²⁵ But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; ²⁶ and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. Acts 16:25-26

We set a young woman free of her evil spirit. We proclaimed the Word of God. For that, our clothes were torn off us, and we were beaten with many rods, taken to the inner prison and locked in stocks!

He put them into the inner prison, the dungeon, into which none were usually put but condemned malefactors, dark at noon-day, damp and cold, dirty, it is likely, and every way offensive, like that into which Jeremiah was let down (Jer. 38:6); and, as if this were not enough, he made their feet fast in the stocks. Matthew Henry

In the midst of pain, darkness, filth, and fatigue, Silas and Paul prayed and sang.

Some of the sweetest times I’ve spent with the Lord have been those times of great pain. In that pain, by His grace, the Holy Spirit focused me on God’s great love, His awesome rest.

People watched Paul and Silas in their pain. People watched me in the pain of fibromyalgia. People are watching you.

In the prayer and worship, God worked a miracle. He sent an earthquake to open the prison doors and break the chains of pain.

“What must I do to be saved?”

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

The divine appointment?

Appointed with  rods and stocks.

Timed in the dark of midnight.

Punctuated with praying and singing.

Rocked in the earthquake.

Saved in mercy.

Wrapped in the love of God.

Sometimes divine appointments begin in pain, but they always end glorifying God.

I wonder what miracles and salvation would result if the world found us praying and singing praises in the midst of our trials, our pain, our dark nights.

My prayer for you

Father, You alone know the divine appointments awaiting our obedience to Your guidance. Quicken our hearts and minds to rest in our circumstances. Empower us to pray and sing Your praises in whatever situation we find ourselves. We await Your divine appointments and give You the praise.