Acts 12:5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. 6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. 7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
For all intents and purposes, it seems as if, in response to Peter’s arrest, God’s providence shows that when His people are incarcerated for preaching the gospel, He will respond appropriately, by freeing them from their enemies, as took place with Peter. However, in a similar scenario Paul and Silas are also jailed for preaching the gospel, and they also pray to God and sing praises.
And like clockwork God shows up. The gates of the prison are flung wide open, and the shackles miraculously fall from off of the hands of every prisoner. Thus, it seems as if God’s providence in this instance is similar to what took place with Peter, for there are similarities that can’t be ignored. In both instances, God’s people are arrested for preaching the gospel, and in both situations, prayer ascends to God, and He responds by removing their shackles and opens the doors of the prison.
Yet for some strange reason, Paul and Silas do not jump at the opportunity to escape, for they stay put with the shackles off of their hands and feet and the doors of the prison flung wide open. It may seem, for all intents and purposes that God had made the way of escape clear for them, so the question is: Why wouldn’t Paul and Silas just grab the opportunity, and do the seemingly obvious?
Acts 16:25 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. 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless