The whole church was praying for their beloved prophet, Peter, who was in jail.
A group of saints gathered at Mary’s house to pray.
There was a knock on the door, and young Rhoda went to see who it was.
She heard Peter’s voice!
Rhoda was SO GLAD that she ran back inside without opening the door for him.
She told everyone: Peter is right outside the gate!
And these saints,
who are all gathered around, praying intently that Peter would be saved and set free,
tell Rhoda that she is crazy.
Anyone else see the irony there?
Do we sometimes pray and plead for answers and miracles in our lives…
and then ignore the small signs that the answer is right there?!
And then dear, excited, sweet Rhoda stands her ground.
She doesn’t second guess what she just experienced.
She doesn’t defer to the older people in the room.
But she also doesn’t argue or make a scene.
“But she constantly affirmed that it was even so.” (Acts 12:15)
Instead, she CONSTANTLY AFFIRMED that it was Peter.
Personal spiritual experiences and personal revelation are so interesting because they are just that – personal.
Nobody else is experiencing exactly what you are experiencing.
Sometimes well-meaning church members, family members, or close friends shed some doubt on our spiritual experiences.
“Well that’s an interesting decision for you!”
But Rhoda did not crumble or doubt.
She didn’t make a fuss or a scene.
She just CONSTANTLY AFFIRMED what she had heard.
THIS is what softened their hearts enough to go check the door themselves and eventually experience that same witness for themselves.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
5 Responses
Yeah, it’s funny how guys will listen when women say it’s time for dinner, but when they say they’ve seen the Lord or the prophet, nobody believes them.
I have felt a very special witness in my heart of the gospel. When I hear my testimony I always say I KNOW these things are true. A few years we moved to a new ward. On fast Sunday I stood and more my testimony that I knew the gospel was true. Later in Sunday school the teacher made it a point to look right at me and make the comment, we need to be very careful when we say we know because no one in this life can really know these things. I was very hurt at first and didn’t bare my testimony again for several months. I finally came to the conclusion the he as wrong. I had my witness and he had no right to belittle that.
It’s such a blessing to have a strong testimony and receive that witness! <3
I wonder if the angel that saved Peter and the one that rolled the stone from the tomb had to have been resurrected? I am trying to remember if any physical acts were performed by angels before the resurrection of Jesus.
Oh I wonder about the identity of all the angels in the scriptures so much! It’s fascinating to think about who they could be, how they were selected to perform that role… so cool!