Acts 16:25-26 “ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose”.
A certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination had followed Paul and Silas saying “These men are the servants of the Most High God who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” (Acts 16:17). After she did this for many days, Paul became annoyed and cast the spirit out of her. When her masters saw that the spirit had been cast out of her and they could not make any more money using her, they became angry. (Divination: The practice of gaining knowledge through spirits and use of the occult). Her masters dragged Paul and Silas to the magistrates saying that they were teaching things that were unlawful to Roman customs. This is how Paul and Silas ended up in jail.
We see, first of all, that it is possible for evil spirits to say things that seem to come from God. The devil can quote the bible, this is why he was able to quote it to Jesus during Christ’s temptation (Matthew 4:6). He twists God’s words to suit his purposes. He has been doing it since the Garden of Eden. These spirits are eternally separated from God. They do things according to their own agenda and will mix truth with lies. God instructed His people not to seek after fortune tellers (Deuteronomy 18:14).
Paul and Silas showed the importance of staying strong in the faith when going through trials. The Lord inhabits the praises of His people. Where 2 or 3 are gathered in His name, He is in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). We all face difficult times in our lives. Times that test our faith. These are the times when it is most important to focus on God. To pray, to praise Him and to sing songs of worship. When we do this our faith will move God and we will experience His supernatural peace.
Just as God did for Paul and Silas, He is capable of doing for us today. He is able to set us free from whatever chains are binding us. He is able to deliver us from evil. When trials come, that is the time to not waver in our faith, but to dig our heels in and declare that God is faithful, His promises are true and He is fighting our battles for us. He wants us to act as if we have already received the solution; to act as if we have already been delivered. He says when you pray believe that you have received it and it will be yours (Mark 11:24). Believing that we have received our petitions, allows us to rejoice before the answer is manifested. The joy of the Lord, is our strength.
Yes, Paul and Silas praising God in prison is a very strong example for me to remember when I go through trials. Sometimes it amazes me that they did not blame nor get mad at God for what happened to them but stayed strong in faith praised God regardless of their situation.
Thank you, Joy!