"But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." Acts 16:25 NKJV
Paul and Silas were in prison; their crime being Paul had cast an unclean spirit out of a slave girl. She had been a financial asset to some in the city because the spirit had enabled her to tell fortunes for which she charged a fee. This was now gone and the men reported them to the authorities, who in turn put them in jail, after beating them severely with rods. This was quite strange because their act too, was unlawful because Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.
They were placed in stocks, something that would have been most unpleasant because the stocks were made out of logs, which were spilt and then drilled making a hole just big enough to accommodate their feet. This would have been tight on their ankles and in such a position, that sleep, would have been very difficult.
But complain they did not, instead they sang hymns and prayed loudly. It's hard to envision this and we need to imagine how we would have reacted if we were placed in this position. Would we pray and sing hymns or would we throw pity parties? Not so for Paul and Silas, they worshipped God and the other prisoners watched and listened to them. They probably would have wondered how and why these men were singing and obviously happy even though their backs were bleeding badly. They would have felt this unnatural.
All of a sudden God turned up in the form of an earthquake. He didn't send an angel this time as He had when Peter had been imprisoned earlier. The earthquake shook the very foundations of the prison and doors were opened and chains fell off the prisoners. It was so severe that the jailor woke up and fearing that the prisoners had escaped, went to commit suicide. As he was responsible for the prisoners, he would have received a nasty execution. Therefore, he preferred to take care of this himself. However, Paul shouted that they were there and eventually the jailer and his family were saved.
The things that we need to notice are the way Paul and Silas handled their situation. They didn't flap or moan; they praised God. Because of this, the prisoners listened to them and this must have had an effect on some of them. And then of course, the way God can turn up in any situation when we give Him the first place, such as praise and prayer. So:
Don't flap or moan, praise and pray instead
Be aware of the impact you can make on others who listen and see your behaviour
Remember, God will turn up if you give Him the first place.
For your diary Monday 14th June, A Study of Joseph begins for a few days
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
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