God May Have To Shake Your World

Acts chapter 16, verses 25 & 26 tells us this story: And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

I have always heard this passage of scripture used to talk about how powerful praise and worship can be.  After all, Paul and Silas were loosed from prison because of the earthquake that came when they praised.  The Lord gave me a thought the other day that I have never heard presented before.  Of course, we all know that prisons 2000 years ago did not have the same architectural structure as prisons today.  Even overlooking the filth from not having modern sanitation, with the current earthquakes happening around the world, can you even begin to imagine what these two disciples were actually experiencing?  The Bible described this as a "great earthquake."  It goes on to tell us that the very "foundations of the prison were shaken."  They were probably sitting on the floor bound by chains...        Continued... click "Read More" below... 

They were probably sitting on the floor bound by chains that attached to ringlets mounted into the very walls made with huge blocks of stone.  Mortar would have filled the gaps of the stones.  Massive beams spanned the ceilings and finished off with rough cut timber and then covered with tiling.  Housekeeping would have been non-existent for the cells of the prisoners since they were not afforded the same rights as we give prisoners today.  Then the "great earthquake" hit.  The "foundations" were being shaken, so the walls also began to shake and move.  Years of dirt, dust and filth began falling all around them as walls were being loosened.  The air that they breathed was now causing the prisoners to choke as ceiling joists began to bounce and mortar crumbled.  The chains were loosed from them ONLY because the thick stone walls that once held the ringlets firmly in place began to shift.  The air borne dirt particles now began to irritate the eyes and caused the "midnight" vision to become impossible.  Locked door posts were moved so far out of place that the locks no longer kept the doors rigidly in place.  When it was all over, dust and bits of plaster coated every prisoner to almost an unrecognizable silhouette.  However, it was the great earthquake that brought the freedom to those who were bound.  Coughing and gagging, prisoners began to stumble out through the ruined prison doors.

This may be a different scenario from the one that we often see in our minds' eye.  We have often seen a rumbling, chains miraculously dropping to the ground and out comes two spick and span, clean disciples.  However, think about something for a second.   It may only be in the great earth moving, turning your world up-side-down occurrence that can break YOUR CHAINS OF BONDAGE.  You may feel so bound to your sin that you feel NOTHING can set you free.  So, in order for God to set you free, God may have to rattle some cages and shake the very foundation of your world in order to get the chains to drop to the ground.  But remember what really happened that night to Paul and Silas and realize it may not be pleasant for you to go through, but through it you can go if you only start allowing your voice to call upon God.  Are you ready for your deliverance?