Does God rescue people from dire circumstances? I believe it happens, but I wonder if we need the gift of faith to see God at work today.

“My cousin sells beautiful carpets. Come, let me show you a good place for a cold drink. Then we can visit his shop.”

This encounter felt strangely natural in Istanbul in May 1991. Following the first Gulf War, there were very few tourists in Türkiye. As young, white Americans, my friend Keith and I stood out as easy targets for the many Turks who wanted to sell their food, trinkets and carpets. Mostly carpets. Everyone seemed to either work for a store that sold hand-made Turkish rugs or had a cousin who did. They all offered us apple tea or cold drinks so we might buy their products.

We were on route to the Soviet republic of Georgia via bus, and we were on a very tight budget. With little money, it was easy for us to wriggle out of purchases. Yet these exotic encounters were still intoxicating.

While walking one afternoon in the Asian side of the city, we encountered a man who invited us for a cold drink. Accustomed to the ever-common sales pitch, we felt no hesitation about following. Yet as we walked down a few steps into an eerily dark and empty restaurant, I felt a chilling sense of unease.

As we sat at a table, I noticed two large men move out of the back. One stood ominously by the stairs leading up and out while another stood immediately behind us. As I was taking this in, two hideously dolled-up women came and sat at our table. They began to make highly suggestive and inappropriate advances to us. I said to myself, “Finish your Coke quickly and move on.”

Three sodas arrived for us and our “friend” who led us there. Oddly, they also delivered two fruity drinks for “the ladies.” I had barely taken a drink before the bill arrived. Although the total was in Turkish lira, I quickly did the math and saw a huge mistake. I told the waiter that our two sodas couldn’t possibly cost the several hundred dollars reflected on the handwritten bill. “No mistake,” he replied. “Your drinks are nothing, but the ladies’ drinks … very expensive.”

Several tough guys appeared out of nowhere and surrounded our table. We were being duped, and the “friend” who led us there was clearly in on it. He tried to act nervous, telling us these people were very bad. “Just pay them whatever you have and let’s get out of here,” he pleaded.

We were trapped. All our important belongings were with us: a few hundred dollars and our passports. One wrong move and we’d lose it all.

I became angry and told them they were making a big mistake. Keith tried a different tack, quickly pulling out two $20 bills. He told them this was all we had. “Just take this and let us go. We don’t have more than that.” I was praying that God would somehow rescue us from this situation. Both of us were acting out of desperation.

And just like that, before we knew what was happening, they took our $40 and told us to go.

Later that night, safely in our hotel room, I thumbed through the pages of my guide book about Istanbul. There, the author warned against following unknown people into downstairs bars and restaurants in the Asian half of the city. He wrote, “Every year, unsuspecting tourists follow seemingly friendly people into traps where they are overcharged, robbed, beaten up, or even worse.” Keith and I prayed with thanksgiving that we didn’t learn what “even worse” might be.

Does God rescue people from dire circumstances? Did God rescue us from that predicament? I believe God can and does. At least sometimes.

The story of Peter’s miraculous escape from prison is in Acts 12. This was serious jeopardy for Peter, because the previous verses describe how King Herod had James the brother of John arrested and killed. The narrator of Acts doesn’t tell us if believers were panicking over these events, but they do tell us that Peter’s arrest caused believers to pray (Acts 12:5).

The scenes that follow are both astounding and comical. As the angel of God rescued Peter, he was too stupefied to understand what was happening. Finally standing on the city streets outside the prison, Peter finally came to himself and realized God had miraculously provided his escape. And when he joined fellow believers at the house of Mary, they too were astonished at what happened.

Two fascinating things are relevant for this article. First, God doesn’t always provide miraculous escapes in every situation. James was killed by the sword. Stephen was stoned to death. Believers through the centuries have called out to God for help in the midst of life-threatening danger. For many, there was no miraculous rescue.

Second, when God’s miraculous escapes do occur, they aren’t always obvious even to those who have been saved. Peter was dazed and confused when the angel saved him. And when Peter arrived at Mary’s house, they considered him a ghost or an angel, not Peter in the flesh.

Perhaps God’s miraculous rescues, when and if they happen, aren’t easily verifiable. Maybe they depend on faith to see them for what they are—divine interventions. Perhaps they require the gift of faith. Or maybe spiritual guides must point out what some cannot see.

I believe with all my heart that God sometimes provides miraculous escapes. But I also believe we need to pray for more than salvation. We must also pray for the faith to see God at work.