I suppose we’ve all prayed to God in desperate ways during desperate times. And those of us who trust the Lord Jesus know in our minds that nothing is too hard for Him. But are we really expecting Him to do something amazing, perhaps even something miraculous for us? Or in the back of our minds are we hedging our bets, resigning ourselves to the worst even as we pray for the best?

That may have been what Peter was doing. For his situation was desperate indeed. King Herod Agrippa had begun to join the religious leaders in persecuting the Church, going so far as to kill the Apostle James and to arrest Peter (12:2-3). Peter thus had every reason to believe that, in just a few days, he would share James’ fate.

So, as he slept in his cell, when an angel came to release him, he didn’t believe what was happening at first. Even though a light shone around him and the chains fell off his hands (v. 7), he seems to have been stumbling around in a daze – the angel had to tell him to get dressed and to follow him out of the prison (v. 8). Peter didn’t really come to his senses until after the angel left him and he found himself alone in the street (v. 11).

But Peter wasn’t the only one having a hard time believing that God would answer his prayers in such a miraculous way. When he went to John Mark’s house, where many Christians had gathered to pray for him, he knocked on the door. But instead of welcoming him in, Rhoda became so flustered that she left Peter outside and ran to tell the others (v. 14). And even though they were praying at that very moment that God would release Peter from prison, they didn’t believe he was really there – they thought Rhoda had lost her mind (v. 15)!

So today, let’s pray with faith, even about those desperate situations which seem impossible to solve. For nothing is too hard for the God Who not only set Peter free, but Who has freed all who trust in Him from the power of sin and death. And can we doubt that the God Who loved us enough to give His only Son for us will give us everything that we need?

Acts 12:1-17 (ESV)

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.
2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword,
3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.
4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.
7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.
8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him.
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.
14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.
15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”
16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.
17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.