“Around midnight Paul and Silas were
praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening” (Acts
16:25 NLT).
Paul and Silas were some
bad boys! Can you imagine doing the right thing and being
locked up because of it? These men had a freedom that the people they
encountered needed to see because they were not bound although others could visibly see the chains that had been placed on them. They did not misrepresent Christ because
of their circumstances and they did not try to give up serving Him because of the predicament that they had found themselves in.
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Stop
being mad at God because things do not go the way that you expect them to.
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“And
we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Paul and Silas knew who
their God was and they knew that He was going to come through for them no
matter what their situation looked like. They knew enough about God to know
that they belonged to Him and that He would never leave them to rot in any
bodies prison.
Can you imagine what the
other prisoners must have thought about Paul and Silas or the things that they might have
said concerning them? They could have been inspired by their courage and dedication or they could have mocked
them because of where their courage and dedicated landed them. Either way they were being watched. As Christ representors, people are
watching us to see how we will respond when life happens. They want to see how
we will represent God and how He will represent us. We don’t know what those
other prisoners did to get in their situation, but they needed to see God move
in their own personal prisons. They needed to know that God was alive and well.
They needed Paul and Silas to be where they were in life in order to see that
they were not too enslaved by their circumstances to be saved by Christ.
Paul and Silas sung hymns.
Sometimes people don’t need or want to see you preach, they want to see you
live what you are talking to them about. The same people who were in jail with
Paul and Silas may have heard them preach, but they needed to see them live
what they were talking about. They needed to see what it looked like to praise
God in a prison.
Can you can love God when
your money is funny and when your friendships change? Can you serve Him although
you think that you are empty? You need to know that God can reach you even in
that low place if you would just sing a hymn of praise and worship to Him. Even
if life has you in a jail, there is enough room for you to praise and thank Him
for what He has already done.
Paul and Silas were in a
bad situation, but they were freer then some people who had never been to jail. Something
happens when your mind is stayed on God. In the case of Paul and Silas, the
physical chains feel off of them and the people that were around them.
Suddenly, there was a massive
earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors
immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off (Acts 16:26
NLT)!
Your life and your testimony
will set other people free if you would only trust God through whatever
situation you are going encountering. People saw God through the praise of somebody
else and as a result got their freedom. Worship breaks chains off of the lives
of people that have been bound. The prisoners in that prison learned how to
worship. They saw God through the relationship that Paul and Silas had with Him.
They may have even decided to get a relationship of their own with Christ because
they saw Him move. People can see God through the time that you spend with Him.
You have got to know how
to represent God. The jailor got saved as a result of the praise session that
Paul and Silas had. Your prison is not just for you, but others will be set
free as a result of your breakthrough.
God will not keep you in a prison. He wants for you to be free, but can you
love Him even in prison? Can you represent Him even when you are doing what is
right, but still manage to be in the same situation as people who do what is wrong?
Can you praise God in prison?
Lord in Jesus name I pray
to trust you even when I’m unsure of what the end will look like. I pray to represent
you even when my circumstances seem to have me in chains. I pray to have a mind
that is stayed on you and that you will use me even in my brokenness. Lord, I
pray to submit to the process and to know that you have not forgotten about me.
I pray to sing as Paul and Silas sung to you and I pray that my life shows
Christ even when it is only you that is watching. Lord please help me in any
areas where I have unbelief and please help me to remember that my prayers are
a tree that will bear good fruit. Lord, help my prayer life to be planted in
you. Help me to put aside my pride and help me to submit to you in all of my
ways. Lord I pray that you forgive me for anything and everything that I have
done and I pray to repent to you quickly. In Jesus name, I pray amen.
Recommended Reading:
Acts 5:18-19
Acts
16:25-34
Acts
12:6-11
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