Reading
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
Acts 16:25-28
Reflection
After Paul and Silas had been in Philippi for several days, they were put in prison (ironically, for setting an exploited woman free). Around midnight, in stocks in prison, they were praying and singing hymns. Luke reported that an earthquake shook the prison (again with no further explanation). Paul and Silas calmed their jailer’s fears (if a Roman jailer let prisoners escape, he usually suffered the prisoners’ penalty), and led him and his family to new life in Christ.
Okay, let’s think about this—“Around midnight, in stocks in prison, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns.” To what extent can you deal with even a long line at the store or the DMV office by praying and singing hymns (inwardly if not outwardly)? In what ways does Paul and Silas’ example provide a benchmark to help you assess how much room you have to keep growing toward spiritual maturity?
After the earthquake, Paul’s jailer prepared to kill himself rather than face the sentence of any prisoners he let escape. Scholar N. T. Wright said his question in verse 30 meant, “Will you please tell me how I can get out of this mess?” Paul and Silas’ reply—“Believe in the Lord Jesus”—reached beyond his immediate concern, and spoke to the whole broken, lost mess we humans face.
It’s a basic question each of us has to answer: do you believe in (not just “about”) Jesus?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, from Lydia, a wealthy merchant, to a desperate, nameless jailer, you were (and are) the final answer to the whole spectrum of human need. I trust you to be the ultimate answer to all of my needs, too. Amen.
This Reading & Reflection is adapted from the “Grow.Pray.Study” guide created by Resurrection’s ShareChurch team for the sermon series, “The Call.” Shared with permission and minor formatting edits by Acts 2 UMC.
