Acts 16:25-34 (KJV) says, “25And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

• In spite of the suffering and persecution, Paul and Silas sang praised and prayed to God. They were not doing it to be heard by the prisoners, but they heard them anyways, and as they did, the earth began to shake, prison doors were opened, chains were falling and a prison guard was awakened! People who are listening and watching you pray unto the Father will recognize when the earth shifts as a response to the sound you are producing. They will recognize the source of your suddenly! 
• This “suddenly” causes people to ask you, “What must I do to be saved?” It is a “suddenly” that causes people to awake out of their sleep, and it is when you praise and worship God in spite of and in the midst of times of trouble! 

Acts 28:1-6 (KJV) says, “1And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. 2And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. 3And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. 5And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. 6Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.” 

*It is easy to have the wrong expectations for the wrong “suddenly”. It can oftentimes be based off of your history as these guys believed in “karma” for Paul, but even though the law of sowing and reaping does and can exist, you are under grace! Yes, you can reap the consequences of bad decisions, but Paul had encountered the grace of God, and he would be healed and protected by the Father. Not everything bad that happens in your life is a byproduct of a bad decision or wrong action in the past, but it can be a setup for changing people’s minds concerning who God is! 

*When you get your eyes off of Jesus and on people, you can place a certain level of expectation on them that was never meant to be there. Your job is to love and be obedient. It is the Holy Spirit’s responsibility to convict, and He will! He is just waiting for us to prove who God is! 

*If you are expecting the wrong type of “suddenly” due to a past history or record that has formed hopelessness in your spirit, it is time for a change of heart and a change of mind! It is why people get out of a good church service or good things start happening to them and they say, “I know the devil will be causing me some trouble after this.” Why is your expectation of sudden wrong taking place when you are a king’s kid and you belong to the Father? 

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (KJV) says, “51Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 

*When you have an encounter with Jesus, you are changed! We are not dead, but we are transformed!

*In the Torah, when one trumpet blasted it called for the princes of Israel, but when the last trumped blew with it, it called for the whole assembly. That is why at the great catching away that at the last trumpet we will be “caught up” to heaven. But you don’t have to wait for the trumpet to blast to have your “suddenly”. Today is your day!