Acts 4:23-31

 ^{Acts 4:23-31}

When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.  And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,  who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
    and the peoples plot in vain?
 The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers were gathered together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,  to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.  And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,  while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”  And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

There is a certain reaction that we expect to see from men who are threatened.  We expect them to be fearful or angry and upset.  Instead Peter and John return from their night in prison and morning of interrogation with hearts full of rejoicing and the group of believers immediately begin a time of prayer together.  In this time of distress and personal danger, their response is to spend time with the Lord.  When we face difficulty, do we turn to God or away from Him?  The disciples’ example is one worthy of following

THE DISCIPLES PRAISED GOD FOR HIS SOVEREIGNTY: The disciples gather to praise the Lord for all He has done in His sovereign work in His plan of redemption.  As they pray the quote Scripture and use it as the basis for their prayer.  They then apply that passage to the circumstances they faced.  As they look at the events of the past few months and consider how Gentile rules had consented to crucify Jesus at the urging of the Jews.  The disciples affirm that these rulers were appointed by God and that they did exactly as they were appointed to do.  Nothing is ever outside of God’s sovereign plan.  What was true for them is true for us, and we can rest in the reality that God is in control of all our circumstances.  He is the One who established our leaders to accomplish His ultimate design that will all be clear in eternity’s light.  We must trust and rest in this truth.

THE DISCIPLES PRAYED TO GOD FOR HIS STRENGTH: The disciples did not pray for the Lord to take away the persecution they were facing.  They asked God to look at the threats they were facing and to bless them with boldness as He continued to use them to heal and perform other signs in the name of Jesus.  Their main concern was not for their safety or their comfort, it was for the advance of the Gospel.  They asked God for boldness within persecution not for the persecution to be removed.  The genuine message of Christ will almost always lead to some form of persecution.  This is to be expected.  Our natural response is to flee or back off when persecution hits.  We need to pray for God to give us boldness to give witness to the work of Jesus no matter the cost.  God responded to their prayer by filling them with the Holy Spirit in such a way that apparently the building shook with His power.  They were empowered by God to continue to testify with boldness.  This needs to be a more frequent matter of prayer in all our lives.  We need to be bold in our testimony of what God has done.  That boldness is not natural to us but is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, so we should ask Him for it.

APPLICATION: Our prayers should constantly recognize God’s sovereignty over our circumstances and those of the world surrounding us.  No matter how difficult things may be around us, we can be assured that God is in control.  The advance of the Gospel should be the focus of our praying.  We need to pray for boldness and the empowerment of the Spirit for ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.