Praise God now?????? Yes, praise Him now.

Acts 16.16-34 - Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.
When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice." The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.

Good Morning.

Have you ever felt sure that God directed you to do something, and then it either blew up in your face, didn't come to fruition, or simply fizzled out? While I know that Paul and Silas truly trusted God, they must have at least entertained the thought, "But, God--You directed us to Macedonia. . . and without legal provocation these people have stripped us naked, beaten us with rods, and in painful humiliation dragged us through town to prison!" Still they assumed a posture akin to Job's, who centuries before them said--'yet though He slay me, still I will trust Him'. With backs lacerated, bloodied and bruised, and their feet locked down in barbaric stocks like they were a threat to all around them, they did the most peculiar thing: Paul and Silas prayed, and then their prayers turned into praise, as they sang out praises to God. The other prisoners listened. 'Reminds me of stories I have read about current-day persecuted Chinese Christians imprisoned for their faith. . . their impact is huge in the prisons as their fellow inmates watch and listen as the believers continue to bless God though they are beaten, starved and tortured, yet their faith in God sustains them.

Are you feeling battered and beaten up by life? Take a look at what happened in that dark, damp dungeon because we need to take a page from Paul and Silas's hymnbook. You might have missed it, but it was the same 'arrow for your quiver' that Jehoshaphat's story was--it is the praise piece. (read it again: 2 Chronicles 20.1-30, especially verses 21-22) 'Your life going well? Praise God. 'Your life really tough right now? Praise God. There is power and redemption in praising God. Paul wrote to the Philippians, "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS" (caps are mine); and then he said, 'Do not be anxious about anything. . . but in everything-->pray and give thanks, and you'll have peace.' These verses have been so meaningful to me. I remember when my little girl, Amy, at 7 years of age, would think really deep thoughts that worried her--like 'what is the meaning of life? and why am I here?' I would pray these over her at night. Then, when she left home to go to school at U.C. Berkeley, (a dangerous town and campus for more than one reason), I prayed these with her and for her. You'll notice that Paul didn't write these as suggestions; they are in command form.

What was God's reaction to Paul and Silas's prayer and praise to Him? Let's just say He not only heard their prayer, but He moved heaven and earth to rescue them. . . literally. The result? The jailer hears the gospel, believes it for himself, as does his household. Then we see another divine exchange--the jailer cleanses their bodies, and then they cleanse his by baptizing him. 'Love that verse--'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved." Simple. True. Acts 16.31.

The gift of song is a great vehicle for our praises to God. If you can't think of any songs to sing, download or purchase some Christian praise music like Third Day's "Offerings" or "Offerings Two". The old hymns of the faith are treasures to sing to God--rich in meaning and standard-bearers of our faith. Praising God glorifies Him, and changes both our hearts and our dispositions. Praising God elevates our gaze from our situations to the One who gives us an eternal perspective and is capable of answering desperate prayers or changing us so we can persevere--sometimes all three. What were Paul and Silas singing? Probably psalms--it was the songbook of the Jews. "Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!" Psalm 147.1 The psalms are replete with praise for God--take them as your own, and praise God with the psalmist's words. . . go ahead, you can do it! Praise God now. Christine (DiGiacomo)