I deal with a lot of anxiety and depression issues. When I go through these difficult attacks, I often feel like a prisoner in my own mind; shackled to a soldier of the enemy, fearing I will never break free.
Our scripture today recounts the time that Paul and Silas were thrown into prison; their feet shackled, but not their spirits.
It could have been so easy for Paul and Silas to give up, give in, and give out. Beaten, flogged, exhausted, hungry, and defeated, they could have allowed themselves to become mental as well as physical prisoners.
Instead of complaining, questioning, or doubting God—they praised him with songs of worship at midnight.
Why at midnight? I find that many attacks from the devil come when it is nighttime, for that is where he cowers, in obscurity; waiting for us to be blinded by the darkness. The enemy knows that we are weaker in the dark.
Charles Spurgeon says, “Any fool can sing in the day. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight. But how it is to sing when there is not one ray of light to read by. Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the power of men.”
As Paul and Silas began to sing hymns, “Suddenly there was a violet earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.” (Acts 16:25).
Suddenly.
And notice that everyone who was listening to the praise had their chains loosed. Why? Because worship changes the circumstances. It changes the atmosphere. It breaks, it loosens, it renews, and it restores everything around it.
Anytime I feel shackled in my mind, I worship and I find the chains in my mind falling off. The prison doors that the enemy tried to incarcerate me with fling wide open.
God inhabits the praises of his people (Psalm 22:3). When you worship, he is there in your midst.
Today, fight off whatever the devil is trying to imprison you with and come to him in praise and in worship.
Turn on some worship music and sing with a voice of triumph.
Remember that one of your greatest weapons in the battle against the enemy is a melody.
Join us for the 15X15 Worship Challenge August 17-31 (15 minutes of worship a day for 15 days). We want to join together as believers and as moms to focus on Jesus during this challenging time.
Take the challenge and see for yourself how worship can transform your life, your mind, your mood, and your home.
Praising the name of Jesus,
Susie and the Help Club for Moms Team
For more information about my ministry, Between the Gardens, follow me at susieoneal.org.
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