Acts 16:16-29
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?” [1]
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What’s striking in today’s passage is Paul and Silas praying and singing while in prison.
Is this how I would react if what happened to them had happened to me? They had been doing what God called them to do, witnessing in the place where the vision had led them. Paul had cast out a demon from a young girl, certainly a good and God-pleasing thing to do. And the result? They had been falsely accused, severely flogged, and thrown into a lightless prison. Appalling injustice as the result of doing what is right.
Would I have reacted with singing hymns and praying aloud? The point is this: How do I react when things go poorly? When I am falsely accused? When I suffer injustice, whether it’s getting sued or fired, lied about, or even being cut off on the highway? How do I react when customer service is anything but service? When the boss is unfair? When my efforts on behalf of my children aren’t appreciated by them?
The natural response is anger, or self-pity. Maybe even plotting of revenge. While it is appropriate to pursue justice, and where appropriate to respectfully confront those who have done wrong, there is something to learn from Paul and Silas. They respond with praising God and going to Him in prayer.
God’s promises are constant even in such times, and for that He continues to be deserving of our praise. Even though His ways are hidden and we can’t always discern what He will make of the injustice we suffer, we can be confident that He is at work. Therefore we have hope. Therefore we praise. Even as we commend the situation to Him in prayer.
In the case of Paul and Silas, God answered their prayer quickly and dramatically. His response to our prayers is just as certain, even if it is not as dramatic as in this case.
And so my prayer is that I will respond in prayer and praise to whatever challenges and injustices may cross my path.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Ac 16:16–30). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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