Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

Acts chapter 12, verses 1 and 2.

About that time, Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.

Now, what's so interesting about this chapter is how the rest

of the chapter goes on to describe how Peter was put in prison and miraculously delivered as the

church was praying for him. God sends an angel to escort Peter out of prison.

It's an amazing story. But we almost gloss over the first couple of verses where James, another

follower of Jesus, the brother of John, is killed. And we're not given any explanation why James was killed and Peter was saved.

And surely the church was praying for James too, not just Peter. And yet James dies, but Peter's

delivered. And as I read that, I just think about the mystery of God's

sovereignty. We don't have an explanation here in Acts chapter 12 for why this happened to James

and why it didn't happen to Peter. Instead, we just have these stories of two faithful followers of Jesus who met very different

fates, at least at this point, Peter would eventually be killed for following and proclaiming

Jesus.

But I guess I just want to encourage us and lead us to pray today with trust in God.

Like we may be praying for God to bring healing in our lives or somebody else's life today.

And God may answer that prayer or God may not answer that prayer, at least in the way we're

asking him to. And following Jesus means trusting

him when things go well and when things don't. When God brings the miracle and when God doesn't,

to trust that he is all wise and all good and always working in ways that lead to, and that's where the whole chapter

ends. Verse 24, the Word of God, increasing and multiplying, which as followers of Jesus is what we

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