“He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.”
Acts 3:8 (NLT)
Peter and John were headed to the temple like they probably did every day, and a man lame from birth was being carried to the gate so he could beg. He was outside, not inside. This was how he provided for his family. And God’s timing is perfect, because he’s being set down at the same time they’re walking in.
The man does what he always does. He asks for money. He’s expecting a surface-level answer that keeps him in his issue, not a solution that treats it. Peter and John give him their focus, and Peter says, “Look at us.” Then Peter says, I don’t have money, but I’ll give you what I have: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
Jesus’ name does the hard part, but Peter still reaches out his hand and helps him up. There’s a process to start walking when you’ve been lame. God might heal you instantly, but there’s still a getting up out of what you were unable to do. And if no one helps the healed walk in their healing, sometimes they don’t get to access it.
When Peter helps him up, the man’s feet and ankles are instantly healed and strengthened. And then verse 8 happens. He jumps up, stands, and begins to walk. Then he’s leaping and praising God. The lame goes to leaping, and the healing he didn’t ask for enables him to go into the house of the Lord and worship. That’s what the power of God does in your life.