Sunday afternoon was a beautiful day and I thought I would take advantage of the nice weather and sit out on the carport to read. Unfortunately the nice weather also brought the bees out. Several large yellow jackets flew into the carport, and began to hover close to the ground near where I was sitting. I looked around to see what I had to defend myself, and found a can of bug killer. When I sprayed it, it came out as a fog so it was hard to make a direct hit on the bees. I noticed though, that some of the bees continued to hover close to the ground as the fog came over them. In just a short time, the spray covered their wings and body and they went to the ground where they were easy prey for my flip-flop. However, some of the bees didn't stay close to the ground; as soon as the fog began to encroach upon them they flew upward and out of the carport to the safety of a tree.
As I was thinking about why some immediately flew away to safety while others lingered near the ground till they were covered and killed, the Spirit spoke to me in that still, small voice - those who linger too long near the ground end up being covered by the spray and destroyed, while those who fly upward get to safety. In the same way, those who are under spiritual attack and linger too long trying to fight the battle in the fog are defeated and sometimes destroyed. But those who fly upward as soon as they sense the attack coming are safe. In spiritual warfare, those who "fly upward" do so in prayer and praise to the Lord. As we praise the Lord, He lifts us above the fog of the enemies attack.
In our study of this section of Acts 16 we have noticed some of the weapons of the enemies warfare - intimidation, incarceration and isolation. In a physical sense, he tried all three on Paul and Silas, and in a spiritual sense he continues to use those weapons against God's people. But, as with Paul and Silas, God gives us weapons to fight back with...
1. Prayer - v.25a
The Bible says in v.25, at midnight Paul and Silas are praying. If I’m Paul or Silas I’m emotionally and physically and spiritually spent. I’m drained to the last drop. I’ve got nothing left to give. Their backs are bleeding from their beating. They are black and blue all over. And they had to be ticked off. I’ve never had a mob form against me, but I’m guessing that’ll set you off emotionally. And to top it off they land in the maximum security cell in stocks! It just doesn’t get much worse than that.
But instead of complaining or just crashing, Paul and Silas are praying to God. Why? Because they understood that spiritual strength comes from communication with God. There is power in prayer. Prayer connects you to the Creator of the universe, and opens the floodgates of His spiritual power in your lives. Paul and Silas had no strength, they had been accused, abused and beaten - they had no strength, so they drew on a power beyond their ability, they were praying to God.
Prayer connects you to the greatest person and the greatest power in the universe. The writer of Hebrews says, "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God, and one of the greatest weapons we have is the weapon of prayer. But for prayer to be effective, you have to utilize it, and you have to do it even when you don’t feel like it, even when you don’t have ideal circumstances, even when you are under spiritual attack or oppression. When you fail to pray because you don’t feel like it, or because your circumstances are hard, you’ve just handed the enemy a victory in your life, because he has gotten you to disconnect from the Person and power that can rescue you from your prison. Give attention to prayer, especially when it is hardest to pray.
2. Praise - v. 25b
Not only were they praying, but they were praising God. Through praise, we acknowledge the power of God. Praise focuses our attention away from our problems to God's sovereign power. It causes us to be reminded that God is on His throne and that He is in control. Through praise, we are enabled to surrender to His divine purpose and abandon ourselves to His sovereign will.
Praise is also a declaration of faith by which we declare the greatness of our God. Charles Swindoll has said, "Every problem is an opportunity to prove God's power. Every day we encounter countless golden opportunities, brilliantly disguised as insurmountable problems."
Through prayer we can tell our God how big our problem is; and through praise, we can tell our problems how big our God is. Through praise, I testify to my faith in an all-powerful God who is worth serving, despite the problems I face, because I know that His power is greater than any problem, and that His purpose for my life transcends any difficulty I might encounter. As Paul write in Romans 8:18: "Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later." (NLT)
3. People - vs. 27-32
Rather than thinking only of themselves, Paul and Silas concerned themselves with those around them who could be influenced by their testimony in their time of trouble. In this case, it was not only the other prisoners, but the jailer and his family.
Notice how Paul and Silas were concerned for both the jailer's safety (vs. 26-27); but his salvation (vs. 28-32). In times of trouble, there are many who concern themselves with the safety of their fellow man. And, certainly, the Christian should be concerned for the physical well-being of others. But if that is the limit of our concern, we will have failed to effectively bear the witness that is needed. We must also be concerned about their salvation.
Difficulties have a dramatic way of causing people to think about eternal things. As Christians, we also must be alert to matters of eternal significance and take advantage of every opportunity we have to urge others to make sure they are prepared for eternity; and to also testify to them about how a personal relationship with God can see you through daily difficulty and troubles in this world. We have a mission given to us by God, to get the gospel to the lost, and we need to be aware of that mission regardless of the circumstances.
In spiritual warfare, your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. I think there are two basic types of people in the world: complainers and praisers. Complainers can always find something to complain about. Praisers can always find a way to worship God regardless of circumstances. Worshiping is taking our eyes off of our external circumstances and focusing on God. We stop focusing on what’s wrong with us or with our circumstances. We start focus on what’s right with God.
Worship is refocusing on the fact that two thousand years ago, Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. It’s refocusing on the fact that God loves me when I least expect it and least deserve it. It’s refocusing on the fact that God is going to get me where God wants me to go. It’s refocusing on the fact that I have eternity with God to look forward to in a place where there is no mourning or sorrow or pain. Worship releases the power of God in our lives and restores the joy of our salvation.
Is it easy? Absolutely not. Nothing is more difficult than praising God when everything seems to be going wrong. But one of the purest form of worship is praising God even when you don’t feel like it because it shows God that your worship isn’t based on circumstances. Worship is based on the character of God.
One of the best books ever written is Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. Frankl was a Holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. Everything was taken away from these prisoners. They were stripped of their clothing, their pictures, and their personal belongings. They even took away their names and gave them numbers. Frankl was number 119,104. Everything was taken away except one thing. Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”
I’m absolutely convinced that the most important choice you make everyday is your attitude. Your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. The outcome of your life will be determined by your outlook on life. If you have a critical or complaining spirit you’ll complain till the day you die. Your life will get worse and worse because you’ll accumulate more and more negative experiences. But if you have a worshipful spirit life gets better and better. Why? Because you accumulate positive memories. At the end of the day, one way or the other, your focus determines your reality!
Paul and Silas were in prison. Their bodies were chained. But you can’t chain the human spirit. That’s what Victor Frankl discovered in the concentration camp. That’s what Paul and Silas modeled over two thousand years ago. Their bodies were chained, but their spirits soared. And when you worship God in the worst of Circumstances you never know what is going to happen. Worship sets the stage for miracles! Worship causes spiritual earthquakes that can change the topography of your life. It may or may not change your circumstances. But it will change your life.
