Written by Jonathan Melton
Acts 16:25 (NRSV) About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Midnight is upon Paul and Silas, and things aren’t looking good. But they have an unconventional response to being in prison: These men sing.
We might imagine that it is easier to sing when things are going well. However, the profound power of song is revealed in Paul and Silas’s decision to sing when things are at a particularly difficult and frightening point. Indeed, their singing surprises fellow prisoners. Paul and Silas sing a surprising song in a hopeless place.
Many people throughout history, and especially the history of the Church, have discovered the deeply personal and comforting aspects of hymns and favorite sacred songs. They take up residence inside us, collecting us, calling us back to the truest things about God. I find my own life most faith-filled when I have the honesty and courage to sing along with the rhythm of my day—happy or sad, simple or full of words.
What are your songs? What is God’s song in your heart? Are you singing it? What’s stopping you?
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