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Along About Midnight

Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners could not believe their ears.
Acts 16:25

Your faith is not yours alone. When you believe, it helps others believe. It helps me believe. This might be most true when the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ is on display in the face of personal adversity.

Paul and Silas were singing their praises at midnight to the astonishment of the other captives. These brothers of the faith had just been beaten with rods, the flesh had been torn on their backs, and if that wasn’t enough, they had been publicly humiliated. The last thing you expect is for gospel karaoke night to break out in the prison! It was remarkable and it had a remarkable effect on others as people came to faith in Jesus, most notably the jailer and his family.

Faith in the face of adversity is liberating. It stands as a powerful witness to the goodness of the Triune God. This does not mean we don’t cry out to God in anguish while we suffer, but it does mean we know suffering is not the final word in our lives. Jesus is the first Word, the final Word and his resurrection is the resounding word that hope abounds. Despair and darkness cannot lay claim to victory, Jesus is the Victorious One!

Sing your song of victory, loved one, and let it be heard because our Lord is in the ongoing work of setting captives free!

Prayer: Lord, by your Spirit, may your praise ever be on our lips, even during the darkest night.

Anthony Mullins headshot

 

By Anthony Mullins
Southeast Regional Director, USA

5 thoughts on “Along About Midnight”

  1. Thanks Anthony for reminding us of Paul’s and Silas encouraging experience in the jailhouse at Philippi, at midnight during the 1st century of the church. There, all the prison doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed-but no one fled. The jailer and his household were saved after hearing the word of the Lord, believed and were baptized. Just as Lydia’s heart was open to hear and heed the things spoken by Paul so now was the jailer’s. Acts 16:14-15
    Jesus has done it all for us, and even to believe it He must open up our heart’s, that are locked, for us to receive the gift of Life, that is in Him, we now rejoice in Him!

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