There are so many applicable life lessons that we can draw from the Apostle Paul. Take Acts 16:16-40 for example, an account of Paul and Silas in prison. We could sit with a hot drink and chat all day about this one. Actually though - you should take time to read through this scripture, there really is so much to dive deeper on. What’s stuck with me since reading it, is the power of praise.
In a very short summary, Paul and Silas landed in jail in Philippi because Paul commanded a demon to come out of a slave girl, who was telling fortunes and making lots of money for her masters. This angered her masters who were getting rich off the vulnerable girl who was imprisoned by this evil spirit. They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the city officials, resulting in them being beaten and thrown in prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape.
“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off.” – v25-26
The jailer was certain that Paul and Silas would’ve escaped – so sure in fact he was about to take his own life believing that he failed at following-through with the orders he had been given. But Paul shouted for him and explained that they were still there.
Paul’s commitment to bring the gospel wherever the Holy Spirit led him - liberating captives and setting the oppressed free along the way through the name of Jesus, resulted in him and his friend being in prison. We cannot miss the cost of being on mission for Jesus that they experienced…the physical and the emotional. And yet they praised God in the midst of it. When everything around them looked bleak and they were in a dark dungeon they still clung to the joy of their salvation. When we focus on the joy of the grace we’ve been given, it’s what will not only be our hope in times of darkness and fear but will also be the very thing that takes us places on this earth we never imagined we’d be.
The power of praise in the midst of their circumstance caused foundations to shake and chains to fall off. The heart of God is to set the captives free. (ref. Isaiah 61:1)
We can so often be deterred into not following through with the Spirit’s leading because we view the cost of following Him too high. The reality is that the cost is high. We may wear the physical wounds, and face rejection and emotional turmoil…BUT with a heart full of praise, we can feel His joy in the midst of sorrow and can see and experience the Spirit in a way that we would otherwise miss out on.
The power of praise allows the Spirit to move in and through us. For Paul and Silas, the result was that the jailer and his household heard the good news of Jesus and were saved and baptized. They tended to their wounds and shared a meal together and praised God with them. Additionally, the city officials came to the prison and apologized to Paul and Silas for their mistreatment prior to giving them back their freedom. All these things were results I’m sure they couldn’t have imagined happening.
What are you in the midst of that seems insurmountable, unfair, or bleak? You’ve maybe tried logic, thinking positively, focusing on other things, but have you tried praise?
Because the power of praise is the catalyst to change.
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