Praising God

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This is a reposted entry with additional thoughts. I intend to use this and a few others when I expand my writing ministry into a speaking phase.  

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.

 Several times in my adult life, I faced uncertainties. When I learned to praise God for the good things He had given me, our circumstances improved. Our son went through long periods of unemployment. He had to move back home and was with us for several years. 

One morning I awoke and felt really down. I found some scripture that told me to praise God for what He had given me. My list was something like this:

            He saved me from my sins.

            He has given me good Christian friends, both local and online.

            Central heat

            A warm house (this was in the winter.)

            A roof that didn’t leak (we had had some issues with leaks before.)

            General overall health for all three of us. (Some things we could control.)

            Air conditioners (window ones) and fans in the summer.

            We have food we can eat.

            We have clothes to protect us from the elements.

Each of us should review our list of the gifts God has given us and praise Him for each one. When we say grace at mealtimes, I always thank Him for the privilege of having food to eat.