The Power of Prayer

¹³ Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.

¹⁹ singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

²⁴ So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

²⁵ Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

² He said,

Songs of Victory in Heaven

19 After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting,

³ And again their voices rang out:

⁴ Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Praise the Lord!”

⁵ And from the throne came a voice that said,

⁶ Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:

⁹ And they sang a new song with these words:

¹¹ Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. ¹² And they sang in a mighty chorus:

¹³ And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang:

¹⁴ And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.

⁷ While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.

⁷ even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

⁸ Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. ⁹ Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. ¹⁰ That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.