By Ashlea Massie

How many times have you prayed for something in particular, not expecting the impossible answer to be the exact answer to your prayer?

Hopeful Anticipation

This is exactly how the disciples reacted to Peter’s escape from prison. We see in the passage that James was imprisoned and beheaded for the approval of the people, so when Peter was imprisoned for the same reason, the believers gathered together to pray.

We presume they prayed that Peter wouldn’t receive the same fate or that he would be released. But the believers were most certainly not expecting a release in such a way or they wouldn’t have dismissed Rhoda’s claims that Peter was right there at the door.

Expecting the Impossible 

Recently I was bothered by some financial issues I was facing. The weight of it all was getting to me. I didn’t receive the full financial relief I thought I would, so I turned to something else I thought would work out to at least alleviate a tiny bit of the burden. All the while, I was praying and praying for a little bit of financial relief no matter how small. And yet I forgot to ask for the impossible. Why not ask for God to take care of the full financial issue? Why have such little faith and ask God to do something so easy? Because I felt in my heart that God wouldn’t do that—there was no earthly way. And to my shame, a few months later the full financial relief was given in the most unexpected way, seemingly out of nowhere.

We tend to forget that God owns everything, he created everything, and he can do anything. God is the God of possibility. With him, we can do anything. Too many times we shy away from asking God to do the impossible. Instead, we need to boldly approach his throne and humbly ask him to do the possible and then expect it. Whenever you’re in doubt, look to this passage for strength. Have faith and expectantly wait.

Ashlea Massie teaches high school students and is pursuing an M.A. in literature. She also enjoys freelance writing and blogging (everupward-excelsior.blogspot.com).