Why Did Paul And Silas Praise And Pray To God

Why Did Paul And Silas Praise And Pray To God

KEY SCRIPTURES: Acts 16: 16-34; Philippians 4:6

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

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INTRODUCTION

Praise is one of the major reasons Man was created on earth, we are created to give pleasure to God and God inhabits the praises of his own creation. When one is in a situation and no help is coming from anywhere, by praising God means we are inviting God to come into the scene and take control. It is giving that assurance that we trust God completely without fearing the outcome of the situation. Praise opens the gates of Heaven and blessings are recorded once heaven opens. Praising God tarnishes the sadness and magnified goodness in any given situation. Praise is a gift we render to God and the sacrifice of our heart without holding back anything from God. It is giving God due reverence that He deserves. Praying, on the other hand, means deep communication with God to step into a situation one can’t handle with one’s wisdom or strength. Praying to God can come in different dimensions. Paul and Silas came together on a second missionary journey after Paul and Barnabas parted ways. 

Paul and Silas first went to Syria, later they went to Derbe and Lystra, where they met a disciple called Timotheus. Paul had a vision at night about a man praying that they come to Macedonia, and they journeyed to Macedonia. During the missionaries’ time in Philippi, people were saved, and a church was established, but Satan opposed their work. Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and put in prison for their preaching. After they were put into prison, to the amazement of the prison’s guard and prisoners, instead of being fearful or worried, at midnight, they were seen praising and praying to God. Paul and Silas showed to the prisoners that they have a living God, and they are true disciples of God and through that act, they won more souls to the Kingdom of God because the jailer and his whole family were converted and the prisoners too. This article talks more about why Paul and Silas praise and pray to God.

1. THEY TRUST THE MINISTRY GIVEN TO THEM: Psalms 32:8

When Jesus met Paul on the way to Damascus when he was planning to arrest the believers there and bring them back to Jerusalem, Jesus had told him the ministry he was called into. So, when He was arrested with Silas and thrown into prison, he just started this second missionary journey, and he knew that was not the end of his ministry and He had to call on God who called him into the ministry to fight for him so he can be set free from the bondage of imprisonment. Paul and Silas trusted in God to work something good in their favor so that the ministry of reconciliation of people back to God can continue through them. As Christians, we should get closer to God to know the ministry he had called us into so that no matter what we faced on the way during the execution of that calling, we held on to God and trusted Him to give us victory in all ramifications and make us stronger in the ministry.

2. THEY KNOW AND BELIEVE THE GOD THEY SERVE: Daniel 11:32b

Paul and Silas exercised their faith in God when they praised and prayed to God in the prison. They showed that they were good examples of what they believed in. They showed to the people that they know and believe the God they served and that He is ready to save them from all situations and if they were led to be imprisoned, God wants to make them win some souls for him anywhere they found themselves. They know that the God they served can’t leave them or forsake them because He directed them to the place to preach to the people so that they can be saved. As Believers, we are expected to know and believe God always because that is when we can do exploits for God. We can’t preach or claim to serve the God we don’t know personally. People draw closer to God that they see us serve and worship through our actions.

3. THEY KNOW THE SCRIPTURES AND WHEN BEST TO APPLY THEM: 2 Timothy 2:15

The word of God teaches that as Christians, we should never be weary in praising and praying to God even in difficult moments and this is what Paul and Silas applied when they were arrested and imprisoned. It is mentioned that they started praying and praising God at midnight, it shows that midnight prayers and praises can’t be overlooked. Paul and Silas knew they were not fighting humans, but territorial spirits and demons of that area and they needed to paralyze all the evil activities that won’t allow God’s gospel to spread in that area. Being fervent and good Christians that understand deep things of the scriptures, they had to uproot the satanic kingdoms operating in that area by midnight to give room for the word of God even from the prison back to the city they were preaching initially. Their midnight prayers destroyed the covens of darkness, and an angel of liberation was sent to set them free. As Christians, we are to study the scriptures and apply them when necessary to show ourselves as a workmanship that needed not to be afraid even in difficult moments. Also, midnight prayers and prayers should be part of a believer because they always end with rewards and deep revelations are revealed.

CONCLUSION

Paul and Silas did nothing wrong but due to manipulations from the pit of hell, they were unjustly beaten and thrown to prison, the people tried all means to silent them because of their faith in God but through it all, they were not fearful, complaining in misery or sad but at midnight, they called on their God to take control of the situation because they have complete trusted in God. Their praises and praying released the supernatural power of God, proved God’s ways are different and lives were changed. As believers, do we only praise God during good things, or we only pray to God when we need something so bad. Like Paul and Silas, we should always incorporate praising and praying to God all the time in our daily affairs and no matter what the situation may look like, we should fully trust in God and not be moved by any circumstances. God is a living God, and he is still in the business of operating in the supernatural.