Acts 12:1-19
Verse 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
Paul wasn’t the only one persecuting the early Church. With the first of Jesus’ disciples now martyred for the faith, Peter found himself facing the same thing. As he sat in the prison he may have been thinking of the time he had told Jesus that he would even be willing to die for Him. Maybe he was wondering what would become of the other believers when he was gone. He may have thought of his wife and who would care for her. This man who always had words even when he didn’t know what to say, was now sitting there chained between two men without words.
The people of the Church weren’t at a loss of words though. They wanted Peter’s release and had met together at the home of Mary who was John Mark’s mother and an aunt of Barnabas, to beg God for His care and deliverance of Peter. He meant so much to all the early believers and was a trusted leader. Because of this love, they didn’t care that the hour was getting late as they continued praying together on Peter’s behalf.
Because of the time of night Peter falls asleep, stilled chained to two guards. With all he was going through he still had peace of heart and mind enough that he was sleeping hard. In fact, he was sleeping hard enough that when the angel tapped him to wake him up he didn’t question the fact that the chains had fallen off without making enough noise to wake the guards. Poor Peter was so sleepy that he didn’t realize until they were all the way out of the prison and were in town.
When the angel left him, he knew he had to get out of the area but wanted to let the fellow believers know what had happened before he left. He hurried to Mary’s house where he was a regular guest and knocked on the door. The servant girl was so excited she forgot to let him, but at least she believed an answer to their prayers was possible. Those praying for his release couldn’t believe that God had answered their prayers and insulted the girl. Meanwhile Peter continued knocking not knowing when the guards would realize he was gone.
We can have the same problem as those prayer warriors. We can be so busy praying and hoping, that we forget to expect His answer. It isn’t necessarily that we think He can’t answer it or that He doesn’t want to, we just get so wrapped up in praying we don’t think about how big He is and how much the details of our lives interest Him.
Making It Personal
When have you gotten an answer to prayer and were surprised by it? When have you stopped praying because you lost hope? What do you need to be in fervent prayer about today?
Making It Personal Kids
What kinds of things do you pray for? Do you think God answers your prayers? Why do you think He answers your prayers?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for listening to our prayers and answering them in the way that is best for us and will bring You the greatest glory. Help us pray in Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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