Does God Answer Your Prayers? He answers more than you realize  

Read: Acts 12:1-19 NIV – Peter’s Miraculous Escape From Prison – Bible Gateway

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him….and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.” Acts 12:5, 16 NIV

Have you ever experienced the resolution of a problem that occurred unexpectedly. It may have been a major concern you thought was not possible to resolve, or something minor that was just an annoyance. Then you come to realize and say to yourself, ‘Hey, I prayed about that!’ We pray about many things, and it seems that none of our prayers are being answered. Then out of the blue comes an answer to a prayer and we don’t realize it until later. It may have been a prayer we put on the burner, but God did not forget. He heard and answered. If we put our minds to it, there will be many answers to the prayers we made revealed to us. Yes, God did answer those prayers, and it could have been not in the way we desired. Perhaps that is why we forget, but He did answer.

The early church in the book of Acts had been praying for Peter who was in prison and about to be executed. King Herod was beginning to arrest Christians and had put the apostle James to death. When he saw his actions pleased the Jewish rulers, he preceded to arrest Peter also, planning to kill him after the Passover. When the people in the church heard of it, they immediately started praying earnestly for Peter’s release. Their prayers were answered. An angel of the Lord appeared before Peter waking him up, his chains fell off, and the angel led him out of the prison.

However, when Peter went to the home where the church people were praying and knocked on the door, they didn’t believe it was him, except for a servant girl named Rhoda. Finally, they were convinced after they were astonished that God answered their prayer. The Lord does what seems impossible. He answers quickly, as in Peter’s case. Sometimes He answers slowly as in our case, but He always answers. When we eventually do remember, let us rejoice, thanking Him for answering prayer and not forgetting.