Keep Singing! | There’s Power in Your Praise, Pt. 2
God appreciates authentic, informed, sincere, passionate praise. - Pastor Charlie Dates
Acts 16:25-31
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
When you praise and worship God, the presence of God is unleashed in the world and it ripples through the bondage of the people around you until they experience the liberating power of Jesus Christ.
The church in the book of Acts is excited and enthusiastic. People are being healed in Jesus’s name. Large groups of people are hearing the word and being convicted.
How do we experience the power of God the way they did?
PRAISE.
Paul and Silas's Praise
In Acts 16, a young girl, who was possessed by a demon and enslaved as a fortune teller, recognized Paul and Silas as being from the Lord. After the Apostle Paul performed an exorcism, the people who had been profiting from her misery were angry.
Paul and Silas end up being severely beaten and thrown in jail. They were in the worst part of the jail. Their feet were put in a mechanism that locked them to the floor and required them to sit up.
They were lied on, cheated, beaten, and thrown in jail for working for the Lord.
What would you do in that situation? Most of us would complain about our circumstances.
But rather than singing the blues and expressing sorrow, hours later, Paul and Silas were singing praises to God.
Then, something supernatural happened…
The shackles fall off their feet and the doors open.
When we’re bound in our darkest moments, we should try praising God. Because when we do, something supernatural happens.
When you celebrate God in the middle of your misery, it’s an act of war against the enemy. God jumps in and works on your behalf when you invite God into your circumstances.
God Is Moved by Midnight Worship
The marker of time mentioned in verse 25 is on purpose.
Midnight is the darkest time of the day.
It’s both literal and metaphorical.
It’s also the time of life. You can be in midnight at 7:00 am.
It’s the time when it’s so dark that God seems far away.
Paul and Silas weren’t quiet or sleeping like everyone else because timing is important when it comes to praise.
The time to praise God isn’t when you feel like it. The time to praise is when the night is as dark as it can get.
God is listening!
Praise should not only be based on how you feel, but it’s an act of your will before God.
God likes to work at midnight.
The children of Israel were released from slavery at midnight (Exodus 12:29).
The Psalmist was in bondage but around midnight he started to sing (Psalm 119).
Midnight Praise Liberates You While It Leads Others to Salvation
Verse 25 says the other prisoners were listening to them. They weren’t doing anything but their chains came off because of Paul and Silas’s praise.
When you and I praise God, the people around us experience the effect.
God inhabits the praises of his people so the people around you are exposed to God.
The jailer sees God move and asks how he can be saved. The other prisoners saw what happened too but they didn’t ask any questions.
Not everyone who is exposed to God experiences God.
Church is the same way. We all are exposed to the power of God. Some of us react and experience God’s power. Others don’t.
Praising God helps you experience him.
Reflection Questions
When faced with difficult circumstances, how do you typically respond—through praise or complaining?
How does Paul and Silas's decision to worship while suffering challenge your understanding of faith?
How can you incorporate intentional praise in your darkest moments?