Acts 16 Summary - Pray and Sing Praises

Observation

v10 Says that they immediately, "endeavored to go."

v13 "where prayer was wont to be made" Prayer was involved so much.

v28 "Do thyself no harm."

This is after being beaten openly, receiving many stripes, thrown into prison, with their feet tightly in the stocks.

They said "Do thyself no harm." to somebody else.

Their concern was for others.

Interpretation

v9,10 When somebody calls for me to come help them, what am I supposed to think that the Lord wants me to do, besides preaching the gospel to them?

v25 Midnight makes me think of being in the middle of the hardest time. It seems like midnight, because we're so busy, and have so little time, and so many people are sick, and dying, and there are so many things to pray about, and so much work to do.

v26 Marvelous Promises

all the doors were opened

Many times I pray for the Lord to "open doors," meaning for Him to give us opportunities for Himself, especially for preaching the gospel.

The Lord is promising that, in the middle of the hardest time, in response to prayer and singing praise, suddenly all the doors will be open. He's going to give us all kinds of the opportunities.

everyone's bands were loosed.

People need saved, and people have bands of sin, being enslaved to wickedness, and we have lots of troubles that are like bands that need loosed. Part of the promise of the Lord is that everyone's bands will be loosed.

This verse has marvelous promises.

v28 Remember that their concern was for others (Do thyself no harm.) Even after going through great pain and an incredibly hard time and what could have been miserable, our concern must not be to get other people to pity us, because the Lord will pity us, but to comfort the brethren when we see them, even in a time like that.

Application

v40 When they had seen the brethren, they comforted them. The brethren needed comfort after these had gone through this hard time. When 1 member suffers, all members suffer with it. We should remember those who are bound, as bound with them, and weep with those who weep.

v28 "Paul cried with a loud voice" We should be this brave, but it must be the appropriate situation.

v29,30 "Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down... And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" This, is what I call, an open door! It led to his spiritual bands of wickedness being loosed. But we must be brave enough, first, to cry to the person, with a loud voice.

v25 Pray and Sing Praises

It says they, "prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them."

Before, sometimes I thought of singing praises as something to do when I'm happy (and it is.) But when I'm in the middle of the hardest time, I need to sing praises to God.

the prisoners heard them.

There are people who are lost, needing saved, and not walking with the Lord, who are "prisoners," in captivity to sin and the enemy. This is also a promise that people hear us praying and singing praises. It's a testimony, and actually 1 way to do outreach.