After
they were badly beaten,
chained,
and
thrown into the deepest depths of prison,
Paul
and Silas prayed.
They
praised.
They
worshiped.
A
God so good,
so
strong,
who
was for them in every which way,
who
allowed them to be beat, chained, and imprisoned.
A
time for prayer?
What
about time for questioning,
time
for doubt,
time
for despair,
time
for tears,
time
for giving up,
time
for feeling like dying?
But
Paul and Silas found not time for those things.
They
saw it fit to pray.
And
praise.
And
worship.
A
good, good God.
And
ironically,
their
prayer was not,
"Lord,
GET US OUT OF HERE!"
Their
prayer was a prayer concerned with telling God how good He is.
While
they were bloody and bruised.
Chained.
And
in prison.
Their
ability to praise during suffering brought souls to Christ.
The
other inmates watched in bewilderment.
There
was a massive earthquake that shook the foundations
and
flung open the prison gates.
The
guard, seeing the open gates,
was
about to kill himself for the prisoners had surely left.
But
to his shock,
the
prisoners were right where they were supposed to be.
Praising
their good God.
And
the guard and his whole family came to believe.
So
often we find ourselves bound in chains
and
thrown into the deepest depths of prison.
Our
prisons are different.
They
might come in the form of addictions,
work,
family,
friends,
depression,
anger,
sorrow.
Whatever
the prison,
we
usually forget to praise.
If
we do pray,
the
prayer is usually,
"Lord,
please free me from this prison".
In
the depths of the prison walls,
our
focus should be not on ourselves
but
on Christ.
Where
can we find Christ?
Yes,
even here, in our prison.
When
in prison,
the
objective should not be,
"How
can I get out?"
but
rather,
"How
can I praise Jesus?
How
can I enthrone Him?
How
can I bring glory and fame to His name?"
How
radically different than our normal method.
Praise
and worship in prison.
You
know not who your cell mates are.
You
know not the groundskeeper or the guard.
You
know not who is watching.
You
know not who you are witnessing to.
Even
in your prison.
Even
in your darkest place.
Even
in your pain.
There
is joy,
there
is hope,
to
be found.
Even
there.
