Invite Him In

➤ by Isabel Jennings

For years, I suffered with back pain, which prevented me from fully engaging in life. It hurt to sit. It hurt to lay down. It hurt to walk. I couldn’t play with my children. I was unable to plant my garden. It was difficult to clean my house, and making dinner resulted in back spasms. I went to various doctors and while they tried to help, the pain remained. There were so many nights where I got up in pain, and I sobbed my frustrations to God: “Rescue me! Heal me! I know you are able!”

Have you ever been in a situation where you were in the middle of a something that was so much bigger than you, something so out of your control, that you didn’t think that you would be able to make it to the end of it? Or maybe it was something that you begged God to intervene and rescue you from it?

A man is behind bars, with the dove of the Holy Spirit hovering over him. Not all prisons have walls and bars.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas had gone to spread the gospel in Philippi. They were new to the city, and as was their custom, they went outside the city to meet those who met for prayer there. On their way, a servant girl who was possessed by a fortune-telling spirit began to follow them and cry out, “these men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”

This young girl followed them wherever they went for many days, always shouting out the same message. Maybe this was said in a taunting way; the Bible does not tell us, but it does say that Paul became annoyed. He commanded the spirit to come out of her. She immediately was freed, and no longer could foretell the future.

Her masters were furious because she had made them a lot of money. They dragged Paul and Silas into the marketplace and before the city’s authorities. Paul and Silas were severely beaten and then were thrown into prison. The jailer put them into an inner prison and fastened their feet into stocks.

Serving Christ does not mean that our lives suddenly become free from any trouble. In John 16:33 Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus was telling the disciples that they should expect troubles to come. But, those troubles did not have to defeat them because He was victorious over all of them.

Paul and Silas had rescued a young girl from demonic bondage. They had been doing what they were supposed to be doing as believers. Everyone should have been thrilled and rejoicing at this woman’s freedom, but instead they found themselves in trouble. They were relegated to the inner prison, where the worst of criminals were held. All the good that they were doing, the spreading of the gospel, was temporarily paused for them. Their future became uncertain. They were injured from the severe beating, and for all they knew, they could be sentenced to death the following day.

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

Paul and Silas could have wept bitterly. They could have become discouraged. They could have questioned whether they had truly heard from God to be in that city, in the first place. Instead, Paul and Silas did three things that we can learn from them:

  1. They joined together.
  2. They sang hymns to God.
  3. They prayed.

1. Find someone to support your faith

Paul and Silas were two like-minded believers, both in the same situation and supporting each other in their time of trial.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.

How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity, Psalm 133:1

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching, Hebrews 10:24-25.

Find someone who understands what you’re going through and can help hold you up or pick you up in your trials. An individual or group who will encourage you with what the Bible says about your trials. Find someone who will pray with you and hold you up, when you cannot stand on your own.

Two young women hug each other’s necks. Encourage the faith of the people around you.

2. Praise God

The Bible doesn’t tell us what kind of hymns Paul and Silas sang, but we can imagine that they remembered songs they had learned in their youth. They might have sang songs that David wrote when he was in despair and being pursued by his enemies:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies, Psalms 18:2-3.

It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he causes me to stand on the heights, Psalms 18:32-33.

The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident, Psalms 27: 1-3.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him, Psalms 28:7.

But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me, Psalms 31:14-15.

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips, Psalms 34:1.

A young prisoner prays. Perhaps Paul and Silas were not praying to get out of prison. Maybe they were praying for God to intervene in it.

Remember the songs you sang, the last time you were in a battle? Start singing those songs.

Start reminding yourself what God did for you in the past, and how He brought you through your last battle. Remind yourself of the Bible verses that He made real during your last test. What you learned in that battle, is relevant to this new battle, too!

3. Pray

Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”, Acts 16:26-28.

Paul and Silas came together, and prayed and sang hymns. Then the earth shook and every door in the prison opened. They could have easily escaped, and that is precisely what we would have expected. But the Bible says that no one moved to escape.

Why?

Wasn’t the door opening their deliverance? Wasn’t this divine intervention providing them with a way to escape their trouble? Wasn’t this how we would expect God to set them free from this trouble?

The Bible doesn’t tell us what they prayed for that midnight. We would expect their prayers to be “God rescue us!” “God, please get us out of here!”?

What if they recognized that God’s sovereignty had brought them to this situation, even if the situation was more than they could handle? What if they hadn’t been asking God to rescue them FROM the situation, but instead had been asking God to COME be with them IN their situation?

Maybe Paul and Silas were praying that the King of Glory would come in (Psalms 24:7-8) to the middle of the prison. Perhaps they were praying that He would make His presence known in the worst place, in their hopeless situation.

When the earth shook and the doors of that prison flew open, there was no denying that God had shown up to be with them IN the prison. His presence brought them the peace they needed to face the situation they found themselves in. Every prisoner that day heard their hymns and prayers, and knew that the King had come into that dark prison. It was undeniable.

A little boy holds a trophy while his father stands proud beside him, preventing him from falling off the platform. If God is with you, you will win.

What situation are you facing today? Are you praying for God to rescue you from it or are you praying that He will be with you in the middle of it?

If He’s with you, you cannot fail. If He’s with you, you’ll end up where you are supposed to be. If He’s with you, He will cause it to work out how it’s supposed to. If He’s with you in it, it will be undeniable to those around you, and they will marvel at what God does. Even if things don’t turn out as you had planned, if He’s with you, you can have hope that it will be okay.

Maybe this experience was the foundation of what Paul later penned in a letter to the church in this very same city: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:6-7.

According to 1 Peter 2:24, I have been healed. That's what God's word says. I know that the manifestation of that healing is coming. But until that day is fully materialized, I’m going to keep my eyes on Him and praise Him. I will invite God into my daily situation. He is my comfort, my hope, and He is the bringer of peace to my situation.

If He’s with me, I can meet every situation head-on. I can do all this through him who gives me strength, Philippians 4:13.

Whatever trial you are facing, take a moment today to pray for His presence to be evident in your situation. If God is in it with you, you will make it through.

From the article, Convidá-Lo Entrar, by Isabel Jennings

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A young woman stands on a farm fence examining the land. Jesus said that in this world we would have problems, but He overcame the world.
Two young women hug each other’s necks. Encourage the faith of the people around you.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Matthew 28:19-20

Unless stated otherwise, all Bible passages quoted in orange are from the KJV translation.

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