Our Right to Rejoice: Our Pillar for Rejoicing
Pray and Sing

Scripture Reading: Acts 16:22-28

Key Verse: Acts 16:25

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

As stated in the first devotional for this week’s emphasis, our pillar for rejoicing is: Prayers with thanksgiving. Today we see a model for it. Paul and Silas had been accused falsely, beaten brutally, sentenced unfairly, and shackled mercilessly. At midnight, after all that day’s treatment, they contemplated what to think and do with these circumstances. Wouldn’t you and I have trouble dealing with such treatment? Don’t we have trouble dealing with treatment that isn’t nearly as horrible as what these faithful men endured? How could anyone expect these guys to “rejoice always”?

But, as our printed key verse states, Paul and Silas decided to mix prayer and singing together as their healing salve. This combo was a powerful move that caused a divine earthquake. The jail doors flew open and their shackles fell off! They didn’t run out, seeking a fugitive’s freedom; they didn’t need to. God was on the move and they were at peace with their circumstances!

Our pillar to hold us strong when storms come is this same mixture of prayer and praise. Our prayers should be dripping with thanksgiving for all our God has done and is able to do! We mix in some choruses of worship and praise for the “icing on the cake.” When we do, the same divine power that came into the jail for Paul and Silas will come to us and free us from anxiety or stress.

Father help me not to praise you only when things seem good in my evaluation. Help me to be a person of continual praise. In Jesus’ Name, amen.