July 24-30

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Paul was a chosen servant of the Lord. It was very clear that he loved the Lord and followed Him. During his preaching, Paul had a vision of a man in Macedonia (northern Greece); the man asked him to come there. When Paul awoke from the vision, he and Silas immediately listened and did what they were asked. 

During their ministry in Macedonia, they cast a spirit out of a woman and find themselves in a bit of a bind. There were some men who were upset about their missionary work, and they rallied the people against them. The magistrates command that Paul and Silas be beaten and thrown into prison, and that’s precisely what happens.

The blessing of prison

It’s very easy for us to look at Paul and Silas’ experience for the blessing that it was; hindsight is 2020. Interestingly enough, it seems that Paul and Silas saw it for the blessing it was too, even while they were in the midst of it.

Acts 16:25 And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

I feel as though I often try to explore the characters in the stories we read in the scriptures. There are a great many stories of faith, and there are a great many stories of expected mortal weaknesses that help us relate to those we’re reading about. I’m not going to lie…if I were thrown in prison, I’m not sure that my immediate reaction would be to pray and sing praises unto God. I take that back; I would definitely be praying. I don’t think I’d be angry with God or asking Him why He was hindering me in the work He gave me, but I’d probably be begging Him for help or telling Him how scared I was.

And for all we know, perhaps that’s how Paul and Silas started out. The scriptures do declare that they started singing praises and praying at midnight. Is that because that was the time they made it to the prison or was that the time they accepted the will of the Lord? I don’t want to diminish their faith; for all we know, they were praising in the midst of being beaten. I suppose I ask these questions, not to diminish them, but to explore a pathway in which I might find myself with the ability to rejoice in “prison.” 

When I was younger, I remember reading stories like this and wanting to imitate that same attitude in the midst of trials. However, I usually just found myself stifling my feelings, trying to act devout, when I didn’t really feel that way. I wasn’t trying to be hypocritical or falsely pious; I sincerely wanted to be that good. As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned that I wasn’t doing myself any favors by trying to act in a way that I didn’t feel.

That being said, just because I didn’t feel like praising God in the midst of trials at first, doesn’t mean I couldn’t work my way there. I think getting to the point where you feel a sincere desire to pray and sing to the Lord in the midst of affliction can only happen with an honest acceptance of where you are. Perhaps Paul and Silas started their praises right as they were being bound in shackles. I’ve reached a point in my life where I can honestly feel respect for them without feeling a need to wallow in despair for not being at that level of conversion just yet. 

Maybe I’m just trying to make myself feel better, but I would imagine that I’m not alone in the idea that praising wouldn’t be my very first reaction. And as important as it is to accept where we are, it is just as important to not stand still. If the praise that Paul and Silas were giving was sincere, and I’m inclined to believe that it was, then wouldn’t we want to experience those same feelings? Wouldn’t we want to reach a level of growth in our lives where we feel grateful no matter the circumstances? Sounds like a pleasant way to live. So how do we do it? How do we grow into the kind of people who feel as Paul and Silas did?

Simple prayer 

I want to focus on one specific method for arriving at the point where you’re ready to praise God in the midst of tragedy. It is a simple one, but let’s explore it in this specific context.

Prayer is awesome because it’s a process in which you tap into the powers of heaven to change yourself. In its truest form, prayer is tapping into heaven so that we can catch a glimpse of what our Savior sees. It’s beautiful because changing into a better, happier person requires starting from where you’re at. Heavenly Father already knows where you’re at so why try to start somewhere else? I have begun many prayers in one state of mind only to end in a completely different one. 

I remember starting a prayer in anger once. It was over a situation with a family member in which I was really left hanging; the part that was really hard for me was that I could hear them saying rude things downstairs in my own house while they thought I was upstairs working. I was so angry I was literally pacing around my bedroom, willing myself to avoid the temptation to go downstairs and yell at them. It would have been totally appropriate to go down and stand up for myself, but I was not in a place where I could do it without yelling. I tried distracting myself with other work, and I often found myself walking towards the stairs to go down and yell before turning around again at the last second.

