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

Acts 16:25

The graphic I’ve used for this series of depicts sudden storms. Perhaps one of the most sudden storms for the early church preceded the verse above –

Paul cast a demon out of young woman who worked as a fortune teller in Philippi. Once she was freed, her owners had both Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in jail.

The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Acts 16: 22-24

Imagine being punished for doing good, yet Paul and Silas responded to being beaten and jailed by singing hymns and praying!

Yesterday we thought about Paul’s letter to the Romans and his encouragement that God is at work in all things and he was at work inside that jail.

…Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Acts 16: 26-30

Paul and Silas didn’t know how God would respond while they were in jail, but instead of dwelling on the injustice of it all, they leaned in to their faith and the purpose of their lives.

The next few verses tell us that the man and his household believed and were saved. It wasn’t just the prisoners who were listening.

If someone is listening to us during a moment of crisis, would they be drawn to Christ?