Paul and Silas entered the prison at Philippi after being beaten and given many stripes. The keeper thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks (Acts 16:23-24). They were hurt, confined, and unable to change their circumstances.
Brandon followed the passage through four parts: “Their place. The prison they occupied. Their praise. The worship they offered. Their power. The earthquake that happened. Their proclamation. The gospel they preached to a broken jailer.”
The prison they occupied
Paul and Silas did not choose this place. Their obedience to God had cost them. When Paul commanded the spirit to come out of the woman in the name of Jesus Christ, her masters saw that their hope of gain was gone. They brought Paul and Silas before the magistrates, stirred up the crowd, and had them beaten and imprisoned (Acts 16:16-24).
Brandon brought that prison close to home: “Maybe your prison isn’t a jail cell. Maybe it’s a marriage that’s hard, a job that’s grinding you down, a season where nothing’s coming together, or a small church that feels like it isn’t growing.”
Acts 16 does not hide the pain of the place. Paul and Silas carried the marks of the beating into the inner prison. Their feet were still in the stocks when midnight came.
The worship they offered
“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:25, KJV).
They prayed and sang while the prison was still closed. The earthquake had not come. Their bands had not been loosed. They praised God before they knew how the night would end, and their praise was loud enough for the other prisoners to hear.
“God is not silent. He’s listening.” Paul and Silas prayed to the God who heard them in the inner prison. Their wounds, the hour, and the stocks did not put Him beyond their reach.
The earthquake that happened
Then the prison shook. Acts 16:26 records a great earthquake that shook the foundations, opened every door, and loosed every prisoner’s bands. The keeper woke, saw the doors open, and drew his sword because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
Paul stopped him: “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here” (Acts 16:28, KJV). The open doors gave Paul a chance to run, but he stayed and called out to save the keeper’s life. The keeper asked for a light, came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas.
God opened the prison in Philippi at midnight. Acts 16 gives no timetable for other trials. Paul and Silas worshipped while the door was closed, and they used the open door to care for the man who had kept them in chains.
The gospel they preached
The keeper brought Paul and Silas out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31, KJV).
They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. He washed their stripes, and he and his household were baptized. The same man who had secured their feet in the stocks brought them into his house, set meat before them, and rejoiced because he believed in God (Acts 16:32-34).
Brandon’s message stayed with the God Paul and Silas praised: “You can praise in your prison. The same God that loves the men of this Bible is the same God that loves you.” Before the night ended, the jailer and his household heard the word of the Lord, believed, were baptized, and rejoiced.