The faith of the church

Acts 12: 1-16 (The message)

King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He murdered James, John's brother. When he saw how much it raised his popularity ratings with the Jews, he arrested Peter—all this during Passover Week, mind you—and had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public lynching after Passover.

All the time that Peter was under heavy guard in the jailhouse, the church prayed for him most strenuously.

Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!

Suddenly there was an angel at his side and light flooding the room. The angel shook Peter and got him up: "Hurry!" The handcuffs fell off his wrists. The angel said, "Get dressed. Put on your shoes." Peter did it. Then, "Grab your coat and let's get out of here." Peter followed him, but didn't believe it was really an angel—he thought he was dreaming.

Past the first guard and then the second, they came to the iron gate that led into the city. It swung open before them on its own, and they were out on the street, free as the breeze. At the first intersection the angel left him, going his own way. That's when Peter realized it was no dream. "I can't believe it—this really happened! The Master sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's vicious little production and the spectacle the Jewish mob was looking forward to."

Still shaking his head, amazed, he went to Mary's house, the Mary who was John Mark's mother. The house was packed with praying friends. When he knocked on the door to the courtyard, a young woman named Rhoda came to see who it was. But when she recognized his voice—Peter's voice!—she was so excited and eager to tell everyone Peter was there that she forgot to open the door and left him standing in the street.

But they wouldn't believe her, dismissing her, dismissing her report. "You're crazy," they said. She stuck by her story, insisting. They still wouldn't believe her and said, "It must be his angel." All this time poor Peter was standing out in the street, knocking away.

I find this story very confusing. Peter gets arrested, and the church decides to be praying for him constantly. There's nothing wrong with that, right? I mean, that's the way teh church should be, praying for each other in faith. But what's been revealved to me in this story is that the church didn't have any faith at all that God would rescue Peter. And this is what confuses me.
They were praying for Peter to be rescued, and when he was, they refused to believe it. something is missing here. The story says that When Mary ran to the house, it was packed with praying friends, people who were on their knees begging for Peter to be rescued by some miracle. While they were praying, A woman comes yelling "Peter is Alive! Your prayers have been answered!" And the people who are praying scoff her, and say that she's crazy. They had the attitude "There's no way that could ever happen".

Hold on a second. They were praying for Peter to be rescued, and when they hear Peter has been set Free, they are in disbelief.

Jesus said in Matthew 21:21-22 (NLT) “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” I think people in North America aren't living raw enough. I think we're so domesticated and civilzed, that we don't live wirh a raw faith in God. If we lived with more faith, things would be happening.