“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.”
Acts 16:25 (NLT)
Paul and Silas are treated like the most violent criminals. They’re arrested, stripped, beaten with rods, and put in stocks so they basically can’t move. They’re in a prison, in pain, chained up, behind locked doors, with guards making sure they don’t escape.
But in the midst of this terrifying situation, in the midst of their pain and suffering, in the middle of the night, they’re not sleeping, they’re not complaining, and they’re not crying. Paul and Silas are praying and praising the Lord of Heaven and Earth, while the other prisoners in the jail are listening. They show us that what you do in a difficult season often determines how long you stay in it.
In Colossians 3, Paul says to let the good news about Christ, His message, with all its depth and width, fill your life, and then sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs from your heart to God. I think we often ignore that he’s not giving instruction simply because it’s good for us. He’s not speaking theoretically. He practiced what he preached before he preached it, in the midst of being chained up, bruised, tired, and in bleak circumstances.
When our praise backs up our prayers, God moves. God can still shake a building to its foundations, open locked doors, and break chains. Paul and Silas didn’t just receive breakthrough, they brought everybody else into the midst of it, even the jailer. Our praise can shake foundations, move mountains, and completely change our situation. And our breakthrough isn’t just for us. As we shift our focus toward Heaven and are stirred to pray, to worship, and toward gratitude, others get to witness that our faith is genuine.