Midnight Prayer Meeting (2)

Midnight Prayer Meeting

Acts 16:19-34

Romans 8:28 KJV 1900

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Paul would write these words in Romans 8:28, but he would learn their meaning in Acts 16. I want us to read together beginning in verse 19 picking up with the aftermath of Paul releasing the demon possessed girl from bondage…Read with me…

The Bible says the girl's owners were livid with Paul and Silas. They "Caught" them, meaning to seize by force, and "drew" them, meaning to drag, to the public square before the rulers of the city. What were the charges? Read verse 20-22…. they were Jews. They were disturbing the peace; they were teaching there is only one God and one way to Him through Jesus. They had the nerve to tell these Greeks the truth!

Paul and Silas quickly found themselves as unpopular…those who speak the truth often are. They were brought before a mob, and like any good mob, they were whipped into a frenzy! They were angry, and they did not even know why! The took Paul and Silas and they unlawfully beat them! (It was against Roman law to beat a Roman citizen - Paul was not given a chance to speak on his own behalf). They were then drug from the market to the jailer, who was commanded to lock them securely in prison for their crimes!

Upon pain of death, the jailor took the men to the safest cell in the prison, he put them in "stocks". There would be a wooden bench they would have been set on. Bolted to the floor would have been a wooden beam for their ankles to be secured to. They would have had shackles on their hands. On the wall behind them would have been another beam to which their heads would have been locked in! With their mutilated backs, can you imagine the pain and discomfort they were in?

Still, later Paul would write, "And we KNOW that ALL things work together for good to them that love God…" "good” What good could come from this? What could anyone possibly say was "good" in this situation? Paul did not just write those words in Romans, he lived them in Acts! He was about to see God take a terrible situation, and work it out for his good.

Proposition: Listen to me, do not waste the trial you are in. Trust that God is going to use it for your good!

Interrogative: What is God trying to work out for you good today?

TS: This passage amazes me! When your back is against the wall remember to…

Pray v. 25a

I want to point out that they were not begging God to release them from prison, the word is a word for "Thanksgiving" or "worship"…imagine that…they were beaten, in pain, locked in prison and they were worshiping God for it!

How contrary to our mindset! When we are in a bad situation we grumble, gripe, and complain! Worship is the last thing on our minds! Shame on us! For all of God's goodness to us, the least we can do is praise Him in the dark.

We sing "God on the Mountain" but we don't believe it! We read nowhere that God has promised to deliver us from trials, but see many examples of God being with us in the trials! Consider the Hebrews boys in the fiery furnace. God did not keep them from the fire…He kept the fire from them!!!

What fire, what prison, what pain, what suffering, what trial, what difficulty, are you facing that God has not promised to be with you all the way through it?

Christian, God is not simply worthy of your worship in the good times, but in the bad times too! Remember, if you "love the Lord" He is going to work it out for your good! That is a promise!

Remember: prayer time is not "request" time, it is worship time! Prayer is when you get alone with God and just worship Him! When your back is against the wall, first you pray, then you…

Praise v. 25b

These were not sad songs.

They were not singing

"Nobody knows the troubles I've seen. Nobody knows my sorrow."

They were not singing "Swing low, sweet chariot, coming forth to carry me home."

They were singing

"For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley"! They were singing "TO God be the glory, GREAT THINGS HE HATH DONE!" .

They were singing "Blessed assurance, JESUS IS MINE!"

They were singing "HOW GREAT THOU ART”

They were singing "There is Power in the blood”

They were singing Praises to God!!!

Christian if you can't praise God in the prison at midnight, then you can't praise him in the day.

This was no quiet concert either!

The Bible says, the prisoners heard them….

the word 'heard' means they were listening intently!

They took notice.

Sinners take notice when God's people praise Him in every circumstance.

Talk about trust in God! They were in prison! Do you understand what this tells us? It tells us what we should already know: we can, we should, we ought, to worship God anytime, anywhere, no matter the situation!

Chained there in that prison cell with his back bleeding and no hope of tomorrow, Paul never lost faith in God. He said, “I know all things work together for good...” His faith in God allowed him to turn the prison into a church! Listen...

If in your darkest hour you cannot pray, if in your darkest hour you cannot praise God, then, you will never see the…

Power vv. 26-34

I want to point out that Paul and Silas were not desperate.

They were not asking for God to release them, to do something magnificent,

they were not seeking a miracle…but one came just the same. .

At midnight, in the darkness of their cell these men began to worship and sing praise to God and God showed up!

Notice the miracle

The earthquake was powerful enough to shake the very substructure of the prison,

it supernaturally caused not only the doors to open up on all the cells, but it caused the shackles to fall off…. i

nteresting word usage here, "loosed" means to "give up"…

their handcuffs simply "gave up"! However, this was not the greatest miracle which took place at this midnight prayer meeting…

None of the prisoners left, yet "all" the doors were opened, and "all" the shackles had been "loosed".

Yet the men stayed put, all of them!

Today, they would have made a run for it! Not in that Philippian jail!

They were too awestruck to move!

But that was not the greatest miracle which took place at the midnight prayer meeting!

The Jailer, supposing all the prisoners were gone, facing severe punishment, possibly death, chose the Roman way out: Suicide.

His case was hopeless, and he was helpless and as he was about to fall on his sword,

Paul called out, "Do thyself no harm: for we are all here".

In shock the jailer changed his mind and instead, terrified, ran into the cell… he was going to die, but his life was saved…

but that is not the greatest miracle which took place at the midnight prayer meeting.

What was the greatest miracle?

Read verse 30 with me…

The greatest miracle which took place at that midnight prayer meeting was that the jailer who would gladly kill himself over the loss of his prisoners, instead found out the truth:

He, himself, was the prisoner!

There in that prison he found the way out, through faith in Jesus Christ!

Conclusion: I doubt that Paul or Silas either one was excited when they were grabbed by the crowd and drug before the magistrates.

I doubt very seriously that they were pleased with their situation while they were being beaten.

I am almost certain that they were not comfortable with being thrown into prison.

I will go one further, I do not believe they were thinking to themselves, "Don't worry. God is going to work this out to our good because we love Him and we are called according to His purpose."

However, that is exactly the lesson they learned.

What "prison" are you in today? What unforeseen circumstance are you dealing with that is trying your faith? Whatever it is, remember, if you love God and are in His will, He is, right now, working it out for your Good.

If God can take a beating, and a prison stay and turn it into a revival meeting, He can do the same for your situation. How? You must:

A. Pray. Call out to God. Pray for strength. Pray for wisdom. Pray for courage. Worship Him in prayer. Seek Him in prayer.

B. Praise. Do not ever be ashamed to praise God. Praise Him in private. Praise Him in public. Sing to Him. Call out to Him. Fall on your face before Him, but praise Him.

C. Power. If in your darkest hour you do not pray or praise, you will not see the power of God.

Maybe today you are in a dark place. There is hope. His name is Jesus.