But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Acts 16:25
September is a great month where I live (all the people with birthdays in September would probably agree!). The earth starts to come alive after the cold winter months. The flowers come out, the birds sing more than at any other time of the year, and the days get longer. At our house, there is a group of magpies that currently have nothing better to do than sing and cause trouble. They pick fights with other birds, squabble among themselves, and steal the cat’s food. It has become a contest to see who can be awake the earliest – me, to hide the food, or them, to eat it! They start singing while it’s still dark, so that’s my cue to put the food away. They sing grateful songs even though I usually get to the food before they do.
Grateful Songs in the Dark
Many birds sing while it is dark. They sing praises to their Creator before it is light enough to get up and go about their daily business. They are awake with nothing to do, so they offer up grateful songs for the way He sustains their lives. They know the darkness is temporary so they use that time to tell the Lord that they love Him. They were created to praise Him. 
Singing in the dark is an age-old response, not just in a literal way to the rhythms of nature, but in a metaphorical sense when there is trouble. Paul and Silas found themselves in a spot of bother when the authorities took a dim view of their activities. They were beaten, thrown into prison, and had their feet placed in stocks (Acts 16:16-24). Undoubtedly, it’s not very comfortable to be in stocks or chains, and Paul and Silas were awake at midnight. In the darkest part of the darkest night, they were singing and praying. They couldn’t sleep, so they praised God with grateful songs instead. It seems that they were keeping all of the other prisoners awake too – they were listening (probably wondering who these crazy men were!). The whole prison was awake.
Deliverance from the Darkness
The darkness is often the most intense right before deliverance. And it was so in this case. A great earthquake shook the prison and released all the prisoners from their chains. It must have been a fearful experience. God’s hand was over it, because none of the prisoners escaped, even though they had the opportunity. As a result of the dramatic events of that night, the jailer and his family accepted the gospel. The Bible doesn’t tell us if any of the prisoners did, but it’s quite likely that the witness of Paul and Silas, singing grateful songs in the dark, had an impact on the prisoners.
What happens when we find ourselves in dark places? Poor health, depression, conflict in relationships, work or employment challenges, financial stress and tragedy are some of the ways that we can find ourselves in the dark. Do we praise God anyway? Or do we feel sad or sorry for ourselves and bemoan our fate? Do we have faith that one day the darkness will end?
Singing while We Wait 
Just like the birds that sing before the light comes, we can sing while we wait for it. In our individual experiences and as members of the body of Christ, we are waiting for the time that the darkness will end. The best thing we can do while we wait is to praise the Lord for His goodness to us. We can acknowledge His presence in the darkness with us and look forward to the time that it is over. Often the most intimate times we have with our Lord is when the darkness is at its thickest around us. It’s then that He is closest to us and we need not fear the blackest night because He is there. Darkness is a reason to sing grateful songs and praise Him.