Keep on Praying

This happened after James was arrested and put to death by King Herod. When the King saw that what he did pleased the Jews, he then seized Peter. This moment wasn’t easy for the early church. Imagine one of your dear brothers died for the sake of the gospel. Perhaps they also felt scared by what happened because it simply meant that their lives were threatened.

But then, if we try to imagine, the church must’ve also prayed for James to be saved and set free. They must’ve also fervently prayed for his safety. But it didn’t happen. Now, here comes Peter, who was also put in jail. The church didn’t stop praying despite what happened to James. Instead of turning away from God because of unanswered prayer, the church earnestly prayed for Peter. They kept their faith. They chose to trust God despite the challenging situations they experienced.

This verse represents the undying faith of the early believers, which simply reminds us to trust in God no matter what circumstances we have experienced in the past. Maybe many of us prayed for something, but then it seemed like God wasn’t listening. Perhaps we tried to ask God for a certain blessing and ended up receiving different things. And when God does something that is not aligned with our desires, we tend to feel discouraged or disappointed.

But in this part of the scripture, we are reminded to keep our faith and to earnestly pray despite the bad things we experienced. Even though God’s answers are not always ‘yes,’ still we can trust that what He prepared for us is so much greater than what we desire. We just need to believe in His love and goodness regardless of the situation that we are in. Let’s not stop praying. And let’s continue to seek Him.

Prayer: Loving Father, thank you so much for reminding us to keep our faith. Please give us the courage to keep moving especially in difficult situations. We pray for your love to overflow in our lives, that we may have the eagerness to continue serving despite the bad things we experienced. We pray for your grace to strengthen us especially when we feel so burdened inside. Thank you so much Lord for being there with us. This we ask, and pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.