Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then 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—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.
Acts 16:16-40
“God does speak — sometimes one way and sometimes another — even though people may not understand it.” (Job 33:14)
God will often use the so-called "closed doors" in our life to mold our character and prepare us for the time when we will fulfill His destiny for our lives. God is a Holy God, and often uses circumstances to get our attention. But He will usually confirm it in other ways.
In today’s podcast we see how God uses circumstances in our lives for His glory. Because Paul cast out the python demon, he and Silas were beaten with a bundle of rods. They would strip them and beat their back, sides, and legs. The Jews would limit such a beating to 39 hits, but the Romans had no limit. They beat them as long as they wanted. This is a severe physical trauma; the pain would have been very great. Did the people mean evil against Paul and Silas? Yes, they did. But God meant it for good. So they trusted that God would work this out for good. Their attitude of trust and confidence of God's control is demonstrated in their actions. We see how God used Paul and Silas in prison to win the guards soul, and His entire family. Paul and Silas found themselves in a difficult prison of oppression and suffering. In that prison they experienced the great grace of God. They received everything they needed transform a prison of pain into a prison of praise. Joy in the midst of suffering and sorrow will always get the attention of those around you. That prison had witnessed cursing, it had witnessed groaning and cries, it had witnessed pleading and groveling; but it had never witnessed anything like this. You bet those other prisoners were listening. God's glory shines through our sufferings and weaknesses. You will never grow up, you will never be what God wants you to be without some form of suffering. The difference between the Christian and the non-Christians is that the Christian is supposed to have joy in the midst of suffering. I believe that God can still do the same with us today, because God is always the same today and forever, He will never change. May be you are passing through a tough circumstance and you don’t understand why, Let God guide you through it………
I hope that this shines a light on your heart today.
Because of His love on Calvary, I am forever a secured package
Rumishael Ulomi
www.rumyofficialministry.org
