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Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed—Acts 16:24-26.
Paul and Silas found themselves in prison simply because of the name of Jesus. There was joy in the camp of the enemy when Paul and Silas were thrown into jail. Paul and Silas instead of weeping and complaining decided pray and sing. The Bible says that the other prisoners were listening. For the other prisoners to listen it means they were singing and praying loudly. What is powerful about the passage is not the loud singing but the response from heaven. We are told that there was a great earthquake. Now this was not a usual earthquake. This was a supernatural earthquake. How do I know? I know it because of what followed this earthquake. The Bible says the foundations of the prison were shaken. Look at the passage closely. It was foundations not the whole prison building that was shaken! Can you imagine after the great earth the building was not damaged. This was an act of God! The foundation stands for the source or the origin. When God answers your prayer He will tackle the source of the problem, just to make sure that the problem is completely dealt with! That will happen to you in 2009 as you give yourself to a life of prayer, praise and worship. 
We also notice that the great earthquake opened all doors. Get ready for opened doors in your life as you begin to pray and praise God. The Bible talks of many doors but there are three doors which are very important to every child of God and these doors must always be kept open. These are: The door of hope(Hosea 2:15); No matter what discouragements come along your way your hope must not be diminished. Your hope defines your goals and dreams. Never loose focus of where you are going because of negative situations that come along your way. Then there is the door of faith(Acts 14:27); The Bible calls faith the substance or the real thing you have before you actually achieve what you are hoping for. The only thing that can prevent you from achieving your goal is your faith. If you believe all things are possible for you! Another important door is the door for the word (Col 4:3). The greatest opportunity that you will ever get is not someone giving you money but opportunity to speak. Your speaking will attract money; your speaking will result in your promotion; your speaking will attract people and so on.   Watch out for those opportunities to speak; it may be to your boss or to a customer or to your friend or even just to lead someone to Christ, just to mention a few. Do your best in 2009 to speak well as doors for the word open; the results will be astounding!
Then finally we are told the great earthquake loosened everyone’s chains. I have no doubt that the ‘everyone’ means every prisoner who was present. There was release of such great power that everyone in the house was set free. Such is the far reaching impact of a life of praise and worship. It results in the freedom of everyone in contact with you. Let your life in 2009 be filled with overflowing joy. Your whole family can be set free by your life of praise and worship. A man or woman who is full of joy cannot be held under bondage.