The results of prayer
November 20, 2008
Acts 12:11-16 WEB
11 When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 Thinking about that, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
13 When Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer.
14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she didn’t open the gate for joy, but ran in, and reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
15 They said to her, “You are crazy!” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.”
16 But Peter continued knocking. When they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed.
It is amazing how many people who pray for something and never believe it will ever happen. I mean, Peter has just been set free, he goes to the prayer meeting where he is the subject and they think he is dead. Why do I say they think he was dead? How else do you explain they told the servant girl that it was an angel (some translations say his spirit, his angel, his messenger and one even says a ghost).
But are we much diffident in today's world. Imagine if I was praying to God that I needed $400 more a month to be able have my budget for my family to not be in the red. I am on my knees earnestly praying that this be provided to me. I go out and check the mail and in it is an ad for a store needing stockers to work 10 flexible hours a week for $10 an hour. I go back in and start to pray for the money agiain thinking that God does not hear me.
Am I much different than the people who say Peter was dead. Here is a job that will fit my needs and because it does fit what I expect God's answer to be I ignore it and go on. Now I am not saying that things could happen different, that my boss would think I was so great that I would get a raise that way, or that the money could come from a number of places, what I am saying is that we have to recognize the blessing when it is there and not say it never came.
