Acts 12:11-16
“Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angels and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When She recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone “Peter is standing at the door!” “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed” (NLT).
All praises to the Lamb of God! It’s so sweet to trust in Jesus in our daily living. Truly, any other way, we would be walking in vain, without hope, and lost to our true reason for living. As we ended last week, we were encouraged to lift our “Prayer Basket” unto God. Whatever burden or thoughts that invaded our minds we were invited to lift all in prayer. The Lord desires our full attention when we pray, as we seek to enter into the presence of God and consciously pray to Him.
In the book, “The Power of Prayer” by R.A Torrey, the author explained that prayer must be instilled in order for it to become a habit. Torrey who once was lost in the darkness of agnosticism was brought into the marvelous light, and the intelligent faith in God through the Word of God. Torrey stated, ‘And even after I was converted, yes, even after I had entered the ministry, prayer was largely a matter of form. But the day came when I realized what real prayer meant, realizing that prayer was having an audience with God, actually coming into the presence of God and asking and getting things from Him” (p.61).
Our belief in God is important, but so much more is our faith, “each believer receives his measure of faith by God’s allotment” (Romans 12:3). Activating our faith each day in prayer, pulls on God to move on our behalf. The Bible tells us, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
I can recall visiting one of my relatives (an aunt) who was hospitalized. She had a roommate that was very sick and could barely breathe. Yet she had the will to live because of the encouragement from her husband who was by her bedside. Customarily at the end of a hospital visit I would breathe a word of prayer before departing the room. Just before I began praying, I felt compelled to offer the couple the opportunity to join in on the prayer. However, to my dismay the husband waved his hand which symbolized he was not interested. This broke my heart, yet I was determined to not only pray for my aunt but also for the roommate and her husband. As we prayed, we prayed loud enough to be heard, and our faith was being lifted. We prayed believing that God would heal and deliver. After praying, the husband's countenance changed and he said, “thank you for mentioning us in your prayer.” His gesture of thanksgiving was a revelation that he was a believer, one who may have lost his way and just needed to go deeper, by watering the seed of his belief with prayer. I then took the opportunity with wisdom to speak about Jesus and “PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING'' that their souls would be saved. Knowing that the Lord is patient and wished for none to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
In the book of Acts 12, King Herod arrested James and Peter who belonged to the Church, with the intention to prosecute them. It is recorded, the death of the first Apostle, James, was followed by the miraculous escape of Peter from prison. When the king saw that the death of James pleased the Jews, he wanted to execute Peter also. However, the church was persistent in prayer. In this crisis, the faith of the early church was being tested, just like most of us today. The story of the arrest of the Apostles showed that even though the church was praying, that only one servant girl, Rhoda truly had faith. She was praying with an expectation that Peter would be free. When she heard the knocking and recognized Peter’s voice no doubt, her faith filled prayer was answered. Even though the rest of the saints who were praying had some doubt, I am sure it was an experience for all of them to go deeper not only in prayer but through the activation of their faith.
Not all of our prayers will be answered in the way that we desire. At times, when we are praying, if the response does not line up with an expected outcome, we may lose hope. Regardless of this, people of God, let us take courage, once there is life, there is still hope in Christ Jesus!!! The Lord Jesus is sovereign, and all things will be worked out to His will.
Let us believe in God, for our “FAITH ANSWERED PRAYERS!” It might not be on our time, and the answers we are expecting, however, let us pray that God's perfect will be done for His wonderful Glory. Let us rejoice with an expectancy, as we approach the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords in Jesus’ name.
If you are having a difficult time in prayer, you can use this method below as you pray. When you pray, approach the Lord with Adoration (praising), Confession (repenting of our sins), Thanksgiving (giving thanks for everything) and Supplication (making your request known to the Lord).
A-doration
C-onfession
T-hanksgiving
S-upplication
Amen.
Please take the time to read the scriptures throughout.
Have a bless day!
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