“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!” Acts 16:25-26 NLT.

The other prisoners were listening. Paul and Silas were in chains in this prison for preaching the Name of Jesus. To encourage themselves in their difficult situation they began to sing and to pray. This in itself is huge. They were not giving up, they were not recanting their story, they were not about to stop preaching Jesus. If it meant prison, persecution and peril then so be it. They had a mission and they were all over it!

So there they are surrounded by murderers, thieves, the undesirable and the unwanted who were intently listening to these two ministers of the Gospel. All of a sudden there is an earthquake. Not just any earthquake but the Bible says it is significant; powerful enough to shake the prison to its foundations and knock the doors open! That is fascinating enough but it goes on to say; “…and the chains of every prisoner fell off!” Not just the chains of the preachers but every one who heard them, who happened to be around them, in the same room, the same building, were affected by them!

Because they were not afraid and not ashamed to stand up for the Truth many others came to know Christ that day. They were listening, they were wondering, they were interested in Paul and Silas because they could not keep silent. They had something wonderful happen to them that had forever changed their lives and they couldn’t keep it to themselves.

We are today’s Paul and Silas.

• Me.

• You.

• The Church.

• The Body.

• The Bride of Christ.

We were put here for this most important time in the history of The Church: The End.

We are living Acts 29, writing the final chapter.

Corrie ten Boom did. She made it her life’s mission to save others, physically and spiritually. She and her family hid many Jews from certain death but were eventually caught and punished. At the age of 52, Corrie was sent to a concentration camp where the rest of her family would perish. But while there, just like Paul and Silas, she sang praises to her God all day long. Saving others out of the fire, maybe not from death on this earth, but from eternal fire by offering them Jesus Christ.

“It is not my ability, but my response to God’s ability that counts.” ~Corrie ten Boom

The Prisoners Around You…They are hungry; some do not know what they are searching for but we have the answer. It is imperative that we point them to Jesus, make sure they understand they must be born again of water and of the Spirit. It’s not just for life eternal but what joy, peace and comfort comes from living for Him here! He is our hope, our reason for living and our joy for every day.

Let us bind together in prayer, go to war for the prisoners around us and be right in the middle of explosive revival when Jesus comes again.

Sharing with Living Proverbs 31, Amaze Me Monday, Making your home sing, Modest Monday, Sharing His Beauty, #rara linkup, #TellHisStory