Acts 16:25 KJV
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
The Bible does not tell us much about those prisoners confined with Paul and Silas in this passage.
We do not know what the charges were that were laid against them
We do not know if they had been yet convicted or not
We do not know if they were previously violent people
In fact, there are only two things we do know
We know that, as Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God, those prisoners heard and
We know that when the jail cells were opened because of the earthquake, those same prisoners chose not to escape.
And one cannot help but come to the conclusion that the reason they did not escape is because they heard Paul and Silas when they prayed and sang praises.
We can, without stretching the Word of God in any manner, view those prisoners as types of the souls on this planet. We are each of us trapped here. We have been given a death sentence; we just don't know when it will be carried out. Some of us have it a little easier than others and some of us are angrier than others. But we are all in the same earthly prison.
Inside this prison is a small group of people who have found true joy and peace; freedom despite their chains. They do not fear death but see it as the door that opens up the bars of prison and sets them free body and spirit.
Now here is the key to the passage: the prisoners must be able to hear the prayers and singing of those who have been set free in spirit, if not in body. We who have a reason to pray and sing must learn to do it in a manner that is visible and audible to the rest. Someone said recently (I can't remember where I read it) that "The gospel has never won all who had heard it, but the gospel has always won some who have heard it."
They simply must hear it.
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
The Bible does not tell us much about those prisoners confined with Paul and Silas in this passage.
We do not know what the charges were that were laid against them
We do not know if they had been yet convicted or not
We do not know if they were previously violent people
In fact, there are only two things we do know
We know that, as Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God, those prisoners heard and
We know that when the jail cells were opened because of the earthquake, those same prisoners chose not to escape.
And one cannot help but come to the conclusion that the reason they did not escape is because they heard Paul and Silas when they prayed and sang praises.
We can, without stretching the Word of God in any manner, view those prisoners as types of the souls on this planet. We are each of us trapped here. We have been given a death sentence; we just don't know when it will be carried out. Some of us have it a little easier than others and some of us are angrier than others. But we are all in the same earthly prison.
Inside this prison is a small group of people who have found true joy and peace; freedom despite their chains. They do not fear death but see it as the door that opens up the bars of prison and sets them free body and spirit.
Now here is the key to the passage: the prisoners must be able to hear the prayers and singing of those who have been set free in spirit, if not in body. We who have a reason to pray and sing must learn to do it in a manner that is visible and audible to the rest. Someone said recently (I can't remember where I read it) that "The gospel has never won all who had heard it, but the gospel has always won some who have heard it."
They simply must hear it.
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