Believing Prayer

Believing Prayer

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Acts12:5  

God does not always answer our prayers by simply granting our requests. As He tells us through the prophet Isaiah, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)  

But we must also remember that when our requests are in line with God’s will and purposes, nothing is too hard for Him. Just read Acts 12. James had been thrown in prison and then was executed by the wicked king Herod. Herod then arrested Peter and planned to have him executed too.  

The believers huddled together behind locked doors earnestly praying to God for Peter. But I don’t think they really believed God would deliver him. They had the faith to pray but not yet the faith to believe God would answer their prayers. That’s why they were “astonished” when Peter miraculously showed up at the door.  

“Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized 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.” But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.” (Acts 12:13-16)  

We should not be unbelieving believers when we pray. Instead, we should pray seeking God’s will and being absolutely confident He will answer. Nothing is too hard for God.  

Remember, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)