Prayer
When Herod’s persecution broke out against the church, James was killed, and Peter was thrown in jail in preparation to give him a fair trial before they killed him. The night before Peter’s trial, he slept, chained between two guards, when the Angel of the Lord appeared and awoke Peter. When he awoke, Peter followed the angel’s instructions. Half awake and half asleep, he put on his robe and sandals and walked with the angel past two sets of guards, out of prison. The angel escorted him to the city gates, the iron gates opened by themselves, and Peter walked into the city, and when he did, the angel left him, and Peter was left standing alone a free man.
Where do you think he went?
He went to where he knew people would be praying for him; he went to Mary’s house. Rhoda, the servant-girl, sat listening to the prayers of the church for Peter. When the knock came at the door, she ran to answer it. Who would it be? Another member of the church coming to pray? The Romans coming to break up the prayer meeting and arrest others? No. She recognized his voice, it was Peter. Overfilled with joy, she failed to let Peter in, but instead, ran to tell the adults that Peter was there.
They didn’t believe her. They said she was crazy. But she insisted. They explained it away by saying it was an angel. But Peter kept knocking, so finally, the adults went and opened the door, and sure enough, it was Peter. Can you imagine the chaos? Instead of going to find out what really happened, they stood there arguing among themselves. More opinions than faith! Sound familiar?
Finally, they answered the door and let Peter in. He didn’t stay long, just long enough to tell them to pass the word along, and he left.
God doesn’t always answer our prayers with a “yes” answer, but when He does, it shouldn’t surprise us.
Matthew 7:7 (NASB) “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.”
Wilson, Jim L. Fresh Start Devotionals. Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009. Print.
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