A Most Improbable Prison Break Story

In the first century AD, two men were incarcerated for constituting a nuisance to public peace. Assuming you had somehow been sharing confinement with these two men, that night would probably have been most uncomfortable. Imagine battling heat, fetid body odors, and vermin trying to get some shut-eye. Then two men start singing at the top of their voices, refusing to shut up even though others are probably shouting them down or laughing at them.

It would have been a most unpleasant experience for you, until sometime after midnight when things got a bit more interesting.

“And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.”

(Acts 16:26, KJV)

One moment you would have been full of indignation, the next few moments you would have been incredulous at your sudden and most unexpected freedom. You probably would not hang around much to wonder what exactly happened, as your mind would be working on making a quick getaway.

Strangely, the men who had engineered this prison break were not interested in showing a clean pair of heels.

“And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

  Acts 16:27-31, KJV

If before that time Paul didn’t know why he was in prison even though he had been doing the Lord’s work, I’m sure it became super clear to him. There was a jailer and his family, and perhaps other prisoners, that needed salvation and God was going to do anything to get them saved – including having Paul and Silas in prison.

One important thing (amongst other things) I learnt from this story was the power of praise. Trusting God can become particularly hard when you’re going through a rough patch. I imagine Paul and Silas were at their wits’ end and wisely decided to praise God instead of giving in to despondency. It’s an excellent example to us of what should be our responses to mountains that just won’t move or problems that won’t go away.

In their song, “That’s The Thing About Praise,” Benjamin Hastings and Blessing Offor drop some really profound lyrics about the power of praise. One of my favorite lines was “It won’t always move the mountain/ But it’s good for the heart.” Praise may not always bring the prison walls crashing down, but it has a way of refocusing your heart on the God of all possibilities. It has a way of injecting fresh faith into your heart as you continue to wait on God to show up.

While we can only see what’s right in front of us, God can see the whole picture. In the difficult moments, life can be tough and it can be difficult to keep trusting God to make things end beautifully. But when it seems like the prayers are getting heavier to say with each passing hour or day, try praise. It may not fix the problem, but it’ll tell you how small they are. Try praise.