The Second Missionary Journey - Prayer and Praise in Prison

Well, if you would, take your Bible and turn to Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16, we will read verses 25 to 40, but we will not cover all of these verses by no means, and I'll explain that approach a little bit later on. But two weeks ago, we covered verses 16 to 24 in what I called persecution and Philippi. Of course, these events were taking place during Paul's second missionary journey. Now I believe that we all know what has taken place so far in this second missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas had split up over the sharp disagreement as to whether to take John Mark along on this second mission's journey.

Barnabas took John Mark and went one way, but Paul took Silas and went another. After being commissioned and sent out by the church there at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas went into Derby and Lystra, strengthening the churches. But they came to a roadblock in their ministry, and they were hindered by the Holy Spirit of God until Paul received what is seen as and understood as the Macedonian call. Now I have condensed a lot there, but we see those events in verses 1 to 10. And as we have seen, their ministry in Macedonia started off great and successful, but things turned not so great because persecution broke out against Paul and Silas.

Of course, Timothy was there as a ministry assistant, and Luke was there as well. But Paul and Silas, Timothy and Luke made their way into Macedonia, specifically to the city of Philippi. There they saw the first recorded convert to Christ in Europe and the birth of the first church in Europe. A respectable and wealthy woman named Lydia and others in her household were converted to Christ, and they began to gather in her home. And as they continued to minister in Philippi, they encountered a slave girl who was demon-possessed.

And after many days of following Paul and the missions team and crying out, "These men serve, these men are servants of the Most High God who proclaim to you the way of salvation." The text says Paul was greatly annoyed and he cast the demon out of the girl. Well, that's when things went south really fast because they lost their profit from their slave girl being delivered. Her owners stirred up the Roman officials to arrest Paul and Silas. The crowds joined in and attacked them, and the Roman officials gave orders that they be beaten with rods and thrown into prison.

So they were thrown into the inner prison with their feet being put into stocks. Of course, these events are seen in verses 11 to 24. Now two weeks ago, we were in these verses in what I call the second missionary journey, persecution in Philippi. And tonight I want to pick up with Paul and Silas. They're in that Philippian prison and we will see that their persecution in prison turned into more great gospel success in Philippi in the prison in the midst of all of that horrible persecution. We will see that their persecution in prison turned into a great work of the Holy Spirit of God in these circumstances.

Now from man's perspective, this seems like quite a bit of defeat. But as I said, from God's perspective, this is a great work of the Holy Spirit of God. Now I want to read verses 25 to 40. I'm going to back up to verse 23 and then I will explain to you how we will approach the verses. Verse 23. And when they, this would have been the Roman officials, had inflicted many blows upon them, this was Paul and Silas, they threw them into prison ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

And 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 so that the foundations of the prison were shaking. And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were opened, he drew his sword and he was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself for we are all here." And the jailer called for lights and rushed in. And trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.

Then he brought them out and he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved and you and your household." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And they took him and he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds and he was baptized at once. He and all his family. Then he brought them into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police saying, "Let those men go." And the jailer reported these words to Paul saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore, come out now and go in peace." But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us publicly, un-condemned men who are Roman citizens and have thrown us into prison. And do they now throw us out secretly? No. Let them come themselves and take us out." And the police reported these words to the magistrates and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them and they took them out and asked them to lead the city.

So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, this would be those converts there in Philippi, we could say the church, they encouraged them and departed. Now this is quite a big block of scripture and out of these verses we will ultimately make four observations but we'll only cover one tonight. I want us to see their prayer and praise in prison and in persecution. That's all out of verses 25 to 29. Now we see two sides to these events. We see what Paul and Silas did and we see what God did and I think you'll see it as we divide the verses.

Then next week we will see Paul's proclamation of the gospel in the midst of prison and persecution. Again we're going to see what they did as men and what God did. And then we will see how God provided for Paul and the team. And then last we will see how God protected the team. This would have been Paul, Silas, and of course Timothy and Dr. Luke. So let's get started. This is truth number one, prayer and praise in prison and persecution. Verses 25 to 29. This is all about prayer. This is all about praise in the prison in the midst of all of this persecution.

