Peter had been with Jesus when He raised a young girl to life (Luke 8:51-56).  Now he was faced with a similar situation.  Tabitha, a godly woman whose gracious behaviour had touched many in her community, had been dead for several hours and was laid out in a bedroom.  The local believers were convinced that Peter could do something to help, and so they sent for him to come immediately (Acts 9:36-38).

The first thing Peter did was to remove all the wailing mourners (Acts 9:39), as Jesus had done previously in Jairus' house.  Then he prayed.  Like Elisha who was called to the Shunammite widow's house when her son had died (2 Kings 4:32-37), Peter prayed.  He could not just presume upon his limited experience; he needed God's authority for this act of ministry; he needed to know what the Lord wanted him to do.  The result of his praying was a simple command to the dead body: 'Tabitha, get up'.  Firstly, she opened her eyes, then sat up and soon after stood up with Peter's help.

Opening the door, Peter invited the mourners back into the room; especially the widows, whose past personal grief was a cultural template for yet another hopeless bereavement.  When they realised Tabitha was alive, everything changed.  As the news spread, many more people believed in Jesus.  Meanwhile, Peter took lodgings in the tanner's house awaiting his next divine assignment (Acts 10:1-6).  The way Luke writes the narrative, this miracle was 'all in a day's work' for Peter.  He followed the Lord's leading and allowed the request from Tabitha's friends to take him to Joppa.  Although he had seen Jesus raise a dead person, Peter did not presume on what to do or how to do it.  But as he prayed the Lord gave him authority and power.

It should be the same for us.  None of knows what is around the corner, nor can we assume that Jesus wants us to work in the same way today as yesterday.  However, when we pray, we should expect the Lord to lead us in actions He has already authorised for us to do.  When we know what to do, we must obey.  Then Jesus will be glorified, and more people will believe in Him.  For the Christian, we should expect God to lead us in ways we had never imagined.  He will also allow us to encounter situations which are like our previous experiences, but we should not assume our role until we pray to know His will on each occasion.  The only certainty is that God knows what He is doing:  He will tell us what He wants us to do, if we are willing to be used by Him and let Him lead.