Faraway Friends

In the book of Acts, there is an account of Peter being rescued from prison by God. After an angel guided him out of the prison, Peter went to a house where fellow believers were praying for
his release from an unjust stay in the Roman jail. This account also tells of a girl named Rhoda who answered the door when Peter knocked. The Bible does not tell us any more details about this girl. What was going through her mind that night? It’s fun to imagine how she would have told her story…

Hi, my name is Rhoda, and I am a servant in the house of Mary. We were gathered there late one night to pray for Peter. You see, Peter was arrested and thrown in prison. We were afraid the government leaders were going to have him killed. As we were praying, I heard a knock on the door. I went to answer and asked who it was. The voice on the other side said it was Peter. Recognizing that the voice was actually Peter’s, I ran back and told the others that Peter was at the door! Nobody believed me. I kept trying to tell them it was Peter until we all heard the knock again, and this time everyone went to the door, and there was Peter! We were all amazed. He told us how the Lord sent an angel to rescue him from prison. We all rejoiced and were very thankful.

After I went to bed that night, I started thinking about what had happened. Why hadn’t I let the poor man in when he first knocked? We were all praying for Peter’s rescue from prison, and yet when God answered our prayers, we were amazed. After all, I remember when Jesus was going from town to town and healing people who were sick. I remember the time when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. And I remember when Jesus Himself rose from the dead! Yet we were all amazed when God rescued Peter from prison. Lord, you never cease to amaze me. Thank you for answering our prayers. Thank you that I can trust you to do more than I could ever imagine. • Doug Velting

• Have you ever been surprised by how God answered a prayer?

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!†Acts 12:13-14 (NIV)

Read Verses:

John.11.1-John.11.44|John.15.12-John.15.16