Her name means “rose.”

Her story: Acts 12:11-16

Rhoda was a servant girl who worked for Mark’s mother. Mark (the writer of the Gospel of Mark) came from a Christian family living in Jerusalem and a church met in his mother’s home. Rhoda’s story took place when King Herod was on a rampage attacking the church. He killed James with a sword and when the Jewish leaders were pleased. So he arrested Peter and placed him in jail under two sets of guards. When Peter was jailed, the church gathered at Mark’s mother’s house and began to pray for Peter’s safety. At the same time they were praying, God sent an angel who woke Peter up. After the chains fell of of his wrists, the angel told him to get dressed and follow him. They walked past two sets of guards and out the iron gates into the street and the angel left him. Peter thought he was seeing a vision, but on the street, he “woke up” and recognized the reality of what  God did. Peter thanked God and went immediately to the house where the church met. He knocked on the outer gate and Rhoda went to see who it was. She recognized Peter’s. She became so excited she forgot to let him in before running back and telling others that God answered their prayers. When she told those praying, they didn’t believe her and offered other explanations. Peter kept knocking until someone let him in and those who saw him were amazed. He explained how an angel broke him out of jail and helped him escape.

Her legacy for us: When things are hard, pray. When we pray, let’s be ready to receive an answer. Sometimes it takes a while for the answer to come, but sometimes answers come quickly. Whenever it comes, open the door, receive it, and let others know what God has done.

Our response to Him: When I pray, do I trust You will hear and answer? When You answer, do I express my gratitude to You and share Your work with others – regardless of the timeframe between request and answer, even when the answer looks different from what I expect, and regardless if others will believe me or not?