Life often seems to be a series of waiting. Waiting for prayers to be answered. Waiting for a doctor’s report. Waiting for a loan, a problem to be solved, a reply, a resolution. Paul and Silas have been on my mind, the earthquake that flung all the doors open in spectacular fashion setting them free! “𝑨𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑷𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒚𝒎𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑺𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒌𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇𝒇.” (Acts 16:26) What a victory! What a celebration! But the truth is Paul and Silas played that same waiting game.
Earlier in their story Paul and Silas were seized by the crowd, they were stripped and severely beaten. Surely, they cried out to God to save them, deliver them, spare them from this pain. But nothing happened, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁! Thrown into a dark, inner dungeon, their feet clamped in uncomfortable stocks, surely the pleading of their hearts was, ‘𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋!’ But again – 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁. Then something remarkable happened, Paul and Silas began to sing! They began to praise!
And as they did, “𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.” They were listening and watching Paul and Silas, and in the same way the world is watching you. They are listening to what you have to say, to how you handle this time of waiting. Will you grumble and complain like an Israelite in the desert or praise The Great I Am?
‘Around midnight’ – literally just before the clock struck twelve, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗼𝘄! Not only were Paul and Silas set free but all those within the sound of their voices. Does the LORD say, “Now!” right at the time of maximum impact? Does our Father, in all His wisdom, wait until those that are in chains are paying attention and listening, when the answer to those prayers will influence many and not just one?
And so, I find myself, with many of you, in that season of 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁, with an awakened desire to find joy in the in-between, to praise God in the waiting, to join hands with my Abba Father, praying that even in the 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁 my life would have maximum impact on those around me.
Praying you would find joy in the 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁.
Claire's Prayer 