Dancing and Singing in A Prison Cell
Well, this book God’s Hostage is very intense, but very powerful and inspiring.
On page 166, Andrew was delighted when the prison he was at allowed his wife to bring him a guitar. He had led worship on guitar for years, but after months and months in prison, he had almost forgotten what it was like.
So he received this guitar and started to worship in his prison cell.
Worship in Prison
He says this on page 166: “Most unusual of all, I had started dancing. I’d been reading about Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor who was imprisoned and tortured for 14 years under the Communist regime. He took Jesus’ words, ‘Rejoice and be exceedingly glad,’ as a direct command and chose to rejoice by dancing in his cell in spite of the horrors he was facing. I decided to do the same. I felt no joy. My body was weak and my spirit sad, but there was something about Wurmbrand’s story that captivated me and convicted me. So I decided to dance like he danced. Each day, for at least five minutes, I would leap around the courtyard. No matter how much I didn’t feel like doing it, it was an act of the will.”
His wife said to him one day, “I’m sure that when you get up to dance, the courtyard is full of angels who are following your lead.”
Dancing in Faith
Now, are you dancing, friends? Maybe you and I can learn from this today, and maybe a day should never go by where you and I don’t dance and sing worship and praise His wonderful Name.
Maybe we don’t feel it. Maybe we’re feeling upset inside, maybe we’re weak and sad—but let’s not allow that to stop us from dancing.
Later on in prison, Andrew wrote a song called “You Are Worthy of My All.” He sang that song every day until he was released. Those words of worship and those declarations of faith set to music helped him deeply.
Joy in Worship
So friends, as you sit and listen to this—maybe in your home or in your car, wherever you are—I want to pray that you are filled with dancing and laughter and singing in this moment.
I want to pray that your house, your home, and your workplace will be places of much dancing and singing. And I want to pray that God’s Spirit fills you and fills these places where you do life—with much joy and worship.
David danced in an undignified way before the Lord, and I have a picture of Jesus being the kind of person who danced. So let’s not let this day go by without dancing before the Lord.
Even if nobody else sees it—in my case, that’s probably a good thing!
But let’s resolve, no matter what life throws at us, to be the kind of people who can dance and who can sing, because God is good.
Thank you for listening, my friends. God bless you, and have a blessed weekend.
