And now he was in prison, and he knew that his enemies, in their desperate malice, would resort to any means to put him to death. Could it be that his work for the churches was ended and that ravening wolves were to enter in now? The cause of Christ was very near to Paul's heart, and with deep anxiety he thought of the perils of the scattered 413 churches, exposed as they were to the persecutions of just such men as he had encountered in the Sanhedrin council. In distress and discouragement he wept and prayed.

Og nu var han i fængsel og han vidste, at hans fjender i deres vanvittige had ville tage deres tilflugt til ethvert middel for at få ham henrettet. Var det muligt, at hans arbejde for menighederne var forbi og at glubske ulve nu skulle trænge derind? Guds riges sag lå Paulus stærkt på sinde og med dyb ængstelse tænkte han på de farer, der truede de spredte menigheder, udsatte som de var for forfølgelse af netop den slags mennesker, han i dag havde mødt i rådsforsamlingen. Fortvivlet og modløs både græd og bad han.