Read Part One HERE
A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS
PART XVI - V
"I, Paul, smiled at Silas... He smiled back at me even though his body was badly bruised from the lashes he had received earlier on... Just as my body was badly bruised from the lashes I had received earlier on... We looked around our prison cell here in Philippi where we had been put a little while ago... Silas then whispered to me that we should praise the Lord... For He has done a mighty work through us here in Philippi...So we began to sing one hymn after another.... Our hearts were full of joy... Yes, we had been beaten and thrown in prison... But we knew our Lord is here with us... And He would continue to take care of us...In fact, His Presence became so real.... It seemed to fill the whole prison... And it brought such peace... What happened next was very unexpected.... An earthquake took place... And all the prison doors flew open.... Amazingly, none of the prisoners moved....No doubt, they all sensed God's Presence in their cells...The jailer woke up... He ran into the prison... I was able to tell him no one has escaped."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of an earthquake.....
ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS
PART XVI - V
You would think that Paul and Silas may well have felt very discouraged. After all, they knew that the Holy Spirit had led them to preach to Lydia and to the other women. And He had, furthermore, led them to preach to other people when Paul had cast out a demonic spirit from a young slave girl in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. They could, therefore, have expected His protection of them. But it seems, He had, instead, allowed them to be beaten and thrown in prison. What good could they do in prison since they were now locked up and would not be able to go out and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which had been the very reason for their coming to Philippi. You may think so but it seems Paul and Silas did not feel abandoned by the Lord even in their suffering as you can know from Acts 16:25
At about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
They may not have known exactly as to why God allowed them to be put in prison but they believed God had a purpose for them to be there. After all, they had been called by God to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ wherever they went. Perhaps God could use them in this prison even though their feet were fastened in stocks making it impossible for them to freely move about. But they knew they could trust God to make the impossible possible. For nothing is impossible with God as you can read in Luke 1:37
"For nothing is impossible with God."
And God did make a way for them to preach by allowing an earthquake to shake the prison. This caused all prison doors to open and everyone's chains to come off. What an opportunity for the prisoners to escape. But, miraculously, none of them moved; they all stayed in their cells as you can read in Acts 16:26-28
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and eveyone'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 becaause he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
These prisoners had experienced the Presence of the Holy Spirit in prison because of the worship of Paul and Silas. Their prison had become a place of worship, a place of peace beyond what they had ever known. Paul and Silas had begun to show these prisoners that true freedom is possible even when in prison. And because of this experience, these prisoners had a taste of inner freedom, which had nothing to do with them being in or out of prison. Therefore, they did not feel the need to run away. So it is for us; true freedom can only be found in Jesus Christ and does not depend on our circumstances as you can read in John 8:36
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
Read Part Six HERE
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