Acts 16:27 And the jailer, waking up out of his sleep and seeing the doors of the prison opened, drew his sword and was about to do away with himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. (28) But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, Do no harm to yourself, for we are all here. (29) And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in; and trembling, he fell down before Paul and Silas (30) And leading them outside, he said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (31) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household. (32) And they spoke the word of God to him together with all those in his house. (33) And he took them with him in that very hour of the night and washed their wounds. And he was baptized immediately, he and all his household. (34) And he brought them up into his house and set a table before them; and he exulted because he had believed in God with all his household.
[Part 2 of 2] When you pray, you are still in the midst of your situation. But when you praise, you soar above your situation. While you are praying and pleading, you are bound by your affairs; you are not out of them. The more you plead, the more you find yourself bound and pressed. But if God takes you above the jail, the chains, the painful wounds on the body, the suffering, and the shame, you will offer praises to His name. Paul and Silas sang hymns. They sang praises to God. They were brought by God to the point where the jail, the shame, and the pain were no longer a problem to them. They could praise God. When they praised in such a way, the doors of the jail opened, the chains fell off, and even the jailer was saved. We need to learn to maintain this lofty spirit, this spirit that surpasses all attacks. Prayers may not bring us to the throne, but praise surely brings us to the throne at any time. Prayers may not enable us to overcome every time, but praise does not fail even once. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, Messages for Building Up New Believers, pp. 251-252. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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