"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them..." (Acts 16:25).

Songs instead of sorrow. Praise instead of pouting. Paul and Silas were men who, when in the dungeon, would cry out to the living God. They set their minds on all God had done for them, and upon God Himself, praying and singing to Him.

Others, also in despair, listened in. Thousands of years later, so do we.

The life of prayer and thanksgiving is the good life. Pressures are bound to come, and for Paul and Silas, they came to the gravest degree, but their hearts of gratitude and worship propelled them past the prison bars and into heaven. With simple words springing up from their hearts, they were the freest men in Philippi. Though beaten and chained, they were full of God's joy.

When in the pains of life, rejoicing over God is a great weapon for God's people. Thanking Him for good He has done for us, along with the goodness in His very nature, will help grant us perspective when in the stocks. There, in hardship, we have an opportunity to remember the grace of Christ. We have a chance to recall the cross and the God who provided it for us. In those moments, where we find something for which to praise God, the joy floods back in.

Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Philippi. And it was to the Philippian church he later wrote, "Rejoice always. Again I say, rejoice" (Philippians 4:4). He had certainly modeled such an always-rejoicing life for them.

What about you? Do you want to be free? Do you want to rise above your chains and beyond your prison doors? Rejoice in God. Learn of Him and His work, and celebrate Him for it. Watch what'll happen. You'll be set free.

Applications:

Learn about God's attributes.
Learn about the cross of Christ and what it accomplished.
Find something to thank God for and start thanking Him.
Find a song of praise and sing it like you mean it.
Consider the future glory of heaven.