In the prison at Philippi, Paul and Silas praised God and saw a great miracle. Because of their testimony in prison, several people were saved.
Paul and Silas were ill-treated and imprisoned but they did not lose heart and continued to praise God. Circumstances did not prevent them from being a blessing, even in prison!
Paul and Silas are arrested
On one of their mission trips, Paul and Silas arrived in the city of Philippi, Greece, where they preached the gospel and converted several people. But there was a slave with an evil spirit who followed them and drew all attention to her, shouting that they were servants of God ( Acts 16: 16-17 ).
One day, Paul got fed up and expelled the woman’s demon. The slave’s owners were very angry, because people paid for the demon’s divinations within her. So they stirred up the crowd, falsely accused Paul and Silas and managed to put them in prison ( Acts 16: 19-21 ).
Without trial, Paul and Silas were flogged and placed in a prison cell, with their feet trapped in a log. The jailer was ordered to watch them very carefully.
See also the story of the apostle Paul.
The miracle in prison
But Paul and Silas were not discouraged! Trapped and sore, they stayed up late at night praying and singing praises to God , and the other prisoners listened. Then, to everyone’s surprise, there was an earthquake in prison! All the doors opened and all prisoners were released from the chains.
The jailer, thinking that everyone had run away, decided to commit suicide. But Paul stopped him and showed that everyone was still there. Amazed by what had happened, the jailer was converted that night , along with his entire family ( Acts 16: 29-32 ).
The jailer took care of Paulo and Silas and, the next day, was ordered to release them. As Roman citizens, Paul and Silas could not be flogged and imprisoned without trial. For this reason, they received an official apology from the city authorities and went free ( Acts 16: 38-39 ).
Despite their opposition and suffering, Paul and Silas did not stop trusting God. So they saw a miracle and were able to reach even more lives. After they left, the church at Philippi continued to grow.
