Midnight Praises from Prison

 Some people just fall apart when they run into difficult circumstances. Many people get stressed or depressed when things don't go the way they wanted them to go. This makes for a life full of ups and downs. Life is not supposed to be a roller coaster. God desires for us to have an abundant life, no matter what happens in our lives. There are keys to experiencing the abundant life.

Paul and Silas knew those keys. They were beaten and thrown into a dark prison in Philippi. (Acts 16:25) About midnight they were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Just think about that picture for a minute, and let's see what we can learn.

When bad things happen to us, what is the first thing we ought to do? We need to go to the Lord in prayer immediately. We need to ask God to be with us and to give us wisdom to do His will. As we pray, we need to be thankful for all of the blessings God has given us, and we need to pray for His strength to endure the hardships. God loves to answer our prayers in times of need.

Also, we need to sing praises to God. Yes, even when we are in a bad situations, God is worthy of our praise. He is All-powerful and All-loving. When we praise the Lord for who He is, we take our eyes off of the problems and we look at the greatness of God. That makes the problems look small, and it causes us to see the greatness of God to supply our needs. So prayer and praise are two keys to living the abundant life in Jesus.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Acts 18-20.