SACRIFICIAL DEVOTION
Opening Prayer
Prepare me to receive and apply what you show me in your Word today, Lord God.
Read ACTS 16:25–40
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 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. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 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 household.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’1
Amid painful suffering and imprisonment, the response from Paul and Silas is remarkable: ‘About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God’ (v. 25). Once again, their willingness to suffer advances the mission. Their spiritual devotion sustains them through danger and pain. They know that God has providentially led them to Philippi (vv. 9, 10) and it may be that they worship God now, not simply despite their sufferings, but even for their sufferings. They are living Paul’s challenging advice, by ‘always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’2
Luke adds a missional dimension to their exuberant worship by noting that ‘the other prisoners were listening to them’ (v. 25). You can imagine how bizarre this must have seemed in an environment of such fear and danger! God responds to their devotion with an earthquake, which spectacularly releases them from their captivity. This is another example of the miraculous confirmation of Paul’s message.3 The jailer certainly interprets the earthquake this way. After almost killing himself in despair and being reassured that his prisoners have not fled, he rushes in and cries out, ‘what must I do to be saved?’ (v. 30). The ensuing salvation of his entire household is a further triumph for the gospel that Paul and Silas proclaim, both in their words and in their vivid example of sacrificial devotion. Paul and Silas are Roman citizens—a major embarrassment for the local authorities, who ask them to leave the city. They don’t leave immediately, however. Their first priority is to strengthen and encourage the new Philippian church meeting in Lydia’s home.
Apply
Paul’s sacrificial devotion in the face of suffering led to dramatic missional breakthrough. How can you emulate this in your own life? Receive God’s all-sufficient grace in your weakness.
Closing prayer
Gracious Jesus, thank you for the message of hope you have given to me and for the privilege that is mine to share it with others. As you give me opportunity, I trust you to work through me and draw others to yourself.
1 2 Cor 12:9 2 Eph 5:20 3 cf. 2 Cor 12:12
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