In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are told to “pray continually.” In Philippians 4:6, we are told to “bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers.” In Ephesians 6:18, we are told to “offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time.” The message seems clear; we are to pray! Peter’s friends in the early church took these teachings to heart. Peter was in prison as a result of King Herod’s persecution of the Christians. The outlook for Peter was bleak. What could his fellow Christians do? They prayed.

Even though Peter’s friends were praying for him, they probably did not expect Peter to be freed from prison. It is not likely they were praying for an angel to rescue Peter from prison. If they were, they might not have been so surprised and unbelieving when Peter appeared at their door. It is possible that Peter’s friends did not know what specific result they should pray for—they simply knew their response to this situation, as in any situation, should be prayer. So that’s what they did. 

God heard the prayers lifted up on Peter’s behalf, and God answered the prayers. However, the answer was unexpected—God sent an angel to rescue Peter. The female servant who answered the door when Peter arrived was so surprised to see him that she closed the door and left Peter standing outside! She then had a difficult time convincing the others that Peter was indeed there. Even though they were in prayer for Peter, this was not what they really expected.

This story contains some valuable reminders for us. First of all, we are reminded of the importance of praying for others. We can talk with God, not only about our own needs, but also about the needs of others, those we know and love and even those people unknown to us. Even when we are unsure what a person needs, we can still pray for them because God knows. Secondly, sometimes God answers our prayers in unexpected ways. We believe God hears and answers our prayers, yet we need to remember that the answer may not be the one we are expecting. 

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MAY MEMORY VERSE

“As for us, we can’t stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:20)