1 Peter 5:6-11
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. NKJV
What about Paul and Silas in the prison? Read Acts 16!
Acts 16:16-34
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." 18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, "These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; 21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe." 22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household. NKJV
Where we stand with God will certainly show our "true colors". For Paul and Silas, we see two men following close to God and in that come in conflict with those who were masters of a young slave girl who possessed a spirit of divination. In that, Paul commanded the spirit to come out in Jesus Name.
Well, the long story shorten here, is that they went to jail.
They were the accused of having made trouble to the "the city"! They were also dragged into the marketplace to the authorities. Then beaten with rods, Silas and Paul are found probably in the most lower level of the jail. With their feet in stocks, and most likely people's waste falling on their heads from the prisoners above them, these guys sang. Yes they sang!
At the midnight hour Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening. They could hear them praising God!
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." 18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, "These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; 21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe." 22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household. NKJV
Where we stand with God will certainly show our "true colors". For Paul and Silas, we see two men following close to God and in that come in conflict with those who were masters of a young slave girl who possessed a spirit of divination. In that, Paul commanded the spirit to come out in Jesus Name.
Well, the long story shorten here, is that they went to jail.
They were the accused of having made trouble to the "the city"! They were also dragged into the marketplace to the authorities. Then beaten with rods, Silas and Paul are found probably in the most lower level of the jail. With their feet in stocks, and most likely people's waste falling on their heads from the prisoners above them, these guys sang. Yes they sang!
At the midnight hour Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening. They could hear them praising God!
In those deplorable conditions the men, Paul and Silas continued to worship God. Though experiencing the stench of waste and the putrid smell of sweat and such, these men released God into the situation.
They applauded God in words of praise that lifted them out of the filth and into an atmosphere that brought God on the scene.
For their faithfulness to follow God, they brought the Gospel, the Good News to those who needed salvation. They brought Jesus to the jailer and his family. In unison Paul and Silas gave the call to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."
The jailer's family was saved, and Paul and Silas were cleaned with their stripes being washed.
That place shook with a vibration of heaven. That jail opened its doors to allow the Great "I AM" in the house.
Will we allow Him in? Will we cast our cares on Him, sing His praise and expect Him to have His way in our situations?
It is those moments with God, when all else does not matter, that our worship and praise comes up loud and strong. Not to show others we can sing, play the drums, or even toot the horn, right? But it is about our lives touching someone else's when everything seems wrong and out of sorts.
May we have longing our hearts.........that will thirst for Him. Psalm 42:2....."my soul thirsts for God"
May we have faith that pleases God..."without faith, it is impossible to please God...Hebrews 11:6
And may we quickly invite the Holy Spirit to come.
"Come Holy Spirit, come, YOU are invited here, in this place, right now!
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,....Matthew 5:6.
Valuing prayer and God's presence, these men saw the miraculous happen for a family needing God. For it is truly wonderful to see those touched by His Presence when we see that one fall out under His power or the one who dances wildly or even the one who lies prostrate for hours in His very Presence.
But there is nothing, no nothing, that can compare with being with Him in prayer and encountering Him, with questions a child asks the Father.
The Holy Spirit is not wind but we can certainly experience His freshness in a room. He is not fire, but He surely can bring a fire to our bones to live for Him. And He is not the white dove. He is a Person.
Find time to cast that care on God! Find that place to seek His face, His quiet place of peace and truth and He will reveal to you magnitudes of His goodness for you. It is never too late to start that relationship with Him. Take the time today and speak with Him about your future.
Romans 5: Message Bible….We find ourselves standing where
we always hoped we might stand---out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and
glory, standing tall and shouting our praises. “There’s more to COME.” “There’s
More To COME!” We continue to shout our
praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles
can develop passionate patience in us and how that patience in turn forges the
tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.
Our
prayer for this generation who look for His return must be ever alert to keep
watch……….to pray…….and seek to praise Him and remind Him of what words of life
He has spoken for us to live by. It is in our experience of faith we find His
peace and joy. In the Holy Spirit we find power to live out what we seek for
tomorrow. If God was concerned for THE FUTURE, HE IS CONCERNED FOR OURS. “THERE
IS MORE TO COME FOR YOU AND FOR ME!”
Father thank You for Jesus. Thank You for Your goodness to us. We look forward to our future with You and standing in those open spaces of Your grace and glory. May we always shout...........sing praise and not forget.........."There's more to come"............and develop within us that passionate patience forging in us a virtue, and to keep our watch of what You will do next in our lives. IN Jesus Name, we believe we receive all that You intend for us. Amen.
Notice:
The Voice of Prayer has a new teaching published:
Praise Report of Faith: Jesus Speaking of John The Baptist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0I5xPxONv0
The Voice of Prayer has a new teaching published:
Praise Report of Faith: Jesus Speaking of John The Baptist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0I5xPxONv0
You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV
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