Elements for victory

Acts 16:25 - "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them."

We should all know this story well. Paul and Silas are imprisoned for delivering a servant girl from a demonic spirit. They were beaten with many stripes as well. Now this would seem like a good occasion to fault God, to complain and grumble and become angry and bitter. That is not the case at all here. These two Spirit filled men did something that no doubt was a common part of their lives, they had a wonderful church service. Prayer here was there petitioning God and singing was not just them bellowing out the latest Christian songs, but rather was most likely some of the Psalms of the Old Testament. Maybe it was "Bless the Lord, O' my soul (Ps. 103) or even "God is my refuge and strength (Ps. 46) or even some of the early church hymns (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The point is this, prayer and scriptural truths sustained these apostles in their dark hour and that is exactly what will sustain you and me in the storms of our lives. Cultivate a life of prayer and scripture reading and you will stand the tests of life, for in these you will know Christ in His nearness.