Singing at Midnight

I was reminded this week of a passage from Acts Chapter 16 which recounts the story of Paul and Silas in prison. There was a slave girl, "possessed with a spirit of divination, who brought her masters much profit by her fortunetelling." Paul cast the spirit out of her and was promptly seized by the girls' masters who were angry that they had lost their cash cow. They brought Paul and Silas before the magistrates, stirred up the crowd against them, had them beaten, whipped and thrown in prison with their feet fastened in stocks.

What did Paul and Silas do while in prison? Did they call for their lawyers? Maybe start working out a defense strategy, or moan about how they got a raw deal for doing a righteous deed? After all, the slave girl was set free from demonic possession! Verse 25 tells us that Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God at midnight. The other prisoners were listening to them.

Verse 26 further tells us that while they were praising, a great earthquake came and that even the FOUNDATIONS of the prison were shaken, ALL doors were opened and EVERYONE'S chains were loosed. We know from further reading through the passage that the jailer and all his household were saved because of this occurrence,

No one is immune to pain. If you live on this planet, you will experience pain. If you live on this planet, you will be imprisoned in some form or fashion. We all suffer something, sometimes. Some more than others.

We often cannot see what God is doing. We may feel like we are in prison and it is midnight....nothing but dark and hopeless. But we serve a God who never sleeps or slumbers! (Ps 121:4) There's nothing that He does not see and He is ALWAYS OUR DEFENSE. Even if He has to send an earthquake to set us free, He will do it. He has parted seas, stopped the sun, closed the lion's mouths, raised the dead, and sent HIS OWN SON as a sacrifice for our sin. There is nothing HE won't do for us! There is no situation He cannot change. As the psalmist said "selah", pause and dwell on that!

Keep your eyes on Jesus. Fill your hearts and minds with the Word of God so that your faith will be strong (Rom. 10:17). Get rid of the distractions and anything that pulls you away from God, You will be blessed and this passage in Acts tells us that the blessing will be contagious! Not only were Paul and Silas set free and the jailer saved, but each and every prisoner who heard them praising Jesus while shackled had their prison doors opened and their chains fell off as well!

© Lisa M. Wesley, Women’s Prayer Army