The Midnight Hour

One of the greatest stories in the Bible of Paul and Silas breaking out of jail is not just a story. It’s a miracle that has many implications.

They had planned it a trip to Asia, and God said no, then they planned a trip to Borneo and God said no. In following God’s will they end up in dire circumstances, in a Roman jail, a dungeon in stocks with a guard. Now they’re in dire circumstances and it’s time to pray. 

Midnight is a good time to sing and pray. I guess anytime is a good time to pray but this was a special prayer meeting. They prayed so hard they rocked the jail and I suppose the guard wondered “what in the world was going on?” 

11:50 time to start singing, the clock is ticking. At 12:00 we’re going to have a miracle and let’s get ready. It’s getting close, the hands will soon be straight up. I can just hear them singing at the top of their lungs, stopping long enough to say to God, “Get  us out of here.”

In obeying God they had faced terrible circumstances. They had been beaten, and in those days when you received a beating, they beat you so hard that your bones stuck out. All of this for obeying what God told him to do. But the result, the jail completely demolished, the jailer and his family coming to Faith and the resulting miracles that happened. 

Each of us has faced our midnight crisis and the only thing we can do is sing and pray. The clock is ticking, let’s get ready time to pray.

James Neuhouser