Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Acts 16:25-34

Acts 16:25-28
English Standard Version (ESV)

  We read these stories quite a bit, and we're always amazed at the incredible things God can do, but we tend to skip over an important step -- Paul and Silas were busy praying.  There they were, in jail together, and they put their time to use praying and singing hymns.  They could have been arguing that they were wrongfully imprisoned or looking for an escape, but they instead opt to worship God.
  Now, contrast this to today's world.  What does everyone do while they wait?  Go into any bank, or airport, or any place where people routinely are waiting, and we're all staring at our phones.  I'm not sure I could say exactly what we're all doing, but it's highly likely that we're not spending that time in prayer.
  Think about how you wait.  Do you think of idle moments as opportunities to pray?  When you're waiting, do you seek ways to spend that time with God?  Or do you let idle distractions fill your time?  I know which end of the spectrum I often land on!
  It's about paying attention and looking for opportunities to pray and worship.  It's letting God shape our hearts so that we get excited about these chances, these little windows of time where we can open ourselves to God.  It's hard... but slowly it will shape our character into the kind of person who seeks God at all times, and reacts to life through prayer and worship.

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