Acts 12:14-15

When she recognised Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

What do you expect to happen when you pray? Does it occur to you that God might dramatically and immediately answer your prayer? Clearly, that thought hadn’t occurred to this fervent group of pray-ers! Peter, the leader of the Church, had been imprisoned by King Herod, and the Church was understandably scared. They knew how weak and vulnerable they were in the face of the authority’s power. So when Peter turned up at their door, they couldn’t imagine that it was really him. When Rhoda, the servant girl, ran to the door, she was convinced it was Peter but was so excited that she forgot to open the door! When she insisted that Peter was there, they refused to believe it. How foolish they must have felt when Peter finally stood in front of them.

When we pray, we are opening our lives to God, and we need to be ready for any response that He chooses to make. He always hears our prayers, and that should give us confidence as we ask Him to do things. As we pray, we are showing God our willingness to co-operate with whatever He chooses to do, however amazing and miraculous.

Question

How confident are you that God will answer your prayers?

Prayer

Loving God, help my confidence in You to grow as I pray. Amen

Released on 17 Aug 2026