Now I want us to look at Acts chapter 12. Herod has already killed James. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he took Peter also. Peter is in prison, chained between two soldiers, with guards at the door. And the church is praying. Prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

The night before Herod is going to bring him out, an angel of the Lord comes. A light shines in the prison. He smites Peter on the side and says, Arise up quickly. The chains fall off. Peter goes out, and he does not even know it is real. He thinks he is seeing a vision.

The angel leads him past the guards. The iron gate opens of its own accord. They go down one street, and the angel leaves him. Then Peter comes to himself. He says, Now I know of a surety that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me out of the hand of Herod.

So he goes to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many are gathered together praying. He knocks. A girl named Rhoda hears his voice. She is so glad she does not even open the gate. She runs in and says, Peter is standing before the gate.

And they said to her, You are beside yourself. Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, It is his angel.

Now that is fascinating. They have been praying for Peter’s release. God answers the prayer. Peter is at the door. And they will not believe it. First they say the poor girl is crazy. Then they say, It must be his angel.

What did they mean? It was a common idea among the Jews in that day that a man had a guardian angel, and that this angel, if he appeared, might look like the man and even sound like him. When they could not accept that it was really Peter, they fell back on that old notion.

Now look. The Bible records what they said. That does not mean the Holy Spirit is teaching us that every believer has an angel who is his exact double. We must not build a doctrine on one remark spoken in surprise and unbelief.

It is much like those old sayings people still pass around. If you fish on the Lord’s Day your boat will sink later. If you wear red shoes on the ferry it might go down. Those are superstitions. They are not the Word of God. The thought that an angel would show up looking and sounding exactly like Peter was a popular belief of the time. It was not a truth the Lord had given the church.

Now that does not mean angels are not real. They are very real. Hebrews 1:14 asks, Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? God sent an angel to Peter that night. Jesus said of the little ones that their angels always behold the face of My Father in heaven. That is enough. We do not need the extra stories.

The real lesson here is not about look-alike angels. It is about prayer and faith. They were praying without ceasing. God answered. When the answer knocked at the door they could not believe it. Peter himself thought it was only a vision. They thought his days were numbered. God was not limited by their little faith. He did it anyway.

I believe the Lord sometimes answers our prayers in spite of our lack of faith, just because we are asking something He wants to do. We look at the soldiers and the chains and the iron gate. We look at things from a purely physical standpoint. And God is not bound by that.

So we can be glad the Lord gives us ministering angels. We can be gladder still that He hears prayer and that He is still able to open doors no man can shut. Keep looking to Jesus. The Word is sure. He is faithful.