And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed,
When others were asleep, and all things were still and quiet;
(See Gill on Psalms
119:62), and they prayed doubtless for themselves, for
their deliverance in God's time and way, and for support under
their present afflictions; and for supplies of grace, to enable
them to bear with patience and cheerfulness, until an issue was
put to them; and for their enemies, and, particularly it may be
for the jailer, who had used them so ill; and for the churches of
Christ, for all the saints, and for the spread and success of the
Gospel: and sang praises unto God;
or "sang an hymn to God", very likely one of David's psalms, or
hymns: for the book of Psalms is a book, of hymns, and several of
the psalms are particularly called hymns; this showed not only
that they were cheerful, notwithstanding the stripes that were
laid upon them, and though their feet were made fast in the
stocks, and they were in the innermost prison, in a most
loathsome and uncomfortable condition; and though they might be
in expectation of greater punishment, and of death itself; but
also that they were thankful and glorified God, who had counted
them worthy to suffer for his name's sake: and the
prisoners heard them;
for it seems there were other prisoners besides them, and who
were in the outer prison: and from hence it appears, that their
prayer was not merely mental; nor was their singing praises only
a making melody in their hearts, but were both vocal; and it
might be chiefly for the sake of the prisoners, that they both
prayed and praised in this manner, that they might hear and be
converted; or at least be convicted of the goodness of the cause,
for which the apostles suffered.