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Acts 16:25-26

“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.”

One of the most impactful passages for me in the Bible has been the story of Paul and Silas while they were in Philippi preaching the gospel. It wasn’t what they preached that impacted me, but how they handled the trials and tribulations that came as a result of their preaching.

While preaching in Philippi, Acts 16:16-18 tells that Paul and Silas encountered a slave girl who was a fortune teller by a demonic spirit. She followed them many days crying out:

“Theses men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are servants of the Most High God.”

Now what she said was true, but by constantly crying out and following them, she eventually annoyed Paul greatly. As a result, he cast out the demonic spirit in her. And once her owners saw that their source of “large profits” was gone, that’s when the “trouble” started for Paul and Silas.

Acts 16:22-24 details their “troubles”. They were:

• Lied upon
• Dragged to the city rulers by a mob
• Stripped of their clothing
• Beaten severely
• Thrown into the “inner prison”
• Placed on stocks

A word about Roman prisons…there were usually three types of imprisonment. The “barracks” is where people were confined for light offenses. The “prison” was used to lock up people behind bars, but they still had access to light and fresh air. But the “inner prison” was the worse; designed for maximum security and punishment. Prisoners were typically lowered by rope into a chamber beneath a building. No light, no fresh air, no food, no sanitation — Lice, rats, human waste, dead or dying bodies, disease.

Roman stocks were designed not only to secure a prisoner in their cell, but to inflict pain. Many prisoners experienced dislocated limbs when placed in stocks.

This is a picture of the “inner prison”.

Most of us will never physically experience anything as brutal as Paul and Silas’ treatment — but, we can become emotionally stripped, brutalized and imprisoned. Because we live in an ungodly, decaying world that does not know or honor God — bad things happen. Sometimes bad things happen because of our own decisions or those made by someone close to us.

Sometimes satan tries to discourage us to keep God from receiving glory through our lives. Sometimes we can’t find a reason for the troubles of life — life just happens. Whatever the reason, there are times when you feel whipped, imprisoned and forsaken.

But Acts 16:25-26 reveals something amazing about the power of our choices and our personal relationship with Christ. At their darkest hour (around midnight), Paul and Silas chose to pray and sing praises to the Lord, loud enough for others to hear.

When you are in the “inner prison” of life, you have two choices…to look down at your circumstances, or to look up to the only One Who has the power and love to sustain you and perhaps deliver you.

Prayer and praise rocked the foundation of the prison. Prayer and praise set Paul and Silas free. Prayer and praise set others free and brought the jailer’s family to salvation.

How you choose to respond in your “inner prison” will determine your victory in, or through your circumstances. It doesn’t have to be complicated — sometimes just looking up and saying, “Oh Lord — glory to Your Name”, is enough to shake the foundation of your prison.

Don’t underestimate the power of prayer and praise. They can be the key to a deeper revelation of His love for you, power over your circumstances, and peace for your troubled heart.