Now these events are really straightforward and easy to see but I want us to look at these events one step at a time. But I really want us to pay attention here because there is quite a lot right here in these verses. There is quite a lot that we need to see and I think we need to work to apply in our lives. First we see the reaction in prison and persecution. Now think about their circumstances. Paul and Silas have been severely beaten with rods and this would have inflicted great pain and caused terrible wounds to their body. Then they were thrown into the inner portion of a filthy prison while they were bloody and while they were hurting.

Their feet were locked into stocks which were designed to inflict great pain into the legs really into the entire body. I ran across one historical commentator that described the stocks saying these stocks had more than two holes for the legs which could thus be forced apart in such a way as to cause the utmost discomfort and cramping pain. Well what did Paul and Silas do? Luke tells us they prayed and they sang praises to God. But this leads me to a question that we need to ponder. We need to let it roll over in our mind. How in the world were Paul and Silas able to react that way? Let me think about it.

How in the world were they able to react the way Luke shows us? Well they were able to pray. They were able to praise God in prison all while going through terrible persecution for quite a few reasons and I want to point them out one by one. First of all, notice they knew that serving and praising God did not depend on circumstances. I want to restate that. First of all, Paul and Silas knew that serving God and praising God did not depend on circumstances. Paul and Silas knew and they lived out right here what Paul would later write to the Philippian church in Philippians 4-4. Listen to Philippians 4-4. Rejoice in the Lord sometimes.

Well that's not what the text is. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. I love that portion of verse 4 in the Amplified. It says rejoice in the Lord always. Delight. Take pleasure in him. Again, I say rejoice. So we can see that Paul and Silas did not let difficult, even what seemed like unfair circumstances, even life and death circumstances, determine if they served, loved, and rejoiced in God. In the middle of great persecution, in the middle of prison, they prayed and they praised God even at midnight, which was and is the darkest part of the night. Now church, look at the lesson we must live and learn. Learn and live.

Now learning this lesson is one thing, but living it is another as Christians, believers, God's children. We must not allow circumstances, even the most difficult of circumstances, determine if we serve God and praise God. We serve God and we praise God in all circumstances, even in the most difficult circumstances. Let me restate that. As Christians, believers, God's children, we do not allow circumstances, even the most difficult of circumstances, determine if we serve God and praise God. We serve God and we praise God in all circumstances, even in the most difficult.

If somehow, some way, we end up in a doctor's office and they say, "You have terminal cancer," we serve God and we praise God. If somehow, some way, we lose our jobs, if we don't know what we're going to do to work and earn and provide, we praise God and we serve God. If we realize we have difficulties and struggles because of our upbringing and our parenting that we experienced when we were children, what do we do as Christians? We serve God and we praise God. If we've been victimized, if we've been abused, if we've been arrested unjustly, we could just keep going on and on and on now. What am I trying to show us?

In the most difficult of circumstances, we praise God and we serve God. Again, listen to the verse in the Amplified, Philippians 4-4, "Rejoice in the Lord always." I love this. "Delight, take pleasure in him always." Again, I say, "Rejoice." But second, Paul and Silas knew that serving God and praising God depended on God's sovereignty. They knew that serving God and praising God depended on God's sovereignty. Paul and Silas knew and lived out what Paul would later write to the Roman church, Romans 828.

Listen to Romans 828 in the Amplified and we know with great confidence that God, who is deeply concerned about us, causes all things to work together. Notice that phrase, "causes all things to work together as a plan for good for those who love God to those who are called according to his plan and his purpose." So we can see that Paul and Silas did not let their circumstances and sufferings shake their unmistakable belief that all their circumstances depended on were determined by and under the control of the sovereignty of God. Now, brother, sister, there's a lot we need to learn here. And look at this lesson that we must know but live out.

