October 28, 2019
Monday, October 28, 2019 at 2:06AM October 28
Running with Jesus
Acts 16:25-26 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.”
After the beating yesterday, we find Paul and Silas cast into prison and chained, but they had a prayer meeting and sang praises to the Lord! What a prayer service! Look what happened when they sang and praised in the midst of their suffering; an earthquake began, the doors flew open and their bands or chains fell off! What a sight to behold! Wouldn’t you like to have seen the face of those prison guards! They even drew swords to kill themselves because if the prisoners were to escape a death order was placed upon their lives.
This is a place to start learning how to handle your adversity. In the early days of depression I had in the eighties God taught me from this passage I was to praise Him and to sing to Him in the darkness. The prisons were usually dark and cold sometimes we get so low in spirit we feel chained, beaten, and imprisoned. Praising was one way God used to bring me up out of my emotional prison. It helped loose me from those chains by taking my mind off my circumstance and placing my thoughts back upon the Lord. My emotions would come under control, joy and peace returned. What we dwell upon determines where our emotions go.
After my spiritual beatings I began to learn to be Spirit controlled not emotionally controlled. God would many years later use my emotional beatings to begin a ministry to help others.
Father, I pray for that soul emotionally bound today to turn it into an opportunity to praise and sing unto You. Help them feel their chains fall and walk in freedom of Your spirit in the midst of their suffering.
In the morning, first Prison Ministry begins!
Judy Hollaway
Originally penned 2015
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