Acts 16:25-40
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 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! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
35 The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” 36 So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”
38 When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. 40 When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.
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After being stripped, beaten with wooden rods, falsely accused, imprisoned and locked in the deepest part a dungeon, Paul and Silas took Psalm 150:6—Let everything that lives sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!—to heart by praying and praising the Lord late into the night. Their faith and devotion were constantly challenged and they were in prison for their beliefs. This did not stop their ministry. “Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening” (v. 25).
Every Christmas The Salvation Army is allowed to visit Cook County Jail. We share the Gospel, play Christmas music and pass out small presents to the inmates. As we enter each cellblock, the card games, showers, conversation and the muffled sounds of a television, fade away. We all sing Silent Night and a beautiful transformation occurs; the jail cell becomes a sanctuary and tough men become vulnerable worshipers. You could measure this ministry’s success by seeing the tears in the men’s eyes, and the brief glimpses of joy on their faces. We are allowed one day a year to see these men. We pray with them, we remember them.
God is good. So good that His children want to worship Him, even in the worst circumstances. Worshiping the Lord brings freedom. Paul and Silas were free before their chains fell off and the doors flew open. That’s why the other prisoners listened to their worship and why the guard begged them to tell him how he might be saved. As you worship the Lord remember the freedom that he brings.