Knowing it is one thing, living it out is another. God is sovereign, totally and completely. Either God is sovereign or it's all chaos. And in walking with God, if we are living the spirit-filled, spirit-godded life, then God causes all things to work together, all things to work together according to his plan for our good, according to his will and plan and purpose for us. I love what John MacArthur says here and I'm quoting him, "Christians rejoice in the glorious truth that the sovereign God controls every circumstance of the life." Again, the amplified.

And we know with great confidence that God, who is deeply concerned about us, causes all things to work together as a plan for good for those who love God to those who are called according to his plan and his purpose. And you know, folks, this is why I love what we call the doctrines of grace. Because when we come to understand what's called the doctrines of grace, we understand that God is completely and totally in control of all things, especially our salvation. God didn't save me because of something I did. God saved me because God sovereignly chose to save me.

Now that relates to our salvation, but yet in our sanctification, in my sanctification, I believe, we believe in the doctrines of grace, what God sovereignly is in control of all things. And yes, even in difficulties, it is still about God's grace. Third, they knew that suffering was for the purpose of greater sanctification and spiritual strength. Paul and Silas, they knew that suffering was for the purpose of greater sanctification and greater spiritual strength. Paul and Silas knew and lived out what Peter, the Apostle Peter, would write later in his epistle.

Listen to 1 Peter 5, 10, "And after you have suffered a little, the God of all grace, who was called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." Again, we can see that Paul and Silas understood that all the persecution and prison they were experiencing was not just for their good, but these things were meant to strengthen them, to establish them more in Christ, and to grow them in their sanctification.

Listen to the verse in the Amplified, "After you have suffered for a little while, the glory of all grace, who imparts his blessing in favor, who called you to his own eternal glory in Christ, will himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you, making you what you ought to be." You see? That's what was going on there. God was making these men what they ought to be. Church, there is one thing. Our flesh, who we are as people, recalls from the fact that many times the greatest works of strengthening and sanctification come from trial and even suffering and not from ease and comfort and what we see as blessing. Let me restate that.

There is one thing right here that our flesh, what we naturally recall and push back from, the fact that many times the greatest works of spiritual strengthening and sanctification come from trial and even suffering, even great suffering, and not from ease and comfort and what we see as blessing. Years ago I had a friend who said something just about like this. I think it's pretty close to word for word. Now remember, he is an older Christian who's lived for the Lord a while, and he had just come through a great difficult trial in his life. As a matter of fact, his wife had had cancer for 10 years and she passed away.

And out of that he said to me, "You show me a Christian who has not gone through trial and I will show you an image to a Christian." That brother understood what Peter was saying and he understood what Paul and Silas were living out. Now I want to continue in what we see here by sharing what I see as two keys to living as they did. You know me, I use different kinds of analogies. I spoke of a key, you'll understand that. The key unlocks the door. Sometimes I'll speak of a two-sided coin. But I like the word key.

I like the analogy key because these two keys unlock the door to how Paul and Silas lived in all that I've unpacked for you that we see in them. To me Paul and Silas demonstrated that they understood and lived the Spirit-filled life and that they have the right understanding and concept of who God is. So the first key, they lived the Spirit-filled life. Both Paul and Silas knew and lived what Paul would later write in Ephesians 5.18 concerning being filled with, controlled by, guided by the Spirit. We know the verse, listen to Ephesians 5.18.

Paul says, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery." In other words, drunkenness leads to sin and even more sin. "But be filled with the Spirit." Now we know this verse, we know what it means and teaches because I've taught on it often. "But they," Paul and Silas, "knew and lived the Spirit-filled, Spirit-guided, Spirit-controlled life. They were filled and continued to be filled so that they were Spirit-controlled and even guided in persecution in prison." Do you see how that's the key? Do you see that? Ponder this with me for a moment. What would have happened to Paul and Silas?

What would have happened in Paul and Silas if they had not been Spirit-filled and Spirit-controlled? How would they have reacted? Let's compartmentalize here. Let's ponder this and compartmentalize. What if they would have been Spirit-filled and Spirit-controlled when they evangelized Lydia? Then they were Spirit-filled and Spirit-controlled when they dealt with the slave girl. But then somehow, someway, they quenched the work of the Spirit and when they were arrested, when they were persecuted, when they were flogged, when they were beaten and put in stocks, what if they would have reacted in their flesh? See the key?

