This week we will be looking at examples of prayer in the New Testament. The first is a striking example from the early church found in the Book of Acts. (MK)
Day #22: “Believers Pray for Boldness” (Joe Stehle)
Have you ever felt an earthquake? After graduation from Grove City, my first job took me to near San Jose, California. I had not experienced an earthquake growing up in Western PA, and so it was a very strange feeling when the room seemed to move and any hanging lamps started to sway. By God’s grace I was never in a bad earthquake, but each one that you feel really gets your attention. (If you are interested, ask me or find someone else who has lived in an earthquake area to tell you some earthquake stories.) Our scripture passage today ends with an earthquake in this attention-grabbing experience from Acts.
Peter and John had been boldly preaching the resurrection of Jesus, and the Priests and Sadducees had them arrested. The next day they were questioned and told not to speak of Jesus. But they responded saying that they “cannot but speak of what they had seen and heard.” We pick up the story there…
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.
This significant incident in the early church has several important points for us, and a caution for us as Presbyterians. Let’s take the caution first. Vs 30 speaks of healing, signs and wonders. For many of us, our first reaction is to think that those things were limited to that apostolic time, and so we tend to gloss over them as not applicable to us. But I encourage us to look more carefully at what we can apply for ourselves.
Peter and John had been preaching boldly about the resurrected Christ. As Christians today, I think we are familiar with the idea of Jesus having been raised from the dead. But they were speaking to their fellow Israelites, many of whom may have been in the crowd when he was crucified, or may know someone who saw it. Then they were arrested and told by the authorities to stop speaking about the resurrection. They responded that they had to say what they saw, and when they were released the first thing they did was to gather with friends and pray. Vs 24 starts “they lifted their voices together to God”, followed by praising God for who He is, what He has created, and His sovereign plan. (Which is an excellent example of small group prayer.) Vs 29 asks God to recognize the threats but grant them boldness to continue the message. Vs 31 speaks of the place they were gathered being shaken, then all being filled by the Holy Spirit and continuing to speak with boldness. They did not pray to be miracle workers – that was happening in Jesus’ name – but rather