Worthy Of The Highest Praise

Scripture Passage: Acts 16:16-40
Paul and Silas were severely flogged and thrown into prison. Even when they were in pain, they still prayed and sang hymns praising God. When I was in the midst of reading these verses, a spontaneous thought came to me, “I wonder how their voices sound like when they were singing and being in physical pain.”

Being in the condition where both of them were stripped and beaten, severely flogged, placed in the inner cell and having feet fastened to stocks, I don't think that's a good situation where they can have any nice singers' voice. If I was in a situation like them, I think I'll feel very cold, shivering like mad, in great pain, and constrained of my movements. That's seriously the best time for me to recuperate and rest mann.

If I was one of the other prisoners hearing Paul and Silas praising God, I believe (even though it's not written in the bible about that), I will be like, “Woah are these dudes nuts? Singing in that condition?” I think I may even laugh at the way they sing, because I can imagine that their voices ain't sounding nice.

I don't think Paul and Silas cleared their throats, making sure they had a nice voice before they started singing. They didn't care if they were embarrassed or being looked at. They didn't let their natural circumstance change their supernatural praise.

Even if their voices were reaching to the heavens, sounding ugly, God wasn't looking for a nice singers' voice; God was looking at their hearts.

Now, it's not this point that I'm bringing across, to “take heart - even if your voice sounds ugly, praise all the more louder! (Haha)” Outward appearances count to nothing if the inside of you isn't really praising the way you are showing on the outside.

I believe God is looking for true worshippers - those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Those who sing praises that are more than a song. Those who eyes are fixed upon Jesus, and worship Him for who He is.

Even if your conditions are extremely bad - even when you go through harsh suffering periods and you can't bring yourself to praise God, your circumstances shouldn't shift your praise, because if worship is about yourself, wanting to feel good about the way you worship, you missed the point. Worship is about God - you praise God because He is worthy of your praises. Even if your situation feels like it's going against your praise, God remains worthy to be praised.

Praise God! For He is worthy of the highest praise!