About midnight Paul and SIlas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25 Not every prison has four walls and bars. Some prisons are much more harsh than a physical cell of seclusion. There is the prison of grief, the prison of addiction, the prison of a broken heart. Some are in the prison of a loveless marriage, a dead-end career, or a root of bitterness from some hurt experienced. Prisons can render us powerless, helpless and seemingly hopeless. However, they should never define us. Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison unjustly, they did not deserve to be there. They were beaten and jailed because of their preaching of the gospel. That is not a crime! Yet, there they sat - chained to a wall in a cold dark dungeon. They could have grown bitter. They could have shouted to the top of their lungs, Get us out of here!. They could have spit at the guards or complained to the other prisoners about their unjust treatment, but they did the only thing that could bring them freedom while at the same time being chained - they worshipped. Paul and Silas ushered into their imprisoned presence the one true God who had already set their hearts free. I wonder what they sang - Ill Fly Away, A Mighty Fortress, Jesus Loves Me? Of course none of these hymns were written at the time, but I would venture to say that the songs they chose would sound something like these. I can almost hear the chains rattling as they clapped their hands in praise to their God. As they sang these hymns of praise, the Bible tells us that other prisoners were listening. Wow! Imagine that. Paul and Silas were not the only ones imprisoned that day, there were others. Sometimes we face various prisons in life and if we are not careful we will believe the lie that we are alone in our suffering. When you and I face our times of bondage and despair it would do us well to realize that there are spiritual and emotional prisoners walking physically free all around us. We may not see their chains, but the chains are there. Lets encourage these fellow prisoners by our example of worship when we face prisons of our own. Lets refuse to let these prisons define us and lets walk in the freedom thats been given to us by worshipping Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 10:52:20 +0000
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