Acts 16:16-34
"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name."
(HEBREWS 13:15)
If you've ever tried to row a small boat with one oar, you know the boat just turns in circles. Steady pulling on two oars moves the craft toward your destination. James stated that, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16b). What a wonder that we have direct continual access to almighty God for help in any circumstance! Prayer is certainly more beneficial than one oar in a rowboat. Yet when prayer and praise are combined, the benefit is like pulling on two oars.
Paul taught the believers at Thessalonica to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He and Silas surely prayed as they stood before the magistrates, were beaten and thrown into prison. God gave them strength to look beyond their pain and the discomfort of their feet in stocks to their ultimate victory in Christ. In their darkest hour they combined prayer and praise. The prison doors opened; everyone's chains were loosed. The same supernatural power of God that set them free is freeing us, too.
INSIGHT
"ENTER HIS GATES WITH THANKSGIVING AND HIS COURTS WITH PRAISE."
(PSALM 100:4A)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Genesis 37-38
Psalm 19
Matthew 27
Acts 16:16-34
New International Version (NIV)
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 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. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
THE BIBLE IN 90 DAYS
with Kristin Schell
It fails to make the lists - like losing weight or saving money. Yet it's a longing in every Christian, to read the Bible - all the way through. It is possible and it's not as hard as you may think.
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