“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake” (Acts 16:25, 26a).
When arrested and imprisoned, there is no record that Paul and Silas prayed for their release, though they might have done that.
Instead, we are told that they prayed and sang hymns to God. They made use of the opportunity to preach the Gospel to the other prisoners.
Are we making use of every situation we are in to tell others of the Gospel? Whether in pain or in pleasure, we can still testify of Him.
Then God sent a powerful earthquake.
The earthquake was not meant to set free Paul and Silas. It was meant to set free the jailer and the other prisoners. Because they were still trapped in sin. Paul and Silas did not make any effort to escape from prison. They preached to the jailer and got him saved.
An earthquake might occur in our lives. It could be a sickness, financial crisis, a marriage that threatens to break up, a job loss.
The people around us are watching to see what we would do. We could focus only on finding a solution to our problem.
Or we could go along with God’s plan and show others that despite going through such circumstances, we still trust in God and that He is deserving of our complete trust.