Praying is not Believing!

Acts 12

¹⁰ They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” ¹² When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. ¹³ Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” ¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

I find this story somewhat comical, but I also find it a typical. I find it comical how Peter shows up at the door of a group praying for his release and the greeter is so shocked, she doesn't even answer the door. He is left at the doorstep! That's funny! But, I can certainly relate to this group of faithful followers. They are praying for God to intervene. When he does, they don't believe it. Am I like that?

 Just because you pray for something, doesn't mean you have faith it will happen. I know about this first hand. If it weren't so, why am I always so surprised when my prayers are answered? As a matter of fact, I think I'm equally surprised when they ARE answered as when they ARE NOT. My weak faith is not something I'm very proud of. I have seen time and time again, the power of God answering prayer, yet I am no different than these early believers. The more amazing the miracle of an answered prayer, the weaker my faith. My God is the creator of the universe. He has power I can not even imagine. He produces the miracle of life every day. This miracle is seen from sunrise to sunset. He provides a miracle every time I take a breath. This miracle occurs all around us and yet we still do not believe he can answer ANY prayer. I am so ashamed of my poor faith. But, I am also told that the Faith of a Mustard seed is enough with the power of THE God of all things. Praise God he doesn't rely on my weak faith to answer my Prayers. Praise God he hears me even in my imperfections! Thank You Lord!