Why did Paul and Silas prayed at midnight? You are not alone to have asked this question. Over the past years and even centuries, many theologians and philosophers have been wondering why. And just as the scriptures say that God keeps his knowledge from the wise and inspires the foolish, we’ll bring elements of answers to this question. Get a Bible handy because our answers would be based on the scriptures.
You are at the right place if you’ve been wondering how prayers at midnight are different from those carried out during the day. As we continuously unfold our writing, we’ll tell you why prayers at midnight are very important. We’ll also point out the reasons why they are considered superior to those carried out during the day. You’ll also learn about what it takes to stand as a midnight prayer warrior who is always victorious through Christ just as Paul and Silas were.
One of the most important times and yet the most powerful time to victoriously fight the devil and his agents through Christ is the midnight hours. By midnight prayer, we mean those prayers that are made at 12 AM. Midnight is the hour that the Devil and his agents gather to afflict and destroy their victims. The power of darkness working against the children of God is of a greater intensity between 12 AM to 2 AM. Although the intensity diminishes from 2 AM to 4 AM, it is still capable of doing more harm than good.
This is a call for God’s children to take prayers seriously at these hours. During these hours, the Devil and his agents are out to steal, destroy and kill. Many are put in bondage and great destinies are drowned.
Why did Paul and Silas prayed at midnight
We’ll pick up a good number of scriptural verses to properly answer the question of why did Paul and Silas prayed at midnight. Below is the main scriptural verse.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a large earthquake, which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors opened, and the chains fell off all the prisoners.
Acts 16:25-26
It was not out of chance that God sent his angel of liberation to free them exactly at midnight. It is the time which the dark principalities of the heavenly places sit in meetings to bring out new strategies to fight God’s children. This very hour has caused more harm than good. Many have had their great destinies drowned while others have had their blessings stolen at this hour.
God’s act of freeing Paul and Silas at midnight when they were praying is an indication of power in midnight prayer. The supreme victory that we have in Christ is manifested through our faith in him. And the faith from our hearts is materialized through the words and commands that we speak in the name of Jesus Christ. Perhaps, you were not aware but there is power in words. We’ll all know that it was with words that God created the world through Christ.
Today, God has given us the power and authority to speak things into existence through the very name of Jesus Christ. It is a name not like any other name as we can read from Philippians 2:10. At the mention of the name Jesus Christ, every knee in Heaven, on Earth, under the Earth, and in the world to come must bow in honor and respect.
The power of midnight prayer
This power is such that it an uproot all plants that God has not planted. The power is so intense that the Devil and his agents cannot stand it at the name of Jesus Christ. This gives us tips on why did Paul and Silas prayed at midnight. However, when this hour is neglected, Satan and his agents get into action. That’s why it’s not strange to hear people complaining of bad dreams and spiritual attacks from 12 AM to 4 AM. Generally, midnight represents a battlefield between believers and the satanic kingdom.
Most attacks range from 12 AM to 3 AM. These attacks are conceived and launched by marine powers, witchcraft powers, household powers, witch doctors, strongman, and other satanic principalities. At midnight hours, there are many dangerous evil things that are crawling and flying in search of who to devour. However, our victory in Christ is victory indeed as we can read from 1 John 4:4. By further reading Psalms 91:5, we are told not to be afraid of the terrors at night nor the arrows that fly during the day.
When a spirit-filled Christian seeks God’s mercy and takes authority in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit from 12 AM to 4 AM, he/she freezes Satan’s activities and destroys his plans. Such prayers lead to confusion in the kingdom of darkness. They release God’s angels to go with swords of fire to set free the captives, restore blessings, and destroy satanic plans against God’s children. Midnight prayers prevent Satan from proceeding with his plans. These are some of the reasons that answer the question of why did Paul and Silas prayed at midnight.
The importance of praying at midnight
- At midnight hours, the body’s immune system is at its lowest
- It is during midnight hours that most patients die in hospitals
- The highest level of witchcraft is carried out at midnight
- It was at midnight that the Angel of death smote the first born of every Egyptian family
- Evil spirits make patrols at midnight seeking for ways to cause harm
- David knew the importance of midnight prayer from his speech in Psalms 119:62 were he says that he’ll rise and give glory to God at midnight
- Exodus 12:29 reveals the midnight judgment mad by God over those whose evil deeds were alarming
- Midnight prayer restores stolen blessings
- Praying during midnight hours fortifies your spiritual level
- Midnight prayers take men and women of God into higher spiritual dimensions
- Satan’s power is heavily manifested but at night given that no one arrested Jesus Christ during the day but all waited for the night
- Midnight prayers contribute in uprooting the satanic kingdoms
- Jesus Christ pointed out in Matthew 25:6 that the bridegroom would come at midnight and take with him just those who are ready
- In 2 Kings 19:35-37 we are told that king Sennacherib lost 185000 men to the angel of the most high in just one night
- 2 King 6:13-14 reveals that the Syrian king wanted to capture prophet Elisha at night because he believed in the evil forces that move around at night
- When Paul and Silas prayed at midnight in prison, an angel of liberation was sent to set them free
- A sincere midnight prayer is a christian sacrifice which ends up with a reward
With the above reasons, we hope that we’ve brought elements of answers to the question of why did Paul and Silas prayed at midnight.
Equipping yourself for midnight prayers
Everyone gets excited upon hearing that there is power in midnight prayer. However, it’s not as simple as you might think. Getting into a midnight prayer is directly attacking evil spirits. This obviously requires someone who has already belt a relationship with Jesus Christ. Start by welcoming Jesus Christ in your life and believing in him as the son of God through whom salvation is brought to mankind. Believing in Jesus Christ is not all about words but more of actions. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you must welcome and put his teachings into practice. His Key Teachings will help you with this task.
Another major thing that you’ll need is faith in the power of Jesus Christ. You need to believe in Jesus Christ without a doubt. Faith opens doors for Christians to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and overcome all evil spiritual forces as we can read from Mark 16:15-18. In John 14:12, we are told by Jesus Christ that anyone who believes in him will do what he did and even greater things. He also said that with a mature faith, men can move mountains and displace oceans. Thus, you’ll need to build your faith in order to stand intense spiritual battles. Learn how to grow your faith by reading the following articles:
- How to be filled with the Holy Spirit
- Mastering the spirit of faith to render the impossible possible
- Remedy for curing a weak faith
- Activating faith to move the impossible
This brings us to the end of our writing on why did Paul and Silas prayed at midnight. We as Christians today ought to follow the practices left by Jesus who were practiced by his early or immediate Apostles.
