GOD CAN! BUT SURELY NOT LIKE THAT?
Act 12:12-15 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. 14 And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. 15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
Have you ever prayed then found yourself surprised that God answered your prayer? Perhaps you were shocked at how God responded to your prayer? Of course, we, believers, know God can do the impossible! But surely not like that?
Herod Agrippa had slain James with the sword, and seeing that it pleased the Jews, he took Peter intending to kill him as well. But due to the imminent Passover Feast, Herod was obliged to hold Peter in prison until after Easter. And right away, everyone at church began praying.
And while Herod was looking forward to carrying out his atrocious plan. On the night before, just as Peter was dozing off while chained between two soldiers. Suddenly, the angel of the Lord came in and struck Peter on his side and forcefully lifted him to his feet. As soon as the chains hit the floor, Peter quickly put his sandals on and got dressed. Then followed the angel out of prison and through the main gate as it opened on its own. All the while, thinking that he saw a vision of his release.
As soon as the angel was gone, Peter awoke from his daze. And realizing that it wasn’t a vision, he quickly made his way to John Mark’s mother’s house, where many believers gathered together to pray. As he knocked at the gate, a teenager named Rhoda came to see who it was. And upon hearing Peter’s voice, she became so excited that she forgot to unlatch the gate and ran back inside the house, announcing that God had answered their prayers.
But to her dismay, Rhoda was declared mad by these prayer warriors! However, Rhoda knew Peter’s unique voice and persistently asserted that Peter was at the gate. And momentarily, likely out of curiosity, they finally opened the gate and were astonished that Peter was at their entrance!
Maybe they were praying in faith but not expecting a deliverance? Perhaps they were praying for strength for themselves to endure such a trial? Or maybe they were praying that God would strengthen Peter and that he would remain steadfast and faithful to the end, thus suffering an honorable martyrdom. However, when they finally saw Peter, they were amazed that he was out of prison, most likely because they saw how heavily guarded he was.
Meanwhile, by gathering together to pray, these prayer warriors knew God could do the impossible! But were reasoning indeed not like that?
Meditation Focus: There’s an old saying, “prayer is dependence upon God.” And as for praying believers, we pray because we are dependent! But what about our expectations? While depending upon God, we believe He “can” do the impossible. So we ought to also think certainly even the amazing!
Scott E. Allen
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