The multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore their clothes off of them, and commanded them to be beaten with rods. When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were loosened. Acts 16:22 WEBA girl with a spirit of divination followed Paul and Silas around the city of Philippi for many days. She discerned that they were God's messengers, and she told the people about them, but her words came from an evil source. Paul became 'greatly annoyed' and commanded the evil spirit to leave her. It did, and that is when the fight started.
Paul and Silas were beaten by the mob, then they were dragged through the streets, had their clothes torn off, and then beaten some more with rods. After this they were thrown into a cold dark prison and their feet locked in stocks. They had confronted the kingdom of darkness and then faced a counterattack from the enemy, who worked through his people just as God works through His.
Paul and Silas were in a tight spot. If there was ever a reason to complain, they had one. They had done nothing wrong to begin with, but this is a spiritual war. Instead of complaining, they prayed and sang hymns to God and soon their captivity was changed. In fact, they led some of the people in the jail to the Lord and the magistrates then came and apologized to them. It was a victory. They faced adversity with the right attitude, they overcame, and they led people to Jesus.
When the going gets tough, it is easy to throw up your hands and say, "I have had enough! Why serve God any longer? It brings me nothing but more trouble.' Yet this is not a time for wandering away, it is a time of drawing closer. We are in a battle and God is our refuge in our time of trouble. We should pray more, not less. When the going gets tough, the tough start praying and singing praises to God.
Prayer:Note: Good morning! For those who have not seen the note in the Announcements, one of our wonderful members, Carol Pady, has recently released a new book called "The Holy Spirit: Living in the Spirit"! To find hers and any of our member author sites, visit our page dedicated to them:
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We need you God. Guide us. Amen
Amen
Amen! Father, please show us how we are to fight this battle!
Amen!!
Thank You Jesus for this wonderful day.Help us to live our lives for you.We love you. Amen
Thank you Jesus. I noticed there was no prayer, I love the prayers .thank you Pastors for Refreshing Hope Ministers, I pray that some day we can all meet like a revival, that would be so cool! I love you all
Thank you for pointing that out, Gloria! Could be it got cut off - we will look into that :)!
Amen god is our king of all kings praise God for his love God bless you
Soo true....God hears us. Praising and singing speaks to the dark powers Who is in charge!
All hail the power of king Jesus. So true that when the going gets tough we should pray more. Thank you Jesus for this morning devotion from pastor Dion. Thank you Lord for using pastor Dion through your words to bring encouragement to your people. Heavenly Father I pray to that no weapon that form against us prosper and let no plans of the enemy work in Jesus name amen.
Amen!
Prayer:
Oh Lord, my God, dear Heavenly Father, I need Thee, we need Thee every hour, every minute and every second! Please fill us and seal us with Thy Mighty Spirit, especially at a time like this! Please be our strength and shield, and our lighthouse, to light up the way that we should go. Please strengthen us and increase our faith by Thy Mighty Spirit! Thank you for Your shining examples of Paul & Silas, thank you for all that You have done and will do! In the holy name of Jesus we ask and pray, Amen!
Dear Father, please help me to remember that You are always there for me. Things can go wrong but Your love we receive is a blessing, Amen .
Thank you pastor.
Amen !
When the heat is one, the enemy is angry becasue he knows the power is us is much stronger than what he posesses. He knows that our victory is on the horizon and that he is losing the battle. So we must then sing praises to our Abba Father and Jesus and claim that victory. Then we can receive the freedom that Paul and Silas received and no longer be shackled to our burdens and unanswered prayers! The blessing is near when the enemy pushes us into the corner than with one mighty Hallelujah we knock him out.
We praise you and thank you LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. Thank you for during our tough times, YOU are always there beside us, behind us and before us for we are and YOU are walking with us in our lives, in our hearts, today, tomorrow and all the days of our lives. We love, trust and believe in YOUR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
Praise you Lord! I know you have got my back, and will never leave me nor forsake me.
Amen. I can't praise you enough Lord, even if I had 10,000 tongues. Thank you Father!
Thank you!
PLEASE PRAY FOR THE MAKING OF THE LEFT BEHIND 2 MOVIE :)