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!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. (Acts 12: 13-16)
This chapter brings together both hope and fear. The author first describes how the Apostle James was killed by Herod with a sword, and how James became the first apostle to be martyred. Peter was also arrested, put in prison and closely guarded because Herod intended to kill him in the presence of the Jewish people and earn their favor after the Passover. When the church heard that Peter had been put into prison, they eagerly prayed to God for him. Although Peter was closely supervised, not only with the chains which bound him but also by the guards taking turns watching him, the angels still rescued him from prison.
When the angel rescued Peter from prison, Peter came to Mark's house, because there were many people gathering and praying there. So Peter wanted to tell his brothers and sisters that he was safe so that they could be at ease. Although these people were praying urgently for Peter at this time, when the maid Rhoda told the people that Peter was outside the door, no one believed her. Even after she told them again, the people still didn't believe. They thought that Peter had been martyred, and said that it must be Peter's angel. The Jews believed that everyone had a guardian angel who looked exactly the same. When the crowd opened the door and saw Peter, they were surprised, which showed their unbelief.
Although, when Peter was arrested and imprisoned, the people eagerly prayed for him. At least they still had faith in God at that time, so they prayed for Peter urgently. But when this prayer was answered by God, they appeared distrustful. The fundamental reason was that they did not have enough faith to accept God's answer.
When we encounter difficulties, we pray to God urgently but have no confidence that we will receive an answer to our prayer. This is a common thing among us. This happens because prayer is often treated as a routine, or as a compulsory act. But too often, God answers our prayers even though we are not sure that he really has, so we may be surprised or have doubts and unbelief.
Prayer is essential for the spiritual life of Christians. Prayer is also an expression of faith in God, so it requires faith. We come to God to pray because we have faith in God. But our faith should not just be confined to prayer, but we should pray without ceasing. Whether we get an answer from God or God leads in other ways, we must always receive it with faith. Maybe at the beginning, we don’t know how God will lead and what his will is. But if we look up to God in faith, one day we will surely understand his will. And we will see the glory of God in the things we don’t understand.
(Note: The author of this article is a full-time co-worker of a grassroots church in Fujian)
-Translated by Abigail Wu
使徒行传灵修系列：请保持你的信心
彼得敲外门，有一个使女，名叫罗大，出来探听，听得是彼得的声音，就欢喜得顾不得开门，跑进去告诉众人说：“彼得站在门外。”他们说：“你是疯了。”使女极力地说：“真是他！”他们说：“必是他的天使。”彼得不住地敲门。他们开了门，看见他，就甚惊奇。（使徒行传12:13-16）
这一章的内容可谓是喜忧参半，一开头就讲述使徒雅各被希律用刀杀害，雅各成了第一个殉道的使徒。彼得也被希律捉拿在牢里，在监里被严加看管，准备在逾越节过后，当着犹太百姓的面杀他，以此来讨好犹太人。那时候教会听到彼得被下在监里的消息时，便迫切的为彼得向神祷告。彼得虽然被严加看管，不仅有铁链困锁，还有兵丁的轮班看守，可是天使依旧将他解救出狱。
当天使将彼得从狱中解救出来时，彼得便来到马可家，因为那边有好些人在聚集祷告，所以彼得想把自己脱困的事告诉弟兄姊妹，使他们能得以安心。虽然此时这些人都在为彼得迫切的祷告，但是当使女罗大把彼得在门外的消息跟众人说的时候，众人的反应却一致不相信。之后在使女极力的说明下，众人也依旧不相信，反而认为彼得已经殉道了，所以才会说那必定是彼得的天使。因为犹太人相信每个人都有守护天使，而且跟本人长的一模一样。众人开门看见彼得的时候，反应居然是非常惊奇，这就更加说明众人之前的不信。
虽然在彼得被捕入狱的时候，众人迫切为彼得代祷，至少来说他们那时候对神还是有信心的，所以才会去迫切祷告神。可是当这个祷告被神应允的时候，众人的表现却是不相信。最根本的原因是他们对神的信心不够，以致于没有信心接受神的应允。
遇到事情时迫切向神祷告，然后又没有信心去领受祷告的成就，这种小信其实在我们中间也是常有的事。会出现这种情况，是因为时常将祷告当做一种例行公事，或者是将祷告当做一种迫不得已的行为。可是太多的时候，神应允了我们的祷告，却没有信心领受这个应允，所以就会产生惊讶、质疑和不信。
祷告是基督徒必不可少的属灵生活，祷告也是对神信心的一种表现，所以祷告需要信心。当我们能来到神面前祷告，很多时候就是一种信心的表现，但是我们的信心不应该只是停留在祷告的时候，而是要持续的保持信心。无论祷告的结果是得到神的应允，还是神有别的带领，我们始终都要带着信心去领受。或许在起初的时候我们并不清楚神的一些带领，不知道神的旨意是如何，可我们若是凭着信心仰望神，终有一天必然会明白神的旨意，必然会在我们所不明白的事上，看见神的荣耀。
（注：本文作者为福建一基层教会全职同工）
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!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. (Acts 12: 13-16)
This chapter brings together both hope and fear. The author first describes how the Apostle James was killed by Herod with a sword, and how James became the first apostle to be martyred. Peter was also arrested, put in prison and closely guarded because Herod intended to kill him in the presence of the Jewish people and earn their favor after the Passover. When the church heard that Peter had been put into prison, they eagerly prayed to God for him. Although Peter was closely supervised, not only with the chains which bound him but also by the guards taking turns watching him, the angels still rescued him from prison.
When the angel rescued Peter from prison, Peter came to Mark's house, because there were many people gathering and praying there. So Peter wanted to tell his brothers and sisters that he was safe so that they could be at ease. Although these people were praying urgently for Peter at this time, when the maid Rhoda told the people that Peter was outside the door, no one believed her. Even after she told them again, the people still didn't believe. They thought that Peter had been martyred, and said that it must be Peter's angel. The Jews believed that everyone had a guardian angel who looked exactly the same. When the crowd opened the door and saw Peter, they were surprised, which showed their unbelief.
Although, when Peter was arrested and imprisoned, the people eagerly prayed for him. At least they still had faith in God at that time, so they prayed for Peter urgently. But when this prayer was answered by God, they appeared distrustful. The fundamental reason was that they did not have enough faith to accept God's answer.
When we encounter difficulties, we pray to God urgently but have no confidence that we will receive an answer to our prayer. This is a common thing among us. This happens because prayer is often treated as a routine, or as a compulsory act. But too often, God answers our prayers even though we are not sure that he really has, so we may be surprised or have doubts and unbelief.
Prayer is essential for the spiritual life of Christians. Prayer is also an expression of faith in God, so it requires faith. We come to God to pray because we have faith in God. But our faith should not just be confined to prayer, but we should pray without ceasing. Whether we get an answer from God or God leads in other ways, we must always receive it with faith. Maybe at the beginning, we don’t know how God will lead and what his will is. But if we look up to God in faith, one day we will surely understand his will. And we will see the glory of God in the things we don’t understand.
(Note: The author of this article is a full-time co-worker of a grassroots church in Fujian)
-Translated by Abigail Wu
