PRAYING & SINGING: Goodbook 05-03-12

Goodbook messages arrive every Monday, Thursday, and Friday with a Scripture reading and ideas for how to apply the reading in our lives. We are reading through the book of Acts. For additional Scripture reading, you can follow the Advanced Track.

Reading: Acts 16:23-25
(Advanced Track: Proverbs 1-3)

²³ After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴ When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.  ²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Application:

I’ve had some bad days, but I don’t think I have had this bad of a day.  Paul and Silas were severely flogged.  Not just flogged, but SEVERELY flogged.  Then they were thrown into the inner cell of a prison and placed in stocks.  That is a bad day.  Kind of puts the things we tend to fuss and fume about into perspective.

Yet notice how Paul and Silas respond to this horrible turn of events.  They prayed and sang songs to God!  Can you picture it?  Too men - bloody and bruised, locked in stocks – praying and singing hymns to God.

Is that your typical response when you go through the hard knocks of life?  What kinds of things come out of your mouth when you face disappointments, frustrations, setbacks, trials, conflicts, hurts, attacks, challenges, etc.?  Are they prayers?  Are they songs of praise to God?  Or do they sound more like $#^%?

Paul and Silas had tremendous faith that God is faithful.  They knew God loved them and cared about them.  They knew God had the power to deliver them.  They knew that God could turn this bad situation around for good.  Rather than fuss and fume, they took their concerns to God in prayer and song.

Prayer and song are powerful.  They can calm us, as well as energize us.  They can bring to mind truth, as well as cast out unhelpful thoughts.  They can focus us and center us on God’s faithfulness, love, and power.

The other prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas.  Their prayers and songs were a powerful witness to the other prisoners.  We might not realize it, but the people around us are listening.  Our coworkers, family, friends, classmates, neighbors are listening to us.  What do they hear when they listen to us?  Are we a witness to the faith, love, power, and hope we have in God?

The next time you have a bad day or go through a difficult situation…

1) Pray or sing a worship song to God
2) Let your words be a witness to the faith, love, power, and hope we have in God

Share your thoughts, questions, and ideas about how to apply this…