Joyful Ruins

Acts 16:25-34 Paul and Silas pray and sing hymns

Fortunately I have not experienced prison and I do not pretend to even begin to understand and relate to Paul and Silas’s situation in this passage of scripture.

Yet, as I prayed this morning, God brought this scripture to my mind, not the exact book, chapter, and verse reference, but He brought to my mind His followers singing while in prison and then the earth shaking. This lead me to Acts and the story of Paul and Silas.

You see, sometimes we can feel like we are in a prison: stuck, disconnected, confused, stifled, and well, uncomfortable. We can’t see a way out of this place or season. That is why this true story holds such a powerful message for us as believers. Paul and Silas do not try to figure out a way to escape. Instead, they “pray and sing hymns to God”.

They are not working in any way, they do not know what is happening outside the prison, and they can not go anywhere. In a sense, they are left with nothing to do, but sit there and wait. Yet, they use that space to do something that shakes the earth, opens the prison doors, and ultimately saves the jailer!

A very wise and wonderful woman of God told me recently, that our circumstances may not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but our response within those circumstances can change the spiritual realms.

So, if you are like me, feeling stuck, disconnected, you are not sure how to move forward, or you simply can’t move at all- sing and pray. Sing and pray for however long it takes to shake the earth and open the prison doors!