The Believers Pray

²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.^(A) “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.^{(B) 25} You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:^(C)

²⁷ Indeed Herod^(E) and Pontius Pilate^(F) met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus,^(G) whom you anointed. ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.^{(H) 29} Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.^{(I) 30} Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders^(J) through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”^(K)

³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.^(L) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit^(M) and spoke the word of God^(N) boldly.^(O)

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.^(A)

⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains,^(B) and sentries stood guard at the entrance. ⁷ Suddenly an angel^(C) of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.^(D)

⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.^{(E) 10} They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself,^(F) and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

¹¹ Then Peter came to himself^(G) and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me^(H) from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

¹² When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark,^(I) where many people had gathered and were praying.^{(J) 13} Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.^{(K) 14} When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed^(L) she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”^(M)

¹⁶ But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand^(N) for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James^(O) and the other brothers and sisters^(P) about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.