39 - Choosing To Pray

Bad things happen over which we have no control, but we do have control over how we react to those events. We can plummet into despair or turn our hearts to prayer…real, passionate, focused prayer. There’s a disarming realism in this passage. Luke allows us to watch our forefathers and mothers face a tragic, confusing situation. Yet, in spite of their pain, they gathered to pray. They didn’t pull away from each other to lament though, of course, private prayer was a foundational part of every one of their lives. They responded to the horrible news that their dynamic leader had been shamefully beheaded by crowding into a house and then together “stretching out toward God” in prayer. They gathered, they focused, and they persevered, and because they responded this way they averted another tragedy and released a miracle that restored everyone’s confidence in God.