Luke and Paul were in the middle of a crisis. The fourteen days on the sea and in the giant storm, called a nor’easter, had been devastating to the ship, the cargo, and the crew mates moral.
After Paul encouraged the captain to put the boat on the land, Paul encouraged everyone to eat. Paul shared the message an angel gave him in a dream the night before.
Paul saw this moment as an opportunity to display his and Luke’s trust in a God who cares foe them.
Paul doesn’t do anything elaborate. He simply prayed for the food. Yes, Paul prayed for the food. Watch what that simple discipline did for those with Luke and Paul in the crises.
“So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.” After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat. They all were encouraged and took food themselves. In all there were 276 of us on the ship. When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.”
Acts 27:34-38 CSB
Simply praying for food in the middle of a crisis brought encouragement to all.
When in a crisis , don’t neglect the simple spiritual disciplines, like simply thanking God for the meal in front of you. When you thank God for what you have and recognize that everything you have and everything you are comes from Him, you remind yourself that God is bigger than your crisis and it encourages others too.