“PRAYING AND SINGING!”

Acts 16:20-31                               (ESV)

“20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.

21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice."

22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods.

23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, THEY THREW THEM INTO PRISON, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.

24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to GOD, and the prisoners were listening to them,

26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and EVERYONE’S BONDS WERE UNFASTENED.

27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and WAS ABOUT TO KILL HIM SELF, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."

29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.

30 Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

31 And they said, "Believe in the LORD JESUS, and you will be saved, you and your household."”

We “ALL” experience trials and tribulations in this life and we need to accept it.  Being incarcerated in prison is not something I have ever experienced, but I doubt seriously that “PRAYING AND SINGING” hymns to GOD would be very high on my “to do list”!  Paul and Silas had their focus solely on JESUS and HIS ministry, and they weren’t about to allow the enemy to distract them with circumstances, as severe as it might have seemed, and rob GOD of being Glorified!  

The ones who encouraged Paul and Silas to be jailed had recently lost their ability to manipulate people from their MONEY and they brought them before “the rulers” who agreed to jail them.  But GOD had a Plan and this was part of that Plan!  About midnight, Paul and Silas were “PRAYING AND SINGING” when an EARTHQUAKE shook the jail.  The EARTHQUAKE was so fierce that it MIRACULOUSLY caused EVERYONE’S BONDS to be UNFASTENED.  It also awakened the guard who was about to kill himself (because of all the prisoners escaping) when Paul shouted to him, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."  The prison guard and all his family BELIEVED and were baptized.

It can be so easy to allow our circumstances to determine our attitude in a given situation.  ALMIGHTY GOD isn’t constrained by time nor problems.  HE has done some of what we see as HIS greatest miracles when all hope seemed to be vanished.  One might have said that Paul should have not ever have rebuked the girl who was being used for financial gain by others, but praise for her efforts were going to someone other than GOD.  Paul was certainly not going to allow GOD to be mocked.

How many times do we (mainly I) experience setbacks in life and almost immediately recoil into a cocoon-like position of “woe-is-me”?  GOD might have a prison in my future for HIM to be Glorified through?  Will I be in the doldrums, or will I be “PRAYING AND SINGING” because of GOD being GOD?