<p>12:5 <i>Therefore <em>Peter was kept in the prison; but earnest prayer was offered to God</em></i>- The guarding of Peter in prison is placed in opposition to earnest prayer being offered; as if worldly forces were in struggle with spiritual ones, and the spiritual prevailed. &quot;Earnest&quot; is literally 'unceasing', and the word is only used elsewhere by Peter, in appealing for unceasing love within the church (1 Pet. 4:8). He would have recalled how unceasing prayer had been offered for him- and he urged the church to show such love to others.</p><p><em>For him by the church</em>- <em>Huper</em>, translated &quot;for&quot;, is what Dorothee S&ouml;lle called &ldquo;the preposition of representation&rdquo; (Dorothee S&ouml;lle,&nbsp;<em>Christ The Representative</em>&nbsp;(London: S.C.M., 1967) p. 69). Our prayer for others is effectively our representation of them before the throne of Heaven and the Divine court. And this of course is exactly what the Lord Jesus has done and continues to do for us; mediating <em>huper</em> us, as our representative. What He has done for us, we are not to merely lamely accept; we are to do the same in essence for others. And the clearest way we reflect it is through prayer <em>huper</em> others, feeling with them and for them, and bringing those feelings before the Father in prayer for them.</p>