Midnight Praises

The dark has always been the topic of many scary stories and movies. If we are honest, especially during our childhood years, we have many stories about our experiences in the dark. In the book of Acts, Paul and Silas had a midnight experience. It was not an imagined experience; their experience was real. They were in Philippi doing missionary work when they encountered a young woman with a problem. She followed them shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” (Acts 16:17 NLT) You see, she was a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future and her master made a lot of money because she was a fortune teller.

Eventually, the Apostle Paul had a reaction. Verse 18 says,  “This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.” Her employer was angry and had Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into jail. This was no ordinary beating and they sat in jail. What would you do in that situation? Well Paul and Silas began to sing and praise God. They sang so loudly that the prisoners heard them. They were living through a real-life midnight experience. As they continued singing and praising God, an earthquake shook the prison, and every prisoner was freed.

Midnight experiences are not pleasant. Paul and Silas were not singing because they did not understand what happened to them. They were singing and praising God because they knew that the difficulty of their midnight experience demanded the sacrifice of praise. When you face your midnight experience, change will not come into your life because you are sitting and crying. Cry if you must but dry your tears and take some time and praise God in your midnight experience and watch Him bring change into your life.

Thought for Today: Friend when life gets tough; praise God.

Have a blessed day and walk in faith and victory.