by Dr. Robin O'Neal

It’s just not something we want to do when we’re sick.  Or when we’re going through any affliction or difficulty.  We don’t want to praise God.  We don’t feel like praising God.  But we should!  Because there is power in praise!

Consider Paul and Silas (Acts 16:16-40).  There they were, sitting in a dark, damp, cold prison.  And they were hurting.  Why?  Because they had been beaten with rods.  They were most likely bruised and bleeding, with many wounds and much pain.  They may have had aching ribs and muscles.  I bet it hurt to move, or even to breathe.  And they could feel the iron shackles around their feet, cutting into the skin.  And then there was the smell of that place.  They could smell the mildew.  They could smell the odor of human excrement.  It was not a pleasant place to be.  Most folks finding themselves in that situation would be complaining and grumbling and saying, “God, why have you allowed this?!”  Most would move into self-pity.  But what did Paul and Silas do?  They praised God!  They sang hymns!  In the midst of hardship, in the midst of discomfort, in the midst of pain, they magnified their God!

And suddenly, at midnight, as they were praising and singing, God sent an earthquake that shook the prison and broke their chains!  The prison guard rushed in and fell down before them. Then he brought them out and said “Sirs, tell me, what must I do to be saved?”  And they led him to salvation.  Glory to God!  And Paul and Silas were set free!  You may be in a “prison” of disease or pain.  Let the power of praise bring you out!