“When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.”” Acts 12:14-15
By Michael Adekoya – Dear Reader, after the church prayed all night for Peter’s release from prison, suddenly, Peter showed up at their door. When Rhoda told the so called prayer warriors, ‘It’s Peter,’ they replied, ‘You’re out of your mind.’ Peter kept on knocking, and when they finally opened the door, ‘they were astonished’ (Acts 12:16). My friend, can you imagine that? Fasting and praying but not expecting the answer or solution. That was what happened in the fasting and prayer meeting on that day. This is what most of us Believers do today!
God answered their prayer by miraculously released Peter from prison, but it seems they were not expecting his release, if not they wouldn’t have doubted when he eventually showed up. They were filled with unbelief to the extent that they attributed his person to his angel. What a high level of unbelief? This is the end of the Christian Lenten Season when a lot of Kingdom Citizens have fasted and prayed for different reasons and mostly to ask God a spectacular, undeniable and possibly uncommon things. My friend, as you’re fasting and praying, don’t just ask; you must exercise your faith and expect answers! God will astonish you by His timing (Isa 65:24) and by His methods (Acts 12:11). Stop limiting Him! Be alert in expectation so that you won’t miss your salvation, solution, idea, victory, connection, breakthroughs, blessings or harvests through your unbelief.
They were all praying, but only Rhoda responded to Peter’s knocking at the door. What a sensitive spiritual antenna Rhoda had. My friend, you need her spirit today. And when you’ve got it, you’ll respond too. You’ll get a divine ‘intuition’ that something miraculous and uncommon is about to happen during or after your fasting and prayer. You’ll know that God will reward your obedience. You’ll begin to expect answers while others are locked into a posture of praying, but not really expecting anything. You’ll recognise the answer when others don’t and you’ll be willing to leave the crowd in order to respond to God.
The Bible says, “Peter kept on knocking and shouting, ‘Open the door’ but because of her gladness, Rhoda did not open the [door]…’” (Acts 12:14). Typical of many of us, isn’t it? Expecting answers and when the answers come, we refuse to open the door of our hearts to receive them. How often have we come home from church or from powerful prayer closet, moved but not changed? My friend, it is possible to grow old in a pew, believing but not experiencing; rejoicing, yet never receiving what God’s got for us. Remember, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. He grew old in the Temple praying and sacrificing to God for himself and for others. But when the answer to his prayer came, he wasn’t expecting it. The Bible says, “And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”” Luke 1:18. As a result of that, he became dumped or else he’d have limited, prolonged or prevented from fulfilling His promise through his unbelief that would have been manifesting through his negative confessions. You must speak to God and expect answers to your prayers. Not that alone, you must position yourself and be spiritually alert to open the door of your heart to receive them!
I must admit that when hard times or trouble come, we have the tendency to lower our expectations and end up settling for less than God wants us to have! When the Bible asks, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen 18:14), it’s easy to say, No, Lord! But it’s what we do next that proves whether or not we actually believe Him. Jesus says, “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them (John 13:17). My friend, hear me! If you don’t act on what God tells you directly or through His Word or through your Pastor or through your friend or prayer partner, can you really say you believe Him? This is a question you must answer for yourselves!
One of our problems is that we get attached to methods that worked for us in the past and keep going back to them. We get attached to relationships whose purpose have expired in our lives and keep resurrecting what is dead. Listen! By always looking to a certain book or tape or person or certain way for the answer, we seriously limit what God can do for us. He’s much greater than any human source. And He’s never predictable! Today, in this month, in this year, if you’ll let Him, God will do great things. He will tell you things you could never figure out on your own. He will heal that deep hurt in your soul (Jer 33:3).
When He (God) decided that Moses would lead the greatest migration in history from Egypt, the land of slavery, Moses never questioned God’s ability, he just questioned whether God could do it through him. And what was God’s answer? “Go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall say (Exo 4:12). My friend, this is a promise you can live by throughout after these season of prayer and fasting. God is not enhanced by your strengths nor limited by your weaknesses; there’s more He wants to do in you, for you and through you this year 2023 and beyond than what you’ve experienced in the past years. As you are praying, just ask Him in expectation, then respond in faith to whatever He tells you. He’s the multiplier of our obedience. This is your year of extra ordinary measure of harvests, year of the fulfilment of covenants and promises!
My friend, it is evident that you are praying now and you’ve been praying and fasting but what are you expecting to come out of your sacrifice? If you do something nice for somebody you are expecting the favour to be returned, you’re setting yourself up for a disappointment. Jesus said, ‘When you help someone…do it – quietly and unobtrusively.’ Then, your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly’ (Matt. 6:2-4). Did you hear that? Your good deeds including fasting and prayers are not unto anybody but unto God. You are sacrificing your time, food, energy in fasting and prayers for the past few weeks or days, praying to God in secret. You must expect Him to answer you openly!
There are certain things everybody has a right to expect, like common courtesy and respect, though these are strange etiquette in the Western World today. But too often we place expectations on other people that aren’t their responsibility to fulfill. Then, when they don’t meet our demands we are hurt and disillusioned, when in reality it was our own misguided assumptions that caused the problem. Today, many of us have unmet needs from the past and we want the person in our lives or other people to fulfill our desire to be loved unconditionally. Some of us are so needy to the extent of driving people away by our demands. Is that you?
Today, husbands and wives are famous for holding each other accountable for things they need to work on personally.
My friend, yes, it is true that you have fasted and prayed during the Lenten period, but it’s not fair to expect another person to ‘fix’ you, or change your life, or suddenly become who you want them to be in order to make you happy. That kind of behaviour will cause disappointment, stress, resentment, hostility, and an unhealthy dependency you’ll end up dealing with later. After you have fasted and prayed, you should not expect others to read your mind when you haven’t taken the time to spell out your expectations. And it will be unfair to blame somebody for not doing something they didn’t know you wanted? Am I communicating?
“Michael, why are you telling me all these?” My friend, is this your question? Understand this: people aren’t your answer, God is! If He chooses to use a certain person to bless you, He’ll do it; if not He’ll use somebody else. So, examine your thinking today and ask God to reveal and remove any unrealistic expectations you’re living with. God loves to give. The Bible says, “Since He did not spare even His own Son for us…won’t He surely give us everything else?” (Rom 8:32). This is a question only you can answer.
My friend, because you understand that your Heavenly Father knows what you need, ask Him and expect to receive whatever you have asked in the way that is best for Him to answer you. There shall be performance of all the things that God has promised you in Jesus’ name. Amen. But sometimes, in His own way! And at His own time! Remain blessed!
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