And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of Salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the Name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers. Acts, Chapter 16, verses 16-19.
I’m going to skip some verses to get to the part where Paul is imprisoned.
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And 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 bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. Acts, Chapter 16, verses 23-36.
There’s more to the story. Paul wouldn’t leave the prison because they had been publicly chastised and the magistrates were trying to secretly let them out. Paul wanted to be publicly cleared of all the charges, which eventually happened.
This passage makes me think of how perfectly God looks after the people that spread His Word. I was thinking of Daniel in the lion’s den and how he wasn’t harmed. It brings to mind lots of others, as well. Noah and his family were saved from the flood by God letting him know he was to build an ark. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were not burned in the fiery furnace. Peter was let out of jail by the angel. The list of miracles, where God distinctly protects those that are doing His will, goes on and on. It’s hard for me to imagine that anyone wouldn’t want God in their corner. I sure do!
Because this is an example of how I’ve applied this Bible passage to my life, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passage.
This is a connection I've made from this Bible passage. Please
share your connections.
