Central Truth

Believers must believe; it’s what we do. If we believe that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, then our expectations should be high. Each day, we can expect to see His handiwork, answering our prayers with His grace and His power.

---

Reflections

Prayer without ceasing? Check!

Ask and you shall receive? Check!

Grace and Awesome Power? Check! and Check!

Faith?.... 

The church was in shock. Herod had just executed the first apostle, James, and when he saw how it pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter. With Peter queued up for a public trial and execution, secured by sixteen armed guards, Herod was on a roll and holding all the cards. Storm clouds were dark for the Christians. 

So the Christians went to their knees in earnest prayer. They knew that Peter’s salvation, and theirs, rested in the Lord. Their prayers were fervent, continual, persistent, and unwavering. This was beautiful prayer, right out of the believer’s handbook! 

And true to form, true to Himself, God miraculously rescued Peter from the clutches of the enemy. It was an awesome example of just how mighty God is and how easily He can handle our most vexing crisis. Grace and Power! 

But when Peter arrived at the prayer meeting, the believers did not believe. “You are out of your mind” they told Rhoda. “It is his angel” they said. “They were astonished” the Bible records. Tremendous hope. Obedient, ceaseless prayer. But no faith. They did not expect that God could or would save Peter.

This Act reminds us not to underestimate God or prayer. What He could do, the believers couldn’t even believe. We must believe and be confident in the fact that God can move mountains. We must believe that He can move our mountains. And finally, we must believe that he will intercede on our behalf and answer our prayers. We’re believers, after all. 

We know that God hears the prayers of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29)

We know that the prayers of the righteous can accomplish much. (James 5:16)

So what do we expect when we petition The Almighty to intercede into our situation? He is full of grace and power! And He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)

---

Discussion Questions

1. According to Romans 10:17, how can we increase our faith? 
2. We know that God answers prayer, but is He restricted by our faith, or lack of faith? (2 Timothy 2:13)
3. Can you think of a prayer that God has answered, but you either didn’t recognize His provision or failed to thank Him? 
4. Do you expect to see God doing things in your life on a daily basis? Weekly basis? Monthly basis?

---