November 16, 2017

Praising at Midnight

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened and every one’s bands were loosed.”  Acts 16:25-27

In this passage we find Paul and Silas arrested, beaten and jailed.  Verses 25 -27 states: “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened and every one’s bands were loosed.”  The prison guard panicked, but Paul reassured him by having all the inmates remain in the cells.  The guard and his family gave their lives to Jesus right then and there! 

As the judge set Paul and Silas free the next day, Paul refused to leave.  He demanded that the same men who threw him and Silas into jail would come and remove them from jail.  And thus it was done.  We have an image of the resulting power of prayer and praise shaking the foundation and freeing the imprisoned.  Praise is an effective spiritual weapon!

As we dig a little deeper into this remarkable testimony, a few things may jump out at us.  In Acts 16:25 we find Paul and Silas are in prison at midnight.  As they pray and “sing hymns” (humneo, in Greek) to God, there is an earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison, opened all the prison doors, and loosened the chains off every offender.  Observe the following facts in this scenario:

• It is midnight – the middle of the night; for some of us it is our darkest hour.
• Paul and Silas choose to praise at midnight – drawing the attention of others.
• Their “sacrifice of praise” prompted God’s response!
• Prison doors opened
• Prison chains fell off
• The warden and his whole family gave his life to Christ
• The warden served Paul and Silas

That is what the sacrifice of praise can do.  It can unlock, unchain and unleash!  Our praise invokes God’s presence and His power.  Ps. 22:3 states that “God inhabits the praises of His people.” We see that this is often the way the Lord works, in our lives, and in all of creation.  He is turning things upside down, choosing the least likely to work through, and yes, using the imprisoned to set their captors free, in the mighty name of Jesus!