Praise and Thanksgiving: Acts 27:35

Last week I talked about being calm in the storms of life because we believe God from Acts 27. Today I’m going to look at another example Paul left us in Acts 27. This example convicts me. I fear I am too timid and too afraid to be an effective witness for Christ. However Acts 27:35 gives us an example of Paul being bold and sharing his normal practices before the people on the floundering ship.

“And having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all; and he broke it and began to eat.”

Paul was unafraid, and even determined, to give the glory to God. This prayer of thanksgiving was probably the Jewish traditional prayer that is said before eating. It gives thanks to God and was in the customs that Jesus kept throughout His earthly existence. Everything Paul did had a purpose, and that purpose was to bring attention to the glory and love of God. However, here, Paul does this traditional praising and thanking in “the presence of all.” All those on the ship: sailors, soldiers, prisoners, and the few Christians on board. He did not shirk from his routine of bringing glory to God even though the believers on the ship were far outnumbered by those who worshiped idols (if they worshiped anything at all).

So, what’s this passage calling me to do? To not shrink back from talking about the great things God, in Christ, has done and is doing for me. That’s part of the evangelism process. Sharing from our natural lives is a great way to witness. We need to be authentic when we are doing it, and not just trying to sound righteous or religious. It needs to be filled with love and gentleness. However, it needs also to portray God as the mighty power He is. We need to be able to pray in such a way that uses the language that everyday people understand. Religious words and phrases don’t make sense to unbelievers (phrases like “washed in the blood of the lamb” may actually gross some people out; it would have grossed me out).

Therefore, believers need to use common language, not filled with religiosity, and let loose our praise and thanksgiving to God, even in public forums. This challenges me to pray in public, in the presence of all. It can be just a part of conversation with another, or it can be by myself. Giving glory to God is my aim and I will try to do whatever God calls me to do even if it means praying, praising and thanking in public.