Luke the beloved physician shared as Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke himself went, “to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city. And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks”, and in chapter sixteen and verse twenty-five of the book of Acts Luke wrote, “at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God” where we read:
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
The verse begins, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God:” Luke began with the words, “and at midnight” which means “and at the middle of the nighttime” “Paul” whose name means “small or little” “and Silas” whose name means “woody” and was “a Roman citizen and the companion of the apostle Paul on several of his missionary journeys” “prayed” or “made orations, supplication and worship”, “and sang praises unto God” which means “and began to sing paschal hymns or celebratory songs to the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Luke shared how “Paul and Silas” started to sing worshipful songs and “praises” to “God” in the middle of the night.
The verse continues, “and the prisoners heard them.” Luke added the words, “and the prisoners” or “and the other captives and bound ones” “heard them” which means “were endowed with the faculty for hearing, perceiving and noticing Paul and Silas singing and praying”. Luke shared how the other “inmates or prison captives” “heard” “Paul and Silas” singing and giving praises to “God”.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn what “Paul and Silas” did while they were locked in the “stocks” in the interior prison. Rather than moan, groan, complain or make beckoning pleas, “Paul and Silas” began to pray and sing and praise the Lord. What a remarkable way to handle such a difficult situation. We shall see how this affects their time in prison in our next few verses, but for now, let us imagine ourselves in troublesome circumstances and think about how we respond in them. God loves people, and His desire is to have a personal relationship with them through His Son Jesus. When they surrender to Him, He will forgive their sins and grant them everlasting life. Should they encounter tribulations and trials, let songs of praise flow from their lips and exalt the glorious God of the universe.
Next time Luke shares how, “suddenly there was a great earthquake”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance". All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment