And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God." And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Acts 5:38-40

So Gamaliel counseled the religious leaders not to over react to the new sect of Jesus followers . “If it is not of God it will blow over, and if it is of God you can’t stop it,” he essentially said. Who but me finds it somewhat odd that “they agreed with him,” but had the Apostles beaten anyway before letting them go? What kind of thought process went into that decision and action?

Persecution is seldom, if ever, based on logical or even rational thinking. It is virtually always based on raw emotion. Persecutors do their nasty business because of raw emotion. It is one or both of the following: (1) “we are superior”; and/or (2) “we hate them”—usually because the persecutors feel they or their power is being threatened.

This is why logical arguments, and even laws protecting the persecuted, seldom produce any positive outcome. Should we not try to argue and even legislate against persecution? Of course we should, but ultimately only God can change hearts. So we must pray, pray, pray!

May I urge you again to install the prayer app from Voice of the Martyrs on your phone? Or go to their website and use the tools they provide to remind and help you to pray for persecuted Christians around the world.