SINGING AT MIDNIGHT

It takes a certain kind of courage to sing hymns at midnight in prison.

Paul and Silas had been dragged through the city by a mob, arrested and beaten by the authorities, then imprisoned and placed in stocks, likely designed for maximum discomfort—yet they were singing at midnight. Their faith, joy, and courage were not dependent on their circumstances. It is significant that Paul and Silas were not merely singing; they were specifically “praying and singing hymns to God.” Their focus was on God, not on themselves, not on their circumstances, not on those who might be overhearing.

In the poetry of the book of Job, God is described as the one “who gives songs in the night” (Job 35:10). It is God who inspires us with the ability to respond with joy and courage in the midst of difficult circumstances. We might also observe that other people noticed. The narrative makes it clear that “the other prisoners were listening to them,” but so too was the jailer and his family. After an earthquake shook Paul and Silas free, they were able to rescue the jailer from his fear and share the story of Jesus with him and his family.

The earthquake would have caught the jailer’s attention, but it must have seemed to him that it was a response to the prayer and praise of Paul and Silas.

The next morning, Paul and Silas were released by the embarrassed city officials, but the apostles stopped by Lydia’s house on their way out of the city.

The encouragement that Paul and Silas left with this small church community would have mattered all the more as they heard the story of how Paul and Silas had responded to their beating and imprisonment, and how God used that circumstance to connect the jailer and his family with the joy that Jesus brings.