Even for us, trial and even terrible difficulties show us if we are Spirit-filled in control. Or if we are in the flesh, if we are self-controlled or sin-controlled. You see? Trial even difficulties reveal to us just how Spirit-filled we are. I'll give you some personal example here. Many of you know that I served the church quite a few years ago and the church went through some difficulties. As a matter of fact, to be a little more specific, the church went through really a power control and I took the side with the pastor. That was the right side.

But long story short, if you took the side of the pastor, if you took that route, you ultimately were alienated. Well, because I was on church staff, I was let go. I was fired. Well, we had two little ones, small ones. If I remember right, I think one of our girls was still in diapers. Well, I came home from the church and when I opened the door, my wife said, "What are you doing home?" And I said, "Well, I was fired. I was terminated. I was let go." We kind of anticipated it. And the first thing out of her mouth was this, "It'll be just fine." See she was Spirit-filled, Spirit-controlled, Spirit-guided.

She understood that we were living under the leadership and the guidance of the Spirit of God. We were in the will of God. We were living out the plan of God. So she knew God was going to take care of us no matter what. But as a result of that, many of you know that I spent a period of time not on church staff. That was a difficult time in my life. Really and truly the loudest voice that I heard in my heart and mind during that time was Psalm 40 verses 1, 2, and 3. I preached a lot. I filled in a lot. I even did an interim at one particular church.

But anytime I looked towards going on to church staff, the Lord just said Psalm 40 verses 1, 2, and 3. Wait patiently, wait patiently. Well, that was a very, very difficult time in my life. There were some times I got pretty down. Pretty down. As a matter of fact, I can think about two different circumstances where I was so down, I hated my job. I wanted to be in ministry, the Lord wouldn't let me. I would just come home from work and get into bed. I think of two times when I did that and I came home and I got into bed and I heard a knock on my bedroom door and it was Keith. He came in with his Bible. I just said, "I quit.

I can't do it anymore." He said, "You can't. You can't." The point I'm making is this. I wasn't near as spirit filled as I thought I was. You see what I mean? Circumstances will reveal. Trial difficulties will reveal just how spirit filled we are. That was the key. That was the key. Now, I call you with the help of the spirit to relive and think about different trials that you've gone through. Look at how you have reacted. Maybe look at how you are reacting right now. The key. They have the right understanding of who God was and is. They have the right understanding of who God was and is.

Now, I'm not going to reference scripture here, but all of the verses I have read up to this point. Now, think about it. All these verses, Philippians 4.4, Romans 8.28, 1 Peter 5.10, show us that Paul and Silas had the right and the proper understanding of who God is. And if they did not have, if they had not had a correct understanding of who God was and is, they would have reacted wrongly in prison, in persecution. Now, ponder this with me a little. What if they had had a flawed view of the sovereign power of God and the limited power of the devil? Let me restate the question, then I'll explain it.

What if they had had a flawed view of the sovereign power of God and a flawed view of the limited power of the devil? Well, if that would have been the case, they would have been like, sadly, some of these charismatic folks, they would have been in prison and they would have seen God as impotent and the devil all-powerful and they would have been rebuking the devil everywhere. You see? They had a right understanding of who God was and is. And you know what?

Sometimes when we react in the flesh, in our sin, when we're not as spirit-filled as we think we are through trial and even horrible difficulties, it reveals to us that we may have a flawed or a blinded view of who God actually is. Well, listen to what John MacArthur says here. This is a quote, "How Christians live is directly related to their concept of God." And he goes on to say, "Paul and Silas did not base their theology on their circumstances.

Instead, they evaluated those circumstances in light of what they knew to be true about God." One of the greatest examples in the Scriptures that flashed this out is seen in the Old Testament figure of Job. Think about it. God allowed all those sufferings and calamities and great losses to come from the hand of the devil against Job. You see that? God allowed all those sufferings, calamities, and great losses to come from the hand of the devil against Job. And through it all, Job said and he demonstrated that he had and held on to a right understanding of who God was. Question.

