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About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing
hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25 (ESV)
Paul and Silas had been
thrown into prison because they had an evil spirit leave a young servant girl.
Her master depended on the income she brought to his coffers.
Other prisoners may have
been trying to sleep. Paul and Silas were in stocks and, still, they decided to
pray and sing hymns to God. His word tells us the other prisoners listened to
them.
As I read this passage
recently, I wondered what I would do if I were in their place. I texted a
couple of friends and asked them the question.
One responded with, “I
read in Jesus Calling that we are supposed to thank God for our problems
because they are there to make us grow and for God’s purpose.”
The other friend pointed
out that praise verses “are not especially for those who are experiencing good
times but for those who are downcast and feeling the burden of life on their
shoulders.”
Paul and Silas were unsure of what lay ahead
for them. They probably felt discouraged; I know I would have. They may have
wanted to feel God’s presence in a special way.
I believe God took control of the circumstance by
causing:
·
a great earthquake
and opening the doors,
·
the jailer and his household to seek
salvation,
·
the jailer’s household to be baptized.
All these events happened
as a result of two men praying and singing hymns to God in a time when most
would have been fretful and stressed. I see a great lesson here.
I think this is what God through the Psalmist calls a "sacrifice of praise." When we feel the least like praising God but we praise Him anyway, the devil skedaddles! He hates the praises of the saints because they cause God to act.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeanette, for the reminder of the 'sacrifice of praise." Just today, I had a time of lowness and prayed about the person's need. But, I forgot to praise God for allowing that other person to come to us for help. I have now praised God that he felt he could come to us.
DeleteSo often we find that our trials come to make us stronger...I think you wrote a little book about that... I know I have found that during the darkest times of my life I have drawn closer to the Lord than ever...it seems when things are going good we tend to get complacent and forgetful...It takes the difficult times to draw us closer and down on our knees. And then comes the praise...
ReplyDeletePam: Thank you for Yes, God does allow those 'dark times' into our lives to cause us to think about our issues and our faith, thereby fostering our growth.
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