Acts 12:16 “But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.”
Who Is Knocking?
In Acts chapter twelve, we read the story of Peter on death row. On the night before he was to be executed by Herod, the Bible says that “prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.” When the Lord answered their prayer and Peter was standing at the door, they were astonished. They didn’t answer Peter’s knock because they didn’t anticipate that God would answer their knocking!
Knocking is precisely the example the Bible uses to illustrate persistent praying. When a person prays, he should do so persistently. If you lack faith, keep praying until God gives you an answer. When you knock on a door, you don’t just give it one tap; you knock repeatedly.
The church in Acts 12 had faith; they were asking God to save Peter, after all. The problem the church had was not trusting God to answer! Can you imagine if the Lord answered our prayers in the same way we ask them? God is so much better at answering than we are at asking! Sometimes we don’t know for what to ask, how to ask, or when to ask, but God responds to our asking.
You don’t have to know what God is doing in order to know that He is working. God is at work whether you see Him or not. God graciously condescends to answer the prayers of frail people with weak faith when they exercise the faith they do have. God’s ability to answer is far above our ability to ask. When you are “knocking” about something, expectantly look for God’s knock when He answers!