Praising Our Way to Freedom!

Our God is worthy of our praise—when we feel like praising Him and when we don’t. It is easy to praise Him when we are on the mountaintop, but it is probably more important that we praise Him in the valley—in the midst of difficulty.

In Acts chapter 16, we read the account of Paul and Silas being thrown into the Philippian jail because of the gospel. I can imagine what most of us would do if we were thrown into prison because of our Christian testimony. We would probably whine and complain, “God, why did You allow this to happen to me? I don’t understand. I’m living for you. Don’t You care that I am in this situation because of my stand for You?” What did Paul and Silas do? They prayed and sang praises unto God (v. 25). In the midst of a very bad situation, they chose to lift up the name of Jesus in praise. And verse 25 goes on to say that the prisoners heard them. Paul and Silas were not ashamed for others to hear them give glory to God.

How did God respond to their prayer and praise? Verse 26 says: 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.

You may be bound in a prison of the devil’s making, but in response to your prayer and praise, God will shake the very foundations of your prison! He will open the prison doors and loose the chains that bind you. He has the power to set you free from everything that has you bound—He is waiting for you to pray and praise Him. Most of us are willing to give praise after we receive the victory, but the key is to pray and give thanks to God—to praise Him by faith while we are still in the midst of the problem, knowing that He is going to come through for us.

Another important point that we see in verse 26 is that Paul and Silas were not the only ones set free. The shackles of the other prisoners were also loosed. And in verses 27-33, the jailor and his household received salvation. All of this happened as the result of two men of God making a decision to lift their voices in prayer and praise. I believe this teaches us that because of our acts of worship, God will come on the scene on our behalf and on behalf of other people in our lives, and the miracle working power of God will be manifested.

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 40:3, And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Because we are faithful to praise the Lord, others will see and hear our praise, and their lives will be changed by His power!