True confession: I sometimes dream about preaching. I’m not sure why, but I do. It may be a variation of the “Test” dream where one forgets they had to take a test. I read about a pastor who dreamed he was preaching, woke up, and realized he actually was . . . preaching. If the Pastor fell asleep while he was preaching, no one could fault the congregation for falling asleep.
Peter still thought he was asleep as the angel led him to safety. But when he realized it was really happening, he headed to the prayer meeting at the house of Mary and her son John Mark. This is not a fable. These stories reflect memories of actual events. A woman named Rhoda met him at the door and she was so excited that she forgot to let him in. “Peter is at the door.” The people who were praying could not imagine that God had answered their prayer. They began a conversation about what might really be happening. Meanwhile, Peter kept on knocking.
My son Chase tells a story he heard from Scott Young at a Spark weekend at Tallowood. Scott was on a mission trip pouring concrete for a church. Rain showers were forecast and entered the area. The rain would have ruined the work the team had done. They called an impromptu prayer meeting, and the rain went on either side, but did not touch the concrete. Scott was amazed and asked the leader about it. The leader agreed about what had happened and then asked, “Why are you surprised?”
Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” Do we really expect God to answer our prayers? Are we ever surprised when he does? Let’s continue to ask, seek, and knock. Once we pray, let’s expect to receive, find, and walk through open doors.
