Acts 3:6- But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
People don't need anything from us! They need the presence of God!
I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last month about a story in the book of Acts. It comes out of chapter 16, and it's about Paul and Silas. They had just been beaten up and thrown into prison for casting a demon out of a young girl (which in turn cost her owners lots of money).
Anyway, the Bible says that at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. There was a earthquake, and all the doors were opened to the prison and all the prisoners chains fell off.
Did you catch that?! ALL of the prisoners chains fell off! Paul and Silas were the ones that were praising God, but everyone's chains fell off.
There is so much to glean from the examples of Paul and Silas here, but one thing has really struck me recently as I have thought about this passage.
When Paul and Silas praised God, not only did their chains fall off, but everyone else's did too. What I notice here is that this is NOT about Paul and Silas' songs or prayers alone. The prisoner's chains did not fall off because of their singing... they fell off because the Presence of Almighty God entered that prison and loosed their chains.
Do you catch the subtle difference in the way we can start to view our responsibility versus God's responsibility in the story. It would be easy to say (and not incorrect) that it was Paul and Silas' praise that loosed the chains; but I think that puts too much pressure on us as humans.
When you or I are praying for a loved one that doesn't know Jesus, it is not our responsibility to win them over. It isn't our responsibility to loose their chains. It is our responsibility to fix our eyes on God and speak (and sing) truth in the hearing of those that are bound up. God looses the chains, not me. It's not about how good I can praise, it's only about His Presence.
I don't know about you, but that brings such a feeling of freedom to my heart! My responsibility is to fix my eyes on God and praise Him for who He is. The Bible says that He inhabits the praises of His people, and it is His Presence that changes hearts and lives.
Be free to praise Him today for who He is. Be willing to look past the reality of perhaps your own midnight hour, and fix your eyes on the truth of God's Word. Be willing to release control of your own circumstance into His loving and able hands, and watch Him do what only He can do- in your life and in the lives of those who hear Your praise!
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