When great trial and suffering come into your life, do those things reveal that you have a right or a wrong understanding of who God is? I'll bring two words out that might help us here. And I don't want to be insensitive. First word, anxiety. Sure, Christians can struggle with anxiety. I know that. But let's think about this. If we go through great trial and we understand that God is sovereign and we are living a spirit-filled life and we understand who God is, do we have anything to be anxious about? Think about Job. Did he have anything to be anxious about? Anxiety.

Anxiety can reveal to us that we may have a dim, a low, a small view of who God is. The next word, worry. Worry. When we go through trial and even horrific difficulty, if we have the wrong view of who God is, that could lead to all kinds of worry. But see, if we're walking with the Lord and we're spirit-led and spirit-filled and we know we're right where the Lord wants us to be and great calamity comes, there's nothing to worry about. God is God. God is God. He is in total control. He is on his throne. Now we spent quite a lot of time on how Paul and Silas reacted in their persecution in prison but there's more here that we need to see.

Second, progressing with the verses. We finally see or get to a supernatural work of God. Look at verse 25 and 29. Throughout midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them. There's been a lot right there in that verse. And suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Inimmediately all of the doors were opened and everyone's bonds, we can say shackles, were unfastened. And when the janitor awoke and saw that the prison doors were opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself for we are all here." And the janitor called for lights and rushed in. In trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and we see the rest of the verse, "Sirs, what must I do to be safe?" We'll cover that next week. Now it is not a stretch to say that their prayer and their praise meeting was interrupted by an earthquake. That's obvious right there in the verse. But notice what was happening here.

God because he is God and because he is the supreme Lord over all creation, God used what we would call a natural disaster for supernatural and spiritual purposes. You see that? It's not a stretch to say that God used a natural disaster for supernatural and even spiritual purposes. But look at all that happened right here in this event. Paul and Silas were praying to God. Paul and Silas were praising God. And the other prisoners were listening. And then all of a sudden, boom, came this earthquake that was so grand it shook the foundation of the prison and all of the doors were opened.

And Luke tells us that all of the bonds, all of the chains, the legacy standard Bible says, were loosed. So it's plain to see that God performed a supernatural work through natural means. There's a lesson here in this situation for us. Natural disasters come. And we understand that those things happen because sin is entered into the world. Let me pause here. Please don't ever say the term "mother nature." There's no such thing as mother nature. God is God and He is sovereign and He is in control. But we do understand that natural disasters, hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, all that has come into the world because of sin.

But we need to see that God can use natural disasters for good and spiritual purposes. Great example. We just had a horrible tornado in our community. We know that a lot of Christians and a lot of churches and Christian organizations did a lot of good on the heels of that natural disaster. No doubt, cool glasses of water were served in the name of Jesus and gospel presentations were given out. As a matter of fact, I'm so proud that many of you, even some in this room, took the opportunity to do good in the name of Jesus and share the gospel on the heels of that disaster. Third, we see a strange reaction from the jailer.

And here we see that when the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison were open, he pulled his sword to commit suicide. Well, why? This certainly seems strange to us, but there was a logical reason. In that day, a Roman soldier, in this case a jailer, who allowed a prisoner to escape paid for it with his own life. From out of the situation, he was deemed responsible for the loss of the prisoners, and he would have paid for that with his own life. There is another way of thinking here that comes into place.

It was common and accepted among the Greeks and the Romans for a man to commit suicide when he was encompassed with dangers from which he could not escape. So the jailer was just about to commit suicide. But then fourth, we see the strange reaction from Paul and the other prisoners. This is obvious to see. In verse 28, we see that Paul stopped the jailer, and he cried out loudly that all of the prisoners were still there. In other words, they had not escaped. Now we can guess why Paul and Silas did not run away, and we will, but why did the other prisoners stay? We really don't know. Luke does not specifically say.

