In Acts, chapter 16, we read where Paul and Silas were thrown into prison in Philippi after casting a demon out of a young girl. They were taken prisoner by the Roman authority, bound, lashed across their backs with the Roman cat-of-nine-tails, and placed into a prison cell in chains around their feet.

Now by all rights, these men could have been complaining to God about the missionary business. They could have told the Lord they didn’t want to be missionaries anymore because it was too hard and hurt too much. That’s what they could have been doing in that dark prison, but it’s not what they chose to be doing. The Bible tells us in Acts 16:25:

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

What do you praise God for when you have been beaten on the back repeatedly? What do you praise God for when you are hurting all over, when your feet are locked in chains, when you are in a dark prison with a bunch of criminals? What do you praise God for when it seems that everything is going against you?

When Paul and Silas began to praise God in the midst of their trial, God heard them and He honored their sacrifice of praise. God will always honor the sacrifice of praise by His children. As Christians, we need to learn what our spiritual weapons are and how to activate them to tear down the strongholds of Satan which keep us bound in our lives.