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"THE JOY OF ANSWERED PRAYER" "Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." (Acts 12:5)"And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished." (Acts 12:13-16)It's no accident that Rhoda is mentioned by name in this exciting account of Peter’s miraculous escape from prison. Luke’s objective in penning this event is to show, not only the power of God in delivering one of His apostles from certain death, but also the fact that the answer came because of the faithful prayers of the saints on his behalf.Among all of those in the Church who met together praying for "Peter the Prisoner", there is one girl who stands out in Luke’s story. Her name is Rhoda, and she was probably one of the last people you would have noticed or been impressed with had you been present at that prayer meeting. But Luke is impressed enough to mention her, because it seems like she is the only one participating in the prayer vigil who actually believed that God would answer their prayers.Now, this where the story becomes even more interesting because, lo and behold, here comes "Peter the Pardoned" knocking at the gate. When Rhoda recognized his voice. she knew that God had answered, and away she immediately ran to share that good news with the others. However, her joyful announcement that Peter stood before the gate is met with an unexpected response of disbelief. They said, "It is his angel." Isn't that a strange reply from those prayer warriors? You would think that right then and there they'd be jumping for joy. Yet, what do we find? We find that the people who were doing most of the praying were the same ones who were the most astonished and surprised. Why would someone pray and not expect God to answer them? But Rhoda's faith wasn't one of astonishment and surprise. She knew that God had heard and graciously answered their prayers, and she "constantly affirmed that it was even so" to the people who were there.Friends, may we never be astonished that God is more than able to do the impossible. Rather, like young Rhoda, let's rejoice, run, and relay the truth to others that God hears and answers our prayers!