Acts 9:20-43

20 And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is indeed the Son of God!" 21 All who heard him were amazed. "Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?" they asked. "And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?"
22 Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. 23 After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him. 24 They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot. 25 So during the night, some of the other believersa] lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall. 26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! 27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. 28 So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. 30 When the believersb] heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown. 31 The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.Peter Heals Aeneas and Raises Dorcas 32 Meanwhile, Peter traveled from place to place, and he came down to visit the believers in the town of Lydda. 33 There he met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. 34 Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up, and roll up your sleeping mat!" And he was healed instantly. 35 Then the whole population of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas walking around, and they turned to the Lord.
36 There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcasc]). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. 37 About this time she became ill and died. Her body was washed for burial and laid in an upstairs room. 38 But the believers had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, "Please come as soon as possible!" 39 So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them. 40 But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, "Get up, Tabitha." And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up! 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive. 42 The news spread through the whole town, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And Peter stayed a long time in Joppa, living with Simon, a tanner of hides.
Devotional (by Greg Gahl): Peter, a meer mortal, performing miracles through the name of Jesus. How great this is!! Can any of us imagine performing a miracle? Well I would just like to share a little story about the time I witnessed this first hand.
This involved my father when he was still alive. He had became very ill with difficulty breathing and was placed on a breathing machine and was getting medicine through the iv to help keep his blood pressure up. My wife and I had called the pastor and asked him to come. When the pastor arrived my father was placed on the highest dose possible to keep his blood pressure high enough to stay alive and it just wasn’t working. I remember looking into my father eyes and realizing that he was gone. The pastor said "How about we pray?" So we leaned over my fathers body and began to pray. With the prayer my fathers blood pressure began to come back up and this feeling that he was still around came over me. Wow, what a wonderful miracle.
Now he did not just get up and walk right then and there, but he did 4 days later. This one prayer gave me 2 more years with my father. Prayer is such a powerful thing that sometimes we are afraid to do, afraid we might "mess up", we might "say the wrong thing." Just remember God loves us and prayer is so powerful that through this we are able to perform miracles!

Prayer: Lord, please be with each of us and take away any barriers that stops us from prayer. I ask that it becomes natural for each of us to pray without any reservations, for through that, miracles might happen. In Jesus’ name, Amen.