To me, the only hint comes from verse 25, the end of the verse, where Luke tells us that the other prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas as they prayed and praised God in prison. I think it's certainly safe to say that God used all these circumstances to seize the attention of these prisoners. I think it's safe to say that God was working in these prisoners, no doubt to save some of them. He saved all of them. But why did Paul and Silas stay? I like what Warren Wrisby says here, and I'm quoting him. A hard-hearted person seeking vengeance would have let the cruel jailer kill himself. It's true.

But he goes on to say, "But Paul was not that kind of a man." But I believe we can say and know why Paul and Silas stayed. Remember what we have learned about these two men? They knew that they were right in the middle of God's purpose and plan. They knew that God was using them to preach the gospel, to reach the lost for Christ, and to plant churches and grow churches even in Philippi. So they knew that they were right where they were supposed to be. Fifth, we see the strange reaction from the jailer. Again, verse 29, we see that the jailer called for light, rushed in, and in fear and trembling he fell at Paul's feet.

Now notice where we are in the work of God in the life of the jailer. And I break down the work of God in the jailer's life in what I call the preliminary and the immediate. Now Luke does not tell us what the jailer knew, but no doubt he knew what had been taking place with these prisoners, specifically Paul and Silas. No doubt he knew of the evangelism success of Paul and Silas, especially how the slave girl had been set free. No doubt the jailer knew of their ministry in the city and the message of the gospel that they preached. No doubt he knew the details of their arrest and their imprisonment.

I call these things preliminary or things that came before these immediate events there in the prison. And then obviously he knew of the earthquake and the fact that this was a natural yet supernatural event. Obviously he knew that Paul and the other prisoners had stayed behind even when they could have easily escaped. Now what's my point? The jailer went from being lured over these prisoners, even possessing a great amount of life and death authority over them to falling down at their feet in great humility.

And as we will see, this strange reaction from the jailer was a part of him coming to saving faith in Christ as well as others in his household. Now in summary, look at what we have here in verses 25 to 29. Paul and Silas in prison from great persecution. And right in the middle of their persecution in prison, Luke tells us that at the darkest hour of the night they were praying to God and they were praising God by singing hymns. One interesting detail here in the language, this word for hymns here, it literally means to sing the praise and it refers to singing hymns of praise.

Now at this point you could be asking why not abbreviate all that I have shared so as to cover more of the verses. Honestly, some of the Bible scholars do that. But I take my time here because out of the example of Paul and Silas, we see so much that helps us not only know how we react to trial and suffering, but out of their example we see so much that helps us see their theology. And Luke Church, how we live is reflective of our theology. Let me repeat that. How we live is reflective of our theology.

And Luke Church more specifically, how we live in trial and suffering and even what seems like unjust suffering, that is reflective of our view of God much more than we know in his commentary on these verses. John MacArthur references a book that I have read and studied throughout the years. It's A.W. Tozer's book called The Knowledge of the Holy. If you don't have that, it would be a good read. But I'll go ahead and tell you, it is a difficult read. It is a small, it is a thin book. It is called The Knowledge of the Holy, but it is about God and the theology of God and I'll tell you, it is a deep read.

But MacArthur points to something that Tozer says that is spot on to what we see here in these men. And I'm quoting Tozer. "A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology, but to practical Christian living as well." Let me restate that. Tozer says, "A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology, but to practical Christian living as well." Now as a question as I begin to close. How does this apply to these verses? How does this apply to us right here? Paul and Silas had a right understanding of God, the person of God, the power of God, and the will of God for them.

Therefore, that understanding determined how they lived in persecution in prison. And for us, our understanding of God, our understanding of the person of God, the power of God, and the will of God for us, dictates how we live and how we live in trial and suffering. Even unjust suffering tells us what our understanding of God is. Think on that. Think on that. How we live in our trials and in our sufferings even when they're horrific and unjust, it tells us what our understanding of God is. Now let me close with the title of the message. Verses 25 to 29 are a part of these verses in this teaching that goes all the way to verse 40.

But to me, verse 25 to 29 are all about the second missionary journey, prayer and praise in prison. Real simple. The second missionary journey, prayer and praise in prison. So next week, I'll add to that title, I'll offer the title again because it all goes together. Let's pray.