A Miraculous Rescue: Three Lessons on Prayer
Some years ago, I sat on our church’s nursery floor while a friend sat next to me, her youngest in her arms. “How is she doing?” I wondered aloud. This little one hadn’t met the recommended milestones and this friend had asked for prayer some weeks ago.
“It’s an answer to prayer! She started meeting her milestones. Praise God!”
Almost without thinking, I walked through plausible explanations of why this may have happened. It was likely she was going to meet these milestones eventually, anyway.
She thought for a moment and then said simply, “No. I really believe it was an answer to prayer.”
Now it was my turn to grow quiet. How had I missed the chance to celebrate what God had done? Why did my mind immediately question the veracity of a prayer answered, of a God caring for his people in special ways?
Even though prayer is a concept familiar to us, we sometimes find ourselves unsure how to pray. We don’t want to seem too expectant, as if we’re demanding a “yes” from God to all of our demands, but we also want to believe that prayer is powerful and that it accomplishes something.
So then, what is our heart posture in prayer? Through a moment of answered prayer in Acts 12, we find that our heart posture can be one of trust in the God who rescues.
“When we pray, we commit ourselves—however weakly—to our faithful Creator.”
Heart Posture #1: God Uses Prayer to Unify and Encourage
In Acts 12, the early church went through an extraordinary time. The Holy Spirit came in a special and final way, deadly persecution affected every Christian, beloved church leader James was martyred, and Peter was imprisoned—only to be martyred shortly after.
With just hours to spare before Peter’s death, how were God’s people spending their time? Scripture tells us the church was earnestly praying (Acts 12:5). They continued to pray through the night for their dear friend, even as his death seemed impossible to escape. They did not stop praying.
We’ve all faced suffering alone. We all know how it feels when no one else is on our side or understands how we feel. As we see the early church praying together, we see a group of men and women actively caring for each other, hearing each other, and being near each other.
In the face of persecution and the approaching death of a beloved friend and leader, they needed one another. They needed each other’s words and tears. They needed those who were strong to point those who were weak back to the goodness of God.
Through prayer, this is exactly what they did.
Heart Posture #2: God is Sovereign
While the early church prayed, what was Peter doing the night before his execution? Shackled to several guards, he slept. Perhaps he had fallen asleep entrusting his life or death to the Lord.
If I’m honest, when I’m stressed, I don’t sleep. My dreams leave me tossing and turning, solving problems impossible to fix. I take deep breaths that sound more like distressed sighs. Whether the problem happened in the past, present, or future, I try to control, alter, and change.
This wasn’t Peter’s heart posture. He slept, entrusting his future to the Lord.
I appreciated this definition of God’s sovereignty: “He is sovereign over the whole world, and everything that happens in it. He is never helpless, never frustrated, never at a loss.” Peter himself wrote, “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (1 Pet. 4:19, NIV, emphasis mine).
My heart needs to hear this again and again. When I’m lying awake, unable to fix things, I must entrust myself to the Lord. I must remember that, regardless of the outcome, his history has shown that he is good. When we pray, we commit ourselves—however weakly—to our faithful Creator.
Heart Posture #3: God Hears our Prayers and Is Able
What happens next is partially relatable but also incredibly supernatural. An angel pokes Peter awake and the shackles fall from his wrists. He leads a sleepy Peter away from the watching guards, through the prison doors, and into a miraculously opened city gate. Before this moment, Peter thought he was in a trance, imagining his rescue while still in prison. Then the angel leaves Peter alone—and he’s awake! He looks around, rubs the sleep from his eyes, and declares, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me” (Acts 12:11, NIV).
When Peter knocks on the door of his friends’ prayer meeting, a servant girl named Rhoda runs to tell the others, leaving Peter locked out. She shouts the good news that their prayers have been answered—Peter is safe and right outside!
“You are out of your mind,” they respond, “It is his angel” (Acts 12:15). Doesn’t Rhoda know that she is interrupting an important prayer meeting for Peter? The church continues praying until they finally respond to Rhoda’s call. Of course, there is Peter, safe outside. Now they know without a doubt that God has rescued Peter.
How many times have I been like Peter or the early church, my sleepy faith needing more than a poke in the ribs to wake it up? I’ve prayed for healing, but once it comes, I barely remember to thank God for answered prayer—I’m on to the next problem. Or I want to pray for that family member or friend to come to faith, but it has been so long, I don’t see how it’s possible anymore.
Our prayers betray whether we believe God is able—not just whether he is willing, which isn’t for us to decide—but whether he is able. For many of us, our faith needs encouragement. We need reminders that our God hears our prayers; we need reminders that our God is able.
The story of Peter’s miraculous rescue is just one of these reminders. Let it encourage our faith when it’s weak.
“Our prayers betray whether we believe God is able—not just whether he is willing, which isn’t for us to decide—but whether he is able.”
Our Testimonies
As I sat with my friend on the nursery floor all those years ago, I wish my heart was ready to celebrate answered prayer. Like the early church, I’d heard that Peter was at the gate, yet I thought my prayers went unanswered. Her daughter met milestones and this mom’s heart had been comforted, yet I thought, “How ordinary.” I didn’t recognize that God had done something only he could do.
After Peter calmed the commotion at the prayer meeting, he testified to them “how the Lord had brought him out of the prison” (Acts 12:17). Who was Peter quick to give the glory to for this amazing rescue? Peter made sure his friends knew this was the Lord’s doing. He even encouraged the church to go and tell more people about what God had done (Acts 12:17)!
Why don’t we respond to Peter’s call and do the same?
RESOURCES ON PRAYER
IMPORTANT NOTE
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