Praise Brings Results

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. Acts 16:23-34 (KJV)

Paul and Silas were cast into prison; maximum security prison you might say. They were in the worst, filthiest part of the prison with their feet bound in chains. This took place after they had been severely beaten so they had bleeding, oozing wounds that were exposed to their disgusting surroundings. Physically, they had to be miserable.

At midnight, when things looked dark and bleak, they prayed and sang praises. God showed up and changed things. He visited them, and the other prisoners. God still visits prisons and prisoners today. You may be locked in, either figuratively or literally, but no one can keep God out.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. Acts 16:26 (KJV)

The prison shook at the very foundation, the prison doors opened, and bands were removed. God deals with foundational issues that can cause us to be bound. He starts at the bottom, at the foundation, and works His way up until everything is taken care of. Once the root of a problem is dealt with, then true freedom comes. He opens the prison doors and breaks every chain.

Interestingly, none of the prisoners left. I believe it is very possible that the glory of God entered that place and they were so focused on God that none of them wanted to go. The jailer and his family got saved as a result of this supernatural event. God knows how to turn enemies into friends.

So many amazing things happened that night, but what if Paul and Silas hadn’t prayed and praised God? These things would have never taken place. The other prisoners wouldn’t have been touched. The jailer and his family may have never been saved. And Paul and Silas wouldn’t have benefited from the jailer’s care of their wounds. So much would have been affected by a decision to focus on their pain and their predicament instead of focusing on God.

As we pray to and praise God, we’ll see Him do the same things for us today. He’ll bring a great shaking, then a great awakening, then great salvation and freedom to all who experience God’s power and presence. God is still doing now what He did back then. Praise God no matter what and see Him do great things for you and those around you. Never stop praising God!