About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 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.
In all we do we need to turn our eyes off all worldly things and put them onto the Lord.
When we are in time of trouble, we should turn to prayer, but bad circumstances shouldn’t be the only time we pray (praying for why we are in pain). We should also pray of rejoice, thanksgiving, being blessed and pray without quitting. We must also pray with a clean, repentant heart.
One thing you do not want to do is pray that you are innocent.
Pray to have God use you in the place that you are at. Pray in God’s will, not your own will, not the will of others. It is God’s will! It is all in his hands. Trust in him!
We can change the circumstances, but don’t allow the circumstances to change us.
Remember God is in control! God can open the doors and let off our chains. Just like he did with Paul and Silas when they were in prison and praying and then God caused a great earth quake and freed there chains. But they didn’t get up and run, they stayed there. They were set free of the chains, but they know God has a plan and a purpose. Read about the full account of what happened in Acts 16:16-40.
That reminds me of a song as I am typing in these notes into this blog post. It’s called Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) by Chris Tomlin.
There is always a thorn-bush before you get to the clear fields.
Remember no matter what we go through, God always has a plan and a purpose for it. We must take our eyes off what is going on around us in the World and focus it on Christ.
I came across this post while seeing about republishing older content that I feel led to do as newer.
Published March 12, 2013. Republishing with additional info added April 21, 2015.
Notes taken from Pastor Bob’s sermon from March 11, 2012. It was the Sunday Evening Worship Service.
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Random Acts of Kindness: Small Acts, Big Impact, and Showing the Love of Christ | Discover how simple, unexpected acts of kindness can make a difference, reflect biblical compassion, and become opportunities to show the love of Christ. You never know when a random act of kindness might be a God-ordained moment!
Halloween alternatives: Facts on Halloween & Bible verses that pertain to not dealing or imitate darkness, evil, spirits. Participating in Halloween may seem fun. But, there is nothing fun about playing on Satan’s playground. It does not matter how many other people are playing there with you. We should be worshiping the Lord our God and sharing his faith, not inviting the devil to have his fun. #Halloween #HalloweenAlternatives
October 31 is also Reformation Day, Martin Luther wrote The 95 Thesis on this day 500 years ago and nailed it to the Castle Church door in Wittenburg in Germany. I share about Reformation Day and even the full length movie of I Will Not Recant. #ReformationDay #95Thesis #MartinLuther #IWillNotRecant