So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5

I began this year using the Two-Year Daily Bible for my devotional reading. This morning I read the story in Acts 12 of Peter’s miraculous release from prison by an angel. What caught my attention in a new way is what precipitated this event, the execution of James, one of the sons of Zebedee and one of the first disciples of Jesus. Because of that execution, Herod had Peter arrested and things certainly looked dire. “But,” the story says, “the church was earnestly praying.”

I thought how easy it would have been to give in to hopelessness. The church members had just seen James killed by the sword. Now Peter is about to be executed. But they still prayed, and not just half-heartedly but earnestly. And then, in the aftermath of Peter’s miracle, I wondered if people asked questions of God. Why did God send an angel to save Peter and not James? It’s a valid question. James didn’t deserve to die. Does God only save some and not others?

But if the people asked questions like this it didn’t keep them from praying. If anything, Peter’s release motivated them to pray more fervently. So the really significant question this raised for me is this: does my need to understand problems keep me from praying earnestly? It's easy to let happen. Events that don’t make sense and questions we can’t answer can slow down our willingness to depend on God. But this story in Acts shows a group of people praying anyway.

The Bible never explains why James wasn’t miraculously liberated. Any attempts to do so are mere speculation. Yet the church prayed and Peter was set free. I suppose the lesson for us is that many things in our lives happen which we can’t understand. But when we continue to turn to God even in our questions and doubt, we open ourselves to new possibilities of God that will give us a new reason to trust…and keep the questions from blocking our faith.

Just a few thoughts for you today.

Rob

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