“…he put them (Peter and Silas) into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hyms to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddently there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.” -Acts 16:24-26
This week, I went inside a jail for the first time ever. I had no clue what to expect, because the only thing I had to base it on was TV shows and movies. But, this is Central America and I figured jail wouldn’t even look like the ones on TV. I planned on helping lead the women in making a craft, because I like crafts, and honestly, going inside the jail cell with the men kind of scared me.
We got there, and four women came out to participate. We started our time with worship. What an experience! As soon as we began singing, I thought of the story above, where worshiping the Lord literally broke chains. There were no literal chains to be broken, but I knew that spiritual chains were being broken in some capacity through this worship. I knew this, because it wasn’t just the volunteers, the Christians, that were worshiping. The women inmates were worshiping along with us, and not quietly either! Throughout our worship and the two messages that were shared, we could here the men worshiping inside as well. Again, it wasn’t quiet! It was loud, powerful, chain-breaking worship!
God met me at that jail; His presence and His power were undeniable! Any fears I had were completely dissolved and any expectations I had were blown away by Him!
