12 So, when he [Peter] had considered this, 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 girl named Rhoda came to answer.
14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate.
15 But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!”Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.”
16 Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.[Acts 12:12-16]
So we see that at first, it was Peter who thought he was in dreamland with regard to his awesome deliverance. Now, it’s getting more interesting. The people who had been gathering to pray day and night also didn’t believe their prayer had been answered. When Rhoda told them Peter was at the door, their initial reaction was that she needed psychiatric treatment. However, as she insisted that Peter was around, they concluded that it was his angel. They thought Peter had been executed; so the person there must have been his guardian angel.
Why did they not believe it was Peter at the door? I don’t think it’s because those praying didn’t have faith. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be praying day and night for the release of Peter. They would have quit after two or three times. It was simply that God used an approach that baffled all of them. He’s a wonderful God to whom nothing is impossible. He does new things every day.
One more lesson we’ve already learnt is that there is so much power in corporate prayer. There’s a special anointing that God releases when believers gather together and pray in unity. Let’s therefore not see congregational prayer as waste of time. Bible says one shall chase a thousand and two shall put ten thousand to flight. Note that it didn’t say two shall chase two thousand; but rather ten thousand. There’s geometric or exponential growth when we come together as the body of Christ. The prayer may seem dry, as if nothing is happening. However, in the realms of the spirit, dynamites are being released.
The songwriter says “You raised me up to more than I can be”, and that was what happened to Peter. May that be your story too. May God surprise you with His awesome goodness. May what God does in your life surprise your well-wishersas well. May you become the reference point of God’s miraculous hand and may it be well with you all the days of your life.
You’re blessed in the Name of the Lord. Amen
