Scripture Focus
'We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ' 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (https://my.bible.com/bible/111/2CO.4.8-9)
'About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 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. ' Acts 16:25-26
When things are going badly in our lives, the last thing we want to do is worship God. We want to curl up in a ball and feel defeated. We want to give up. We don’t want to face our circumstances. We don’t think we can recover from our situation. We may also wonder, “ How can I praise God in when everything is going wrong?”
Let us look at an example of this situation in the Bible. Paul and Silas were missionaries that preached the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire. They travelled to a city called Philippi. There, they were wrongly accused of a crime. They were nearly lynched by a mob. They were unlawfully arrested and beaten by the authorities. They were then imprisoned (unlawfully) in the local prison. Instead of being discouraged and defeated, they decided to pray and sing hymns to God. Paul and Silas worshipped in the midst of their extreme circumstance. Their prayers and worship were powerful. In fact, their prayer and worship were so powerful that it shook the foundations of the prison, opened the doors of the prison, and loosened the chains of those who were imprisoned (See Acts 16).
What can we learn from this passage? We can learn this: Your greatest difficulties and troubles can be an opportunity to worship and truly trust God. When we worship, pray and trust God in our circumstances, we can see God move in a way that we could not have imagined. If God can move to open physical prison doors and loosen physical chains, what can He do in your life?
God can loose our chains, open our prison doors and shake the foundations of the prison in which we are imprisoned. We all have our personal chains and prisons. We can’t remove or escape from these things in our lives with our own strength. We need God to help us. We need God to do only what He can do when we worship, pray to and trust in Him.
We need God, now more than ever.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father,
We thank you for every reader of this blog. We pray that You would give us the Grace to worship You in the middle of our storms and uncertainties. We thank you Lord for sending Jesus to die on the cross for us. We thank you for washing away our sins through the shedding of our Savior’s blood on the cross. We thank you for giving us eternal life. We love you Lord. We give You all the glory, honor and praise. Teach us how to worship You in the midst of our storms. We pray that every chain will be broken. We pray that we would not be destroyed in our storms.
We ask all these things in Jesus Matchless and Most Holy Name.
Amen.
If anyone has not received Jesus as their Lord and Savior and wishes to do so, please say the prayer below:
Heavenly Father,
Please forgive me for my sins.
I invite You Jesus into my heart as my Lord and Savior.
Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to follow You.
I ask this in Jesus name.
Amen
Please feel free to email me with any prayer requests at Hisdaughter@convowithgod.com
Prayer requests are always confidential.
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