Prayer at the Worst of Times

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 (NKJV)

Imagine you wake up in the morning, and it’s a beautiful day. You praise God as you head out into the world, but the day turns out to be nothing like you expected. People are turning on you, anger and pain surrounds you; even loved ones seem to be against you. The noise of the world becomes almost too loud to bear; your past comes to bear down against you.

Or worse yet, what if by the end of the day you found yourself unjustly put in jail: sitting on a cold slab of concrete, with the smell of urine and body odor filling the cell and the person next to you shaking violently as they withdraw from drugs.

Would there still be a place in your heart for prayer? Would you want to sing praises? Paul and Silas knew this circumstance; in fact, theirs was even worse. They were beaten within inches of their lives. Yet their hearts were not broken. Their hearts were filled with Him, our Lord, our God; out of their mouths came the joy of His Spirit, in song and in prayer.

How could gazing at Jesus in prayer and praise transform your worst days?

God, thank You that You never change. You are always faithful. If today turns out to be wonderful, I can praise You. If it turns out to be difficult, I can rise above the circumstance through prayer and praise. Help me turn to You at the worst and best of times. Amen.

Thought: If you’re having a rough day today, just open your mouth and tell God one thing you love about him. Then try it again and again and again, until His joy fills you and you see Him as bigger than your circumstances.

By Rev. Daniel Forster