel vanished. I thought it all a dream until I found myself really out of prison with no chains on my wrists, no soldiers guarding me, no prison-cell enclosing me. I saw then that your prayers for me were answered, and that Jesus had sent his angel and delivered me out of prison. I came here as soon as I could to tell you, but now I must go quickly to another place. Good-bye, God bless you all!”
In a few moments the gray streaks of the morning came, and it was light. The soldiers awoke and cried, “Where is Peter?” One after another echoed the cry, “What has become of Peter?” No soldier and no officer could tell, for none knew. But Rose, the Christian girl, knew that in answer to prayer Jesus had sent his angel and delivered Peter out of prison and she knew that her prayer had been answered as much as the prayers of any of the Christians, and she was glad she had been in that prayer-meeting that night!
18. THE PRISONER AND THE SHIPWRECK
(Acts 27)
“All aboard!” cried the captain of a sailing-vessel which was just loosing from the wharf to sail out to sea. There, on the deck, was a number of prisoners, guarded by soldiers. One of these prisoners was Paul, who had been seized in the temple at Jerusalem and nearly killed by a riotous mob. Forty men had secretly vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed him. The captain of the temple, being Paul’s friend, told him about the plot, and sent him in the night with a guard of soldiers to the governor’s house in a distant city. Paul said to the governor: “I want to have my case tried in Rome before the emperor, for I am a Roman citizen!” So Paul was sent as a prisoner to Rome on this sailing-vessel. Some of his friends were with him. One was “the beloved physician,” Doctor Luke, who had often traveled with him on his missionary journeys and who is the man that tells this story. Out upon the great sea the ship sailed until it came to a wharf where there was a large wheat-ship sailing to Rome. Paul and the soldiers were put on board this wheat-ship. Counting the soldiers and passengers there were two hundred and seventy-six people in all. Soon their troubles began. The wind was blowing the wrong way, so that they had to go very slowly. But at last they came to Fair Havens, where they stayed much too long, Paul thought, for the stormy season of the year had come. Paul said, “You ought to stay here for the winter.” But the captain of the soldiers only made fun of him. The weather just then seemed good, so they pulled up the anchors, hoisted the sails, and put out from Fair Havens. Hardly had they started when a terrible storm broke upon them, driving the ship far out of its course. The ship was in danger of breaking in two so that they had to throw great ropes around the ship to hold it together. Then they lowered the sails and let the vessel drift. For two weeks they were tossed and driven by the storm, not seeing the sun or stars. One night God sent to Paul an angel who said to him, “Fear not, Paul, you shall reach Rome in safety, and God will save all in the ship with you.” Early in the morning Paul said to the sailors and soldiers, “Be of good cheer, God will save you all.” They made fun of him, and the ship drifted on until in the darkness of the night they found they were near some island. They quickly threw out four anchors to save them from being dashed on the rocks, and longed for the morning! As soon as daylight came and they saw the land, some selfish sailors at the front of the boat pretending to put out some more anchors, lowered the rowboat, and were just getting ready to row away to the land, thinking only of saving themselves, when Paul saw their trick and cried out to the soldiers, “Look! except these men abide in the ship you yourselves cannot be saved!” No one made fun of Paul then, but the soldiers ran and cut away the rope of the boat and let the boat fall into the sea and drift away. After they had eaten food they threw all their wheat overboard to lighten the ship. As that did not help, they decided to run the ship upon the shore, but the bow struck the beach and the stern was broken to pieces by the fury of the waves. Some of the soldiers said, “Kill all the prisoners, lest they swim to the shore and escape.” But the captain of the soldiers, who had grown to think much of Paul, said: “No, but let each man who can swim jump overboard and swim for the shore first.” This they did, and the others, including Paul and Doctor Luke, followed on planks and other floating things from the ship. And all escaped safe to the land. So Paul, the prisoner, was right; the ship was lost, but God had saved all the two hundred and seventy-six men in the ship with him!
19. THE SLAVE WHO RAN AWAY FROM HIS MASTER
(Epistle of Paul to Philemon)