Articles
Answered Prayer
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Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. . . . He came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. . . . Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. (Ac. 12:5, 12, 16)
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Herod's war against the Jesus people was going well. He had already executed James the brother of John, and arrested Simon Peter, who was in prison awaiting his turn on the chopping block. With the leadership taken out, the followers would soon scatter like sheep.
But instead of scattering, the followers were praying. They gathered in private homes at night and prayed for Peter's deliverance. Long, fervent prayers, beseeching God's intervention in this crisis.
God heard their prayers, and sent an angel in the dark of night to deliver Peter from his prison cell. He made his way to a house where disciples were gathered, and knocked on the door. The servant girl who heard Peter's voice through the door was so shocked that she left Peter standing outside, and ran to tell the others. They refused to believe her story. Surely she was delusional. It couldn't be Peter; perhaps he was already dead, and it was his spirit she heard. When they finally opened the door and saw Peter standing there, "they were astonished."
Let the irony of this moment sink in. These brethren had been praying for hours for Peter's deliverance; yet when their request was granted, they could not believe that God had done the very thing they were asking Him to do.
Do we pray like that? We ask God for help ("according to His will," of course, 1 Jn. 5:14), but deep down inside, we have little confidence that He will deliver. On those occasions when He does come through, we're astonished that it actually worked.
God is not obligated to grant our every whim, that's true; we must be prepared to accept "No" for an answer. But if we pray as Jesus directs us to pray ("Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them," Mk. 11:24), we should not be surprised when God grants our request.
The more appropriate response should be to pray once more, thanking Him for His gift.
--David
