In Acts 16 we read of Paul and Silas being thrown into prison after casting out a spirit from a slave girl.
Their clothes were torn off, they were beaten with rods and thrown into the inner prison, bound in shackles.
Can you even imagine the conditions? The pain from already being beaten, the darkness, the smell.. I’m sure it would have been easy to give up.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to 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 everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:16-31
WOW! What a response to the situation that they were in… they praised God. As a result of their praise, the foundations of the prison shook and they were released from the chains that bound them, AND THE JAILER BELIEVED!
How does this apply to us? What would happen if we turned to praise?
We would be set free from our bondage. Families would be restored. Lives would be changed.
Sometimes all it takes is for us to shift our focus from ourselves to the one who holds the universe in his hand. When our focus is on God, we can’t help but praise him!
Messy Moments, Holy Ground 