NT24 FastSample

Day 9 by Laura Souguellis, Associate Prayer Room Director of UPPERROOM Dallas

Today’s Reading: Acts 15-28

"About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 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." (Acts 16:16-40)

In this story of Paul and Silas in prison lies one of the most significant principles present in Scripture for our faith today.

Although many may focus on how outstanding it was for chains to be broken and prison doors to be opened supernaturally, I cannot help but be impressed by a superior form of miracle displayed in the story: Paul and Silas' posture of fervent praise in the midst of humiliation, injustice, and pain.

The picture is clear: after being persecuted and flogged — which must have been an experience of excruciating physical pain — they both get thrown into prison and chained down. What could have felt more demeaning of their worth and challenging to their faith in God? However, we see a picture of extravagant faith unfolding, which could only have come from a deep awareness of God's goodness and power to save. Why else would they be singing praises in the midst of tragedy?

The great apparent miracle of divine deliverance that Paul and Silas experienced, which also brought salvation to other prisoners and even the jailer, could have only been preceded by a less apparent miracle: the one in which their hearts were not offended by the suffering they went through in the name of God, but instead gave thanks to Him in trial. There is something mighty about an earthquake that shakes a whole prison but even more so about a heart that overcomes by the power of thanksgiving.

In my journey as a worshiper, I have continuously been faced with chances to bless the Lord in circumstances that felt the least fitting to give praise. Loss, suffering, hope deferred, injustice, or uncertainty create such opportunities. They are what we call "the midnight of the soul," which is the exact hour the Lord wants to show up mightily for us: "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying (…) suddenly there was such a violent earthquake."

Like Paul and Silas, we are all invited into the ministry of sacrificial praise that leads to divine intervention. Today, let the awareness of God's goodness lead you to gratitude, and gratitude lead you to praise, leading you into the Lord's great deliverance on your behalf.

Prayer: Father, thank you for how powerful you are to save and deliver. I thank you for how involved You are in my life. I thank you because Your worthiness never changes, regardless of my circumstances. Today, I break agreement with murmuring and hopelessness, and I stand on Your Word as I look at Your goodness and strengthen myself in that awareness. You are mighty to come through for me. Thank you for moving into my life, even now, as I pray this prayer. Give me radical faith and a spirit of praise to acknowledge You through the hardest of trials, for I know salvation is on the way, in Jesus' name. Amen.