Peter has witnessed something remarkable.
The Holy Spirit has fallen upon Cornelius and his household.
The evidence is unmistakable.
God has already moved.
And now Peter asks a simple question.
Not whether these people are worthy.
Not whether they fit familiar expectations.
But whether anyone has the right to prevent what God has begun.
Scripture Reading
47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Devotional Reflection
Peter recognizes an important truth.
God has already acted.
The role of the Church is not to resist that work,
but to affirm and participate in it.
This is a lesson that reaches far beyond this moment.
We must be careful not to place obstacles where God is opening a path.
When grace is moving, our task is to respond faithfully.
Sometimes the greatest obstacles aren’t external.
They’re our own assumptions.
Our fears.
Our rigid expectations.
Our self-imposed, unnecessary conditions.
We may delay what God is doing because it doesn’t unfold the way we expected.
But grace often arrives unexpectedly.
And wisdom asks:
Am I helping make room for God’s work,
or am I standing in its way?
Today, consider what barriers may need to be removed.
Is there a person you’ve kept at a distance?
A step of obedience you’ve postponed?
An assumption you need to release?
Ask God for humility.
And when He opens a door, be willing to say yes.
Closing Prayer
Lord,
You are always at work, often in ways I do not expect.
Forgive me for the times I’ve hesitated, added unnecessary conditions, or resisted what You were doing.
Give me a humble and discerning heart.
Help me to recognize Your grace when it appears in surprising places.
Show me where I’ve created barriers— in my thinking, in my relationships, or in my own willingness to respond.
Teach me to remove what hinders and to make room for Your work.
And when You open a door, give me the courage to walk through it with trust and gratitude.
Because I know that what You begin should never be obstructed by fear.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.