Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
Acts 5:17-18 NKJV
The phrase that stuck out to me was “common prison”.
This wasn’t an official prison with Roman jurisdiction. It was a holding cell. It was to keep them from advancing their ministry until those holding them could figure out what to do.
I think there are a lot of ‘common prisons’ today. Addiction is a common prison. It keeps people from their God-given effectiveness. It holds them back.
Other ‘common prisons’ could be: pursuit of financial prosperity; sexual sins; extreme busyness; fear and worry; etc. Anything that commonly keeps people of God from full devotion to serving Him.
The good news - God knows how to rescue us from common prison. But the prisoner has to want to be set free.
Father, Keep me from the things that hold me back. Amen.
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