Our late, beloved cat Sally never used to have any difficulty in sleeping. We humans though are not quite like that. Insomnia is a very unpleasant experience which can afflict us all from time to time. It is as though the whole world is peacefully asleep, but we are awake, tossing and turning. The anxieties of the day – and perhaps bodily pain – can prevent our falling asleep at night.
Acts 12 relates a time when the Apostle Peter was put into prison. Peter was a leader in the infant church of Christ. It was a period of church growth, seeing many coming to saving faith in Christ. But it was also a time of anxiety. Stephen had been martyred for the Faith, as had James the brother of John. King Herod – keen to keep in with the Jews – decided to make life difficult for Christians. Hence he had Peter arrested and put into a Jerusalem jail. Acts 12:6 however has a very revealing verse. It tells us ‘The very night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.’ Peter’s sleep was so deep, that it took a sharp strike from an angel of God to wake him up, and eventually be miraculously released from the jail, so that he could continue the work God had set him to do.
Peter then slept soundly in jail. He had every reason to experience insomnia: concerns for the church without – how it was faring in the tumultuous times – and concerns for himself within. For all he knew, the next day he could have been executed, leaving the church bereft of a leader, and leaving his own family to have to fend for themselves without a husband and father. But Peter had no such anxious insomnia. He slept just like a baby, as though all was well with the world in general and with himself in particular. How do we explain this? The Bible gives us tow clues. These are i. Peter’s Friends and ii. Peter’s Faith.
- Peter’s Friends
Acts 12:5 tells us that ‘Peter was kept in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.’ Peter had praying friends. They brought Peter’s plight to the ears of Almighty God. God heard their earnest supplications. He ministered His grace and peace to Peter, enabling him to sleep peacefully amidst the current storm. Then, in response to the prayers of Peter’s friends, God saw fit to release Peter from prison. Humanly, this was impossible, as the prison was a fortress. But Omnipotence was not and is not hindered by human impossibilities. Peter next made his way to the gathering of believers who were praying for him, and, to their amazement, appeared at the doorway. When the excited commotion calmed down, he related to them how God had heard and answered the prayers they had made. Peter had praying friends. Thank God for praying friends.
- Peter’s Faith
Peter’s sleeping amidst the storm can also be explained by Peter’s faith. He knew God. He was a recipient of the saving grace of God in Christ. He knew that whatever his circumstances, not matter how tumultuous, he was safely under the love and care of his Almighty Father in heaven. He was the One who was actually on the throne, not wicked King Herod. The absolute sovereignty of God is, ultimately, the only comfort for the soul when times seem harsh and hard.
Some years later, Peter wrote the following exhortation in 1 Peter 5:7: ‘Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you.’ The Greek can also be translated as ‘It matters to Him about you.’ Peter therefore knew no stressful anxiety because He was able to cast all His anxieties on a God who was well able to bear them all for him. And he would have every Christian do the same. ‘Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you.’ There is a children’s hymn which is highly suitable for adults too. It takes up Peter’s sentiments:-
God who made the earth
The air the sky the sea
Who gave the light its birth
Careth for me
God who sent His Son
To die on Calvary
He if I lean on Him
Will care for me.
So Peter’s peaceful, prison sleep is explicable because of i. Peter’s Friends – they prayed and ii. Peter’s Faith – He trusted His God. And if we belong to Jesus, it is the same with us. Whatever our circumstances, we too may trust our Father in heaven, assured of His loving, providential care and knowing His peace in our souls. ‘He cares about you.’ The prophet Isaiah wrote ‘Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee. Trust in the LORD for ever, for the LORD God is an everlasting rock’ (Isaiah 26:3,4).
So continue to trust in God – and sleep well!
Timothy Cross
