“Do Not Be Surprised…!”

“Do Not Be Surprised…!”(Acts 12:12-17).
After a colleague had finished praying at a function yesterday, I joked that it appears some of our prayers are not answered because we use high sounding words that are unfamiliar to God.
On the other hand it seems we are often not certain that our prayers will be answered. When answered, we are taken by surprise. The story is told that after having suffered severe drought, the villagers agreed to gather at the plaza to pray for rain. On that day when they prayed, the heavens opened and it rained cats and dogs. Only one little boy had his umbrella with him. This boy alone had faith in God and strongly believed that God answers prayers.
When Peter realised that he was free, he went to the house of Mary “where many people had gathered and were praying.”
Peter knocked at the outer entrance and Rhoda, a servant girl came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice she was so overjoyed that she ran back without letting Peter in. She told the group, “Peter is at the door!” Hear their response: “You’re out of your mind.” When she insisted, they said, “It must be his angel.”
Peter kept knocking, and “when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.”
Yesterday we read that when Peter was put in prison, “the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” The prayer group in Mary’s house surely had him as a prayer point in their intercessory prayer that night of his release. Yet, when Rhoda, the servant girl told them Peter was outside, they said she was out of her mind. When she insisted, they said it should be Peter’s angel. And when they opened the door and saw Peter, they were astonished.
We serve a God who answers prayers. When we pray, we should be confident that he will answer us, but we should also prepare our minds for his answer. God’s answer to prayer is not always in the affirmative to our expectations. His answers are either, “Yes,” “No,” or “Yes, but not now!”
As a mother hen scatters the ground foraging for food, when it sees what is good for the chicks, it make a beckoning sound and a chick comes and grabs it. On the other hand, when the hen sees that a chick is grappling with stuff that may be a health risk, the hen makes a rebuking sound, siezes the stuff from the chick and swallows it.
In the same way, our Father in heaven goes to any length to give us what is useful to us, but will scare us away from what is dangerous to us; even when we think otherwise.
So friend, when you pray, believe that God will answer you according to his will. The Lord Jesus Christ assures us that the Father will give us whatever we ask in his name.
Weekend prayer: Lord Jesus Christ thank you because through you the Father answers our prayers. Amen!
Have a blessed weekend! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.