Tag Archives: prisoners

ACTS THE SEQUEL…STINGS AT MIDNIGHT – 37b

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…So, they did just that! They began to sing. What did they sing? The songs they knew best…David’s songs…about God…about suffering…and trust…and victory…and God’s power over their enemies.

And it worked!

“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. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭25-‭28 NIV‬‬

The other prisoners heard them singing…but they didn’t complain…they listened. 

The songs God’s prisoners sang were so powerful that they split open the prison walls…and opened the stocks…and broke the chains off the prisoners…and smashed open the doors! Wow! That shocked the prisoners so much that, instead of using the opportunity to escape, they couldn’t move. 

“The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.”

Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭29- 34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What began as a miscarriage of justice became victory for grace  when another whole family was rescued from paganism and catapulted into the kingdom of God.

One big lesson that keeps recurring in this story, as in many of the stories in the Bible…God is always up to something. When we trust Him without collapsing into a heap of despair…disappointment…disillusionment…when we give God the space He needs to finish what He started…we will discover that He never allows random or irrelevant circumstances into our lives. Everything works according to a predetermined plan. 

What may seem crazy to us makes perfect sense to Him. Injustice is a great teacher… Retaliation is never the way of victory. It only perpetuates more anger and hatred. Jesus’ way is the way of forgiveness. Forgiveness neutralises the poison, takes the heat out of the fire, and stops the downward spiral into hell. 

So, these two men, true sons of God and followers of Jesus…turned their pain into a paean of praise…and their reward was a free pass from prison. 

This story has a second unexpected outcome…

“When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭35‬-‭40‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul used his Roman citizenship as a lever to expose the injustice they had suffered…not as retaliation but as a lesson for those who were expected to dispense justice, not tyranny. The ex-prisoners walked away from that city vindicated, heads held high, leaving behind another family of believers to join the growing church in Philippi, for their trouble. 

To be continued

THE BOOK OF ACTS – WHILE THE CHURCH PRAYED

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WHILE THE CHURCH PRAYED

“Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!

“Suddenly there was an angel at his side and light flooding the room. The angel shook Peter and got him up: ‘Hurry!’ The handcuffs fell off his wrists. The angel said, ‘Get dressed. Put on your shoes.’ Peter did it. Then, ‘Grab your coat and let’s get out of here.’ Peter followed him but didn’t really believe it was an angel — he thought he was dreaming.” Acts 12:6- 9 The Message).

While the church prayed, God was up to something! There were a few unusual things about this scenario. Firstly, Peter was on the eve of possible execution yet he was asleep and the guards were awake. Shouldn’t he have been awake, given the circumstances, tossing and turning with anxiety about his fate on the morrow? What does that say about Peter’s state of mind?

Was he, like Paul in similar circumstances later on, at perfect peace knowing that God was in charge? Whether he lived or died was not the issue. To live was Christ and to die was gain. That tells us a whole lot about Christ’s victory on the cross. “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV).

While Peter slept, the church prayed. The guards were watching; the church was praying; and God was working! He dispatched an angel and set the ball rolling for an amazing rescue. The prison cell was ablaze with light, yet the guards saw nothing. The angel woke Peter and spoke to him; his shackles clanked to the ground — yet the guards heard nothing. Were they blind and deaf?

Peter responded like a sleepwalker — no questions, no protests. Like a robot he got up, put on his clothes and shoes at the angel’s command and followed him out of the prison cell while the soldiers kept on guarding him! He thought he was dreaming — wouldn’t you?

Even though he had slept like a baby, what was going on in his subconscious mind that would trigger dreams? In the natural, he would probably have been morbidly dwelling on the outcome of tomorrow. Nightmares, not dreams, should have plagued his sleep. But he didn’t. Instead, he thought he was having a pleasant dream about being rescued.

“Past the first guard and then the second, they came to the iron gate that led into the city. It swung open before them on its own and they were out on the street, free as a breeze. At the first intersection the angel left him, going his own way. That’s when Peter realised it was no dream. ‘I can’t believe it — this really happened! The Master sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s little production and the spectacle the Jewish mob was looking forward to.'” Acts 12:10-11 (The Message).

While the guards continued to watch, Peter and the angel slipped quietly out of the prison, locked doors and gates opening and closing for them, and neither guards nor prisoners stirred. Only when the cold night air touched his face did Peter realise that this was no dream. He really was free! God had miraculously thwarted Herod’s little macabre entertainment and left a whole group of soldiers with egg on their faces.

It is God’s way to partner with His people in getting His will done on earth. John Wesley said, “God does nothing but in answer to prayer.” The church in Jerusalem did not need to be made aware of Peter’s situation. They prayed and God acted. And that’s how God still administers His will on earth today.