The Midnight Cry
The Midnight Cry
Wednesday
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 shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, 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 jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
— Acts 16:25-31 (ESV)
— Acts 16:25-31 (ESV)
Reflect:
Salvation often comes through shaking. The jailer’s world came apart in one night. The foundations of the prison shook, the doors opened, the chains fell, and the man who had likely spent years guarding others suddenly found himself trembling. In a moment, all his confidence collapsed.
That kind of shaking feels terrifying when it happens. But sometimes the Lord mercifully shakes what is false in order to awaken us to what is true. The jailer had a sword in his hand, despair in his heart, and eternity before him. Yet at that very moment, the gospel came near.
His question was the most important question a human being can ask: “What must I do to be saved?” Not, “How can I improve my life?” Not, “How can I fix my circumstances?” Not, “How can I regain control?” But, “What must I do to be saved?”
The answer was breathtakingly simple: “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” Not religious rituals. Not moral resolutions. Not family background. Not church attendance. Believe. Rest the full weight of your life upon the crucified and risen Christ.
Many of us can look back and see that the Lord used a midnight season to bring us to Himself. A crisis, a loss, a fear, a failure, a conviction, a conversation, or a moment when the things we trusted could no longer hold us. What felt like the collapse of our world became the doorway of grace.
Salvation often comes through shaking. The jailer’s world came apart in one night. The foundations of the prison shook, the doors opened, the chains fell, and the man who had likely spent years guarding others suddenly found himself trembling. In a moment, all his confidence collapsed.
That kind of shaking feels terrifying when it happens. But sometimes the Lord mercifully shakes what is false in order to awaken us to what is true. The jailer had a sword in his hand, despair in his heart, and eternity before him. Yet at that very moment, the gospel came near.
His question was the most important question a human being can ask: “What must I do to be saved?” Not, “How can I improve my life?” Not, “How can I fix my circumstances?” Not, “How can I regain control?” But, “What must I do to be saved?”
The answer was breathtakingly simple: “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” Not religious rituals. Not moral resolutions. Not family background. Not church attendance. Believe. Rest the full weight of your life upon the crucified and risen Christ.
Many of us can look back and see that the Lord used a midnight season to bring us to Himself. A crisis, a loss, a fear, a failure, a conviction, a conversation, or a moment when the things we trusted could no longer hold us. What felt like the collapse of our world became the doorway of grace.
Respond:
Has there ever been a midnight in your life when the Lord shook the foundations to bring you to Himself? Write down what happened and how the Lord used it.
Then pray for someone you love who is still asleep to the gospel. Ask the Lord, if it pleases Him, to shake the foundations of their false confidence so they might cry out for salvation. Ask Him to make you ready to speak the gospel with tenderness and courage.
Has there ever been a midnight in your life when the Lord shook the foundations to bring you to Himself? Write down what happened and how the Lord used it.
Then pray for someone you love who is still asleep to the gospel. Ask the Lord, if it pleases Him, to shake the foundations of their false confidence so they might cry out for salvation. Ask Him to make you ready to speak the gospel with tenderness and courage.
Pray:
Lord Jesus, thank You for saving sinners who cannot save themselves. Thank You for mercy that comes even in midnight moments. Use whatever You please to awaken those I love. Shake what needs to be shaken, open what needs to be opened, and bring them to sincere faith in Christ. Amen.
Lord Jesus, thank You for saving sinners who cannot save themselves. Thank You for mercy that comes even in midnight moments. Use whatever You please to awaken those I love. Shake what needs to be shaken, open what needs to be opened, and bring them to sincere faith in Christ. Amen.
Posted in Plant Your Flag - Joshua 24:1-28
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