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“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God…and suddenly there was a great earthquake…and immediately all the doors were opened…and the keeper of the prison…called for a light…and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:25-27,29-31).
When Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison, it certainly looked as if Satan had won. But God has His own ways of saving souls, and had His eye on the jailer who looked after that prison. When Paul and Silas prayed and sang, God allowed an earthquake to shake that prison so violently that all the doors were opened, and everybody’s bands (chains, stocks, etc.) were loosed. But no one escaped; the Lord kept them there, and Paul and Silas were able to tell the jailer how to be saved.
What a wonderful ending to a terrible time of beating and being imprisoned! Yes, it was awful to be beaten and imprisoned, but the Lord was working, and the jailer and his whole household believed. Paul and Silas probably carried scars from those beatings for the rest of their lives, but I am sure they thought it was worth it, to see that jailer and his family saved.
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