Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders
Do you read the Bible for all it’s worth, sometimes marveling how God works miraculously in the lives of his people?
Reading Acts 16:16-34, we find Paul and Silas in Philippi heading toward a place of prayer. On their way, they are constantly accosted by a demon-possessed slave girl who makes money for her owners by fortune telling. Paul eventually exorcises the evil spirit, thus leaving the girl of no monetary value to her greedy owners.
Ah! It is said no good deed goes unpunished, and the disciples find themselves in a jam. Not only do the owners drag the two men to court, but they incite a riot by lying that Paul and Silas were “upsetting” their city.
Without an opportunity to plead their case, Paul and Silas are stripped of their clothes, badly beaten and thrown in jail. They are chained with heavy wooden blocks on their feet, and a jailer to guard them.
What would you do?
One would think this would shake the faith of the two men. After all, Paul had a vision in which someone had told him to come to Macedonia to help them (Acts 16:9). And here he was in Philippi, one of its towns, locked up in jail.
God, are you there? Did I read you right?
Yet, the Scriptures tell us:
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened” (Acts 16:24, CEV).
Praying? Singing?
There is something powerful about the midnight hour. It’s the time when we either give up hope, or we persevere, knowing that God’s power is always waiting to sustain us.
Can you think of the content of their prayers, or the hymns that they sang? Perhaps, they sang, “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand” or “The Goodness of God” or even the foot-stomping “We’ll Soon Be Done with Troubles and Trials.”
We’ll never know what they prayed or what they sang, but we know for sure that the Holy Spirit joined in this a cappella worship service. It was a powerful jailhouse rock, for the Scriptures tell us:
Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.
When the jailer woke up and saw that the doors were open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself (vv. 26-27).
Paul, however, assured him that none of the prisoners had escaped.
Prayer is powerful! But so is singing praises to God. Just think of it as your prayers set to music.
Imagine an earthquake of seismic proportions—it probably weighed in more than 9.5 on the Richter Scale. That was God’s doing, for the liberation of his people. And for the salvation of a jailer and his entire household.
Our faith need not be shaken when trials come, because the Holy Spirit can break every chain, both literally and figuratively, that seeks to hold us captive.
The jailer “was shaking all over” as he asked Paul and Silas:
“What must I do to be saved?” (v.30)
Their reply: “Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved!” (v.31)
This is true for all who have not yet come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. For those who are followers of Christ, do not let your faith be shaken, but be obedient and faithful to God who loves us, and gave his only Son to prove his love.
PRAYER: Father, shake us up from slouching prayer and sleepy worship. Revitalize our souls in the midnight hour. Embolden our faith as we journey through the storms of life, and lead us safely to a place of safety. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. ©M©dytations 2025
by Dorette Saunders
Do you read the Bible for all it’s worth, sometimes marveling how God works miraculously in the lives of his people?
Reading Acts 16:16-34, we find Paul and Silas in Philippi heading toward a place of prayer. On their way, they are constantly accosted by a demon-possessed slave girl who makes money for her owners by fortune telling. Paul eventually exorcises the evil spirit, thus leaving the girl of no monetary value to her greedy owners.
Ah! It is said no good deed goes unpunished, and the disciples find themselves in a jam. Not only do the owners drag the two men to court, but they incite a riot by lying that Paul and Silas were “upsetting” their city.
Without an opportunity to plead their case, Paul and Silas are stripped of their clothes, badly beaten and thrown in jail. They are chained with heavy wooden blocks on their feet, and a jailer to guard them.
What would you do?
One would think this would shake the faith of the two men. After all, Paul had a vision in which someone had told him to come to Macedonia to help them (Acts 16:9). And here he was in Philippi, one of its towns, locked up in jail.
God, are you there? Did I read you right?
Yet, the Scriptures tell us:
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened” (Acts 16:24, CEV).
Praying? Singing?
There is something powerful about the midnight hour. It’s the time when we either give up hope, or we persevere, knowing that God’s power is always waiting to sustain us.
Can you think of the content of their prayers, or the hymns that they sang? Perhaps, they sang, “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand” or “The Goodness of God” or even the foot-stomping “We’ll Soon Be Done with Troubles and Trials.”
We’ll never know what they prayed or what they sang, but we know for sure that the Holy Spirit joined in this a cappella worship service. It was a powerful jailhouse rock, for the Scriptures tell us:
Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.
When the jailer woke up and saw that the doors were open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself (vv. 26-27).
Paul, however, assured him that none of the prisoners had escaped.
Prayer is powerful! But so is singing praises to God. Just think of it as your prayers set to music.
Imagine an earthquake of seismic proportions—it probably weighed in more than 9.5 on the Richter Scale. That was God’s doing, for the liberation of his people. And for the salvation of a jailer and his entire household.
Our faith need not be shaken when trials come, because the Holy Spirit can break every chain, both literally and figuratively, that seeks to hold us captive.
The jailer “was shaking all over” as he asked Paul and Silas:
“What must I do to be saved?” (v.30)
Their reply: “Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved!” (v.31)
This is true for all who have not yet come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. For those who are followers of Christ, do not let your faith be shaken, but be obedient and faithful to God who loves us, and gave his only Son to prove his love.
PRAYER: Father, shake us up from slouching prayer and sleepy worship. Revitalize our souls in the midnight hour. Embolden our faith as we journey through the storms of life, and lead us safely to a place of safety. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. ©M©dytations 2025
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