Acts 16:23-25 (NKJV) 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Paul and Silas were in prison. Not only were they in prison, but they had been thrown into the inner-most parts of the prison, just to be sure they wouldn’t escape.
Now, prior to being thrown into the deepest, darkest parts of the prison, Paul and Silas had been beaten and whipped. They were not in very good shape at this point.
But look at what these verses say that they did, after receiving beatings and being put in stocks to keep them secure. They prayed and sang hymns to God! And the other prisoners heard them singing!
Do you feel like you’ve been beaten and thrown into prison? Do you have heavy burdens on you right now? Are your going through struggles in your life? I think that every one of us can answer yes to this in one way or another.
So the question now is this; how are we handling our “time in the inner prison”? Are we having a pity party? Are we whining to everyone about how bad off we are? Do we want the whole world to know about our situation, with the hope that someone will bail us out?
Or are we praying and singing hymns to God, praising Him and thanking Him for who He is?
We could expound further on this and talk about what happened to Paul and Silas next, and how they won a great victory, but we want to stop right here and let God’s Spirit work on each and every one of us.
Are we whining or are we winning?
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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