I finally realized that I could probably pray about it. I knelt down and began to speak to my Heavenly Father. If I’m being honest, I was kinda yelling in my prayer. I wasn’t yelling at Him, just to Him, and it was such a blessing to know that He wouldn’t mind. I knew that He was aware that I was asking for help, and I knew that He wasn’t going to turn me away. I knew He would help me no matter where I was starting from because He knew I wanted to be better. And sure enough, He came through. As I prayed, I was reminded of how this family member was an imperfect, but good person. To really drive the point home, I started to remember times in which I had acted the same exact way. By the end of the prayer, the anger was mostly dissolved.

This is a situation in which I was angry, but it works for any emotion or situation. It will work for fear, disappointment, or discouragement when you’re faced with a situation like prison. It may be more drawn out in nature depending on the severity of the circumstance, but it does work.

If I had been beaten and thrown in prison like Paul, I would not have started with praise (just judging off some of my other reactions to trials). I would imagine that I would have cried to the Lord a lot; I would have been sad, scared, and potentially catatonic. It may not have happened at midnight, but I believe that I would have changed. After the Lord waited for the initial wave of hysteria to die down, He would have walked me through it. He would have reminded me of past trials and sacrifices that led to miracles. He would have reminded me of His Son and of a home that He prepared for me where all would be made up. By the end of it, I believe that I would have felt gratitude. I would have felt that I could praise Him because He would have helped me see things as they really are.

Prayer can change us. It can change us from natural man to praising disciple. However, it has to be true prayer. It can’t simply be a plea to escape the very purpose of life:growth. If we want to feel differently at the end of the prayer, our bottom line has to be a willingness to align our will with God. It’s okay to feel other desires, and sometimes you will feel guided to plead for deliverance. But the bottom line between you and the Lord must be increased understanding so that you’re willing to follow the Lord wherever He leads.

As we repeat this process time and time again throughout our mortal lives, we eventually become like Paul. We eventually become so sure of His promises that we feel the peace in the beginning. We don’t have to go through the whole roller coaster because we’ve done it before. In the meantime, don’t be afraid or ashamed of taking that roller coaster. How else are you going to learn? That kind of faith is developed over time.

This kind of faith

And it is this kind of faith that brings the miracles we read about in Acts. Paul and Silas had faith in God. It was not faith that He would do certain things for them or change circumstances. They simply had faith in God no matter what the situation was. They had faith that He was powerful, wise, and watching over them intently. That is made evident by the praising. They trusted Him to do the right things in their lives. There is a faith required to pray for help, and then there is another type of faith required when we trust even before the praying begins.

It is a simple faith in God (and whatever decisions He makes in regards to us), that brings about the greatest miracles. It is the faith that Moses had when he encouraged the Israelites not to fear, even though he had not yet received any answer from God about the impending doom of the Egyptian army at the edge of the Red Sea. It is the faith that Daniel had when he was thrown into a lion’s den. This kind of faith manifests in peace and gratitude amidst turbulence. 

And this kind of faith is developed by getting to know your Heavenly Father and Savior. It is developed by having conversations with Them. You can go throughout your life, being blessed by Them on every corner, and not develop faith because you have no idea that They are the ones guiding your life. No. We have to talk and plead and work through it with them so that we recognize what’s truly happening in our lives. 

Perhaps you don’t feel enough faith to sing praises just yet. We all find ourselves there time and time again. But rejoice in the faith that you have, the kind of faith that allows you to turn to a loving Father in Heaven so that He can lead you along. Rejoice that He will help you develop your faith further.

I am grateful for a Savior who is worth trusting. I am grateful that He allows me the space I need to grow and learn to trust Him. He doesn’t get frustrated that my faith isn’t perfect yet. He is infinitely patient as I turn to Him again and again, growing in my ability to face difficulty without being troubled.