Acts 12:5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church to God for him. Mr. Elliot, who laboured as a missionary among the American Indians, was eminent in prayer, and several instances are recorded of remarkable answers having been given to his petitions. The following is striking: — Mr. Foster, a godly gentleman of Charlestown, was, with his son, taken by the Turks; and the barbarous prince, in whose dominions he was become a slave, was resolved that, in his lifetime, no captive should be released; so that Mr. Foster's friends, when they had heard the sad news, concluded that all hope was lost. Upon this, Mr. Elliot, in some of his next prayers before a great congregation, addressed the Throne of Grace in the following very plain language: "Heavenly Father, work for the redemption of Thy poor servant Foster. And if the prince who detains him will not, as they say, dismiss him as long as himself lives, Lord, we pray Thee, kill that cruel prince; kill him, and glorify Thyself upon him." In answer to this singular prayer, Mr. Foster quickly returned from captivity, and brought an account that the prince who had detained him had come to an untimely death, by which means he had been set at liberty. "Thus we knew," says Dr. Cotton Mather, "that a prophet had been among us." Parallel Verses KJV: Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.WEB: Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him. |
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