Title: Gratitude and Praise in Prison
Gratitude and praise in prison
Text: Acts 16:25-26
“About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and praising God, and the prisoners heard them. Then suddenly there was a great earthquake, and the courthouse moved, and immediately all the doors were opened, and all the bonds of everyone were taken off.”
In the book "The Lord is My Refuge," Coriten Boom tells the story of how he and his sister Bestie were arrested for helping Jews escape the Nazis. Corey and Bestie were first sent to a concentration camp in Ravensbrook. When they were shoved into a barracks lined with floorboards that housed hundreds of prisoners, they were terrified of their filth, stench and miserable appearance. My stomach was upset and I was vomiting, so I flopped down on the dirty bed, where fleas were swarming. Corey complained, crying, "Bestie, how do you live in a place like this?"
“Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4).
What kind of power is revealed when we give thanks and praise God even in prison and in suffering?
1. Get God's help even in the middle of the night.
In Acts 16:22 and below, Paul and Silas were unfairly beaten and imprisoned in a deep prison. However, even in the midst of suffering, they did not get discouraged and prayed and praised God. Then there was an earthquake enough to move the prison gates, but when the prison doors were opened, the jailer repented and the officers in Philippi were afraid, so Paul and Silas were released. So Paul and Silas exalted the name of God and went out on their own feet proudly.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19).
2. It can heal the heart, give peace, and change the prison environment into gratitude.
“When the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David brought a harp and played with his hand, and Saul was refreshed and healed, and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Samuel 16:23).
Prisons and monasteries are similar in that they are "isolated", but there is a huge difference in their content. About this difference I think:
"The fundamental difference between a prison and a monastery is simply whether they complain or give thanks. When an imprisoned prisoner has the same "gratefulness" as a monk, the prison will be sublimated into a monastery, while If you have a heart, the monastery will be reduced to a prison.
A person who lives in gratitude when isolated can take care of the environment meaningfully.
Living for the Lord will never regret. Because whether we live or die, it is the Lord's. (Romans 14:8)
“I give thanks to God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).
3. Fear goes away.
“I will trust in God, and I will sing praises to His words; I have trusted in God, and I will not fear. What can flesh and blood do to me?” (Psalm 56:4)
“My soul, why are you discouraged and why are you troubled within me? Put your hope in God, and I will still praise my God for his appearing and helping” (Psalm 42:11). Let's sing rejoicingly toward us.
4. To make sinners repent and turn to the Lord.
“You have put in my mouth a new song, a song of praise to our God; when many will see it, they will be afraid and will trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:3).
One night while he was on his knees praying in tears, he felt someone standing behind him. When he turned around, the murderer looked at his face and asked, "What are you doing?" "I'm praying," he replied, "for what are you praying?" he asked bluntly. “I was praying for you,” replied the pastor, wiping away tears. Soon the murderer gave his heart to the Lord.
His changes were so great that the rumors spread throughout the prison. Finally, the prison warden called him to ask what the hell he did to the killer. "I didn't do anything. I just prayed for him and it was God who changed him." This was his answer.