In prisoners chains, with bleeding stripes
Paul and Silas prayed that night
And in their pain, began to sing
Their chains were loosed and they were free
I bless Your name, I bless Your name
I give You honor, give You praise
You are the Life, the Truth, the Way
I bless Your name, I bless Your name
Some midnight hour, if you should find
You’re in a prison in your mind
Preach out in praise—defy those chains
And they will fall in Jesus’ name
You are the Life, the Truth, the Way
You are the Life, the Truth, the Way
You are the Life, the Truth, the Way
We bless Your name, we bless Your name
Selah
Songwriter – Elizabeth Goodine
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This song tells of the Apostle Paul and his brother in Christ, Silas, imprisoned in the city of Philippi. They had been wrongly accused, held without a proper hearing, beaten and flogged, and then tossed into the innermost prison cell where they were held in stocks and chains.
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God,
and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake,
so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken;
and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
Acts 16:25 and 26
Is that not one of the most incredible accounts of deliverance in the Bible?!!? That is true (it is incredible! But wait…the Scriptures are filled with record after record after record telling of God’s provision in miraculous, awesome, ‘but for the grace of God’ ways! Such as,
- Moses and the children of Israel being delivered out of the hand of their Egyptian oppressors
- Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego stepping out with not even the scent of smoke on their garments after being in the fiery furnace
- Daniel climbing out of the lion’s den with not a scratch on him
- Joshua and the Israelites circling Jericho for six days and then on the seventh day, repeating their journey 7 times in a row…and then shouting…and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down
- Jonah surviving three days of being in the great fish’s belly
- Mary finding herself, a yet-to-be-married virgin, pregnant
- the Resurrection from the dead, after three days, of our Lord Jesus Christ
- And, of course, there are many, many, many more!
How about you…which are some of the wondrous works of God that cause your heart to sing out in praise as you remember God’s great hand of blessing? (Please share them with us in the comment section below!) May I encourage you to read through these records and remind yourself how amazing, awesome, and wonderful our God is—and bless His Name!
He is ELOHIM —the God of power and might
He is JEHOVAH-JIREH — the Lord Who will provide
He is EL-ROI — the Strong One Who sees
He is EL-SHADDAI — God Almighty
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