Prayer In The Midnight Hour

PRAYER IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

Acts 16:25-26

25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

The reason Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God at midnight is because the understood the midnight hour! DON’T LET THE DARK FOOL YOU! The evening and the morning were the first day!

Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The evening comes before the morning! On a traditional analog clock, the day is divided into two 12-hour periods so there is a 12 o’clock noon and a 12 o’clock midnight. However, on a 24 hour clock, there is no 2400 hour. What we would normally describe as the 2400 hour is really the 0000 hour. 12 o’clock midnight is not the end of the day. 12 o’clock midnight is the beginning of a new day. Quit praying in a panic. The evening and the morning was the first day. It should change the way you pray!

On the days before the midnight hour, Paul saw a vision of a man praying for him to come to Macedonia to help them and immediately Luke, Silas, and Paul endeavoured to go and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. While they were there, Paul cast the devil out of a woman and the people that made a profit from her soothsaying were angry. They caught Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace unto the local authorities. The crowd joined in the attack on them, and the rulers of the city had them stripped and ordered them to be beaten with rods. They were then thrown into the innermost cell of the prison and their feet were chained to a stake, all for doing the work of the Lord. It was not a good day! But at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God because they understood that midnight was the beginning of a new and better day! The reason we fret and fear the darkness of night is because we fail to see the darkness as a precursor to the light and that midnight is the beginning of the morning! It should change the way we pray in the midnight hour. We should pray and sing praises when it’s darkest, knowing that day is about to break! When you see the giants, pray and rejoice! The giants let us know that you are entering the Promised Land! When you are in the storm, pray and sing praises unto God! Your about to walk on water! When you are between a rock and a hard place pray and shout! God is about to have a “parting the Red Sea” experience! In the words of Fred Hammond, "Late in the midnight hour, God’s going to turn it around! It’s going to work in your favor!" This is the Year of the Turnaround!!!

Acts 16:25 says, And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: The praise says we believe the prayer is already answered! It then says "and the prisoners heard them". Somebody needs to hear your prayer and praise in the dark. They need to see that there is hope when things look hopeless. They need to see that Christian go through darkness differently because we know that God is still in control!

Verse 26 says, And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. When people see that the people of God can pray and praise with confidence in the midnight hour, the foundation of what holds them in bondage will be shaken! The law of prayer and praise is higher than Murphy's Law. (Murphy's Law is Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.) The truth will override the facts so "It's too good to be true" becomes "It's too good not to be true!" What they thought was impossible will be shaken so that they believe all things are possible because they see it working in you!

The text then says, And immediately all the doors were opened. You can see opened doors that you never noticed before when you look for them. ...And every one's bands were loosed! Generational and Geographic strongholds of a poverty and pessimistic mindset can be broken if the church will pray in the valley like they do on the mountaintop and do in the darkness of night what they do in the light. Pray and praise like you believe a better day is on the way