Daily EncouragementSample

This was what they said to Rhoda, the servant girl who announced that Peter was at the door. “They” were members of the large group which had gathered at John Mark’s mother’s house to pray for Peter’s release from prison!

The chief encouragement for us here is the reminder that our brethren of those days were just like us. There is no doubt that their prayer was sincere - “so Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (verse 5). But when the answer came, it was too good to be true. The element of unbelief is present even in our earnest prayers. In one sense we should not be surprised by God’s answers, and yet in another sense it is understandable that we are surprised, because so often he does “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20).

The final encouragement in the area of prayer, as in every other, is the grace of God. Let us not refuse to gather at “Mary’s house” just because our faith is small. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16).