Praying and Singing

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:24 NIV

Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Until you read the next part of the verse, you don’t realize that they are in prison at this time. They are in prison for telling others that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. The officials and religious leaders were very threatened by the man Jesus Christ and even more because He was the Messiah.

What I want to focus on here is that it is midnight and they are in prison. Two things that are not the normal setting for people to be praying and singing hymns. The average person, when placed in prison, tends to be upset by the fact that their freedom is gone especially when they haven’t committed a crime. They typically become hard hearted and cynical, beginning to treat others harshly and curse God.

However, that is not how Paul and Silas were feeling or behaving. Their faith and belief in Jesus and God was so great that they were proud to be in prison for telling others that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. It was midnight and I can imagine that they were not quiet in their prayers and singing. They did not show fear of the officials doing anything else to them, and they knew the other prisoners were not able to tune them out. This was a chance for others to hear the wonderful news of who Jesus is!

How often do we have a chance to tell others who Jesus is and we don’t even have to be talking or singing very loud. We don’t have to be in prison for us to be able to minister to others. The best part about telling others about Jesus is giving them the chance to make their own choice. Their own choice of whether they want to have a personal relationship with Jesus or not. There are times when we don’t even have to be speaking or singing at all. Those around us watch us to see how we are responding to circumstances around us, how we initiate interactions with others and what decisions we make in situations.

So, as we go about our day today, I challenge each one of us to think about how we respond to the world around us, whether we seek out others to give them the wonderful news of Jesus or even just know that they are watching us to see what we will do as a ‘Christian’ in the circumstances of life. Are we willing to remember that we have joy in knowing that Jesus is our Lord even in difficult times?