Prayer that Shakes the Foundations of Prison
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
Text: Acts 16:16-26
Key Scripture verse: Acts 16:25-26
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 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”
Paul and Silas were in jail.
What put them there? Paul received a vision to “come over to Macedonia and help...” Acts 16:19. Without delay Paul and his team sailed to Neapolis and then walked to Philippi. Philippi is one of the cities in Macedonia. They stayed there for some days. For the time they were there; every Sabbath they would always go to the riverside were prayer was held and preach to the women who met there. A certain woman called Lydia received the Lord and begged them to come and stay in her house.
One day as they were on their way to the riverside for prayer and sharing of the word, a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met them. Other translations call this spirit, the spirit of a python. She would bring her master a lot of profit by fortune-telling. The girl followed Paul and his team and cried out; “these men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation” Acts 16:17
She did that for many days. This annoyed Paul. We are not supposed to appreciate comments or complements from the devil. He is a liar and always looking for an opportunity to hurt believers and discredit Jesus. Greatly annoyed, Paul rebuked that spirit and ordered it to leave the girl. The spirit came out and the girl was free immediately.
When her master heard this and saw that his hope of fortune was gone, he mobilized some people there and they dragged Paul and Silas to the marketplace and handed them over to the authorities. They accused them of bringing Jewish customs and teachings to the Roman community and thus causing trouble to the city. Without any formal charge or investigation they were commanded to be beaten with rods and thrown into jail.
Why were they thrown into jail? Well the reason was not necessarily their teachings but LOSS OF INCOME for the slave master. In a nutshell, the reason was money. Some people make a lot of profit on the suffering of others and they would never want them free. Every one would think that what Paul did would be received with joy by the people of the city; but it was not to be so. The slave master had invested a lot of money in the girl’s condition. He had not as yet reached the break-even point, and here comes Paul and he delivers the girl from the fortune-telling spirit (the python spirit). Paul and Silas were arrested and locked in the inner cell to ensure maximum security.
Paul and Silas prayed in jail
With their backs torn and bleeding they were thrown into prison. They had their wrists and feet fastened in the stocks. It was not a nice place for anyone to be. This was the right place for Silas to accuse Paul of the vision causing him to doubt his interpretation or understanding of the vision. What a wonderful place for them to moan and hurl complains at God and say “oh Lord, why Lord!”
But these two men did something different. They prayed and sung songs. Notice how they prayed and sang. “...and the prisoners where listening to them” What does this imply? It implies that they were praying and singing aloud. We understand from the story how terrible their condition was. But their condition could not hold them quiet. They prayed through their misery. Without doubt I believe they knew the power of prayer and what it can do despite the situation.
Here is a lesson to learn. When things are falling apart around us, the first thing we ought to be thinking of is PRAYER. Our enemy is unseen and can only be reached through prayer. The battle is not on the ground. The battle is in the sky. When you see all hardships coming your way, know that it is an air raiding, brother. The destruction you see in your life is as a result of the missiles shot at you from the air. The damage may be experienced on the ground, the pain may be felt in the body but the devil’s military hardware is up there, my friend.
How do we engage in such kind of warfare? Remember; “for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4. Paul and Silas knew where the battle ground is and they engaged the enemy there. They used the right weapons – WORDS. Words formulated into prayer are the deadliest weapon a believer can use in any battle. The devil knows this very well. That’s why he would fight to keep believers silent and not praying.
Do not fight people; they are not your enemies. Do not fight circumstances; they are not the cause of what you are going through. The enemy is not on the ground; he is up there raiding the earth. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” Ephesians 6:12. Do not fall for his trap. He would want you to concentrate on your wounds and chains and prison when he is free to inflict more injury on you. Do not be fooled; the battle is up there and can only be fought with spiritual weapons.
Paul and Silas positioned themselves for the battle and fought with prayer. The bible says; “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” I remember one morning as I was praying; God started showing me where the power to demolish the kingdom of Satan lies. He said; “as clouds gather in the sky rain forms and fall down and cause vegetation to grow; so is my power. When you pray you are engaging in the gathering of clouds for the formation of spiritual rain in the sky. You are gathering clouds for rain. Do not get weary and stop; keep on gathering clouds with prayers. Soon my power shall come down like rain. When this happens, no one will ignore what I am doing.”
Midnight Bomb Attack
At midnight Paul and Silas gathered the clouds. They continued without ceasing – they prayed and sang hymns to God. There is something special about midnight in the spirit. The ancient world; especially countries that fell under the Roman Empire; divided their time not into hours but military watches. Each watch represented the period for which guards remained at posts or on duty. Midnight watch was between 9 pm and 12 midnight. It is also called the middle watch. “So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands” Judges 7:19.
This is the time to attach the kingdom of Satan. Paul and Silas were heard praying and singing hymns at midnight – the same time that Gideon attacked the Midianites and conquered them. Prayer will always scatter the enemy forces and gather clouds of blessings.
When you pray you start winning battles; when you win battles you trust God even more, and when you trust God you grow spiritually.
To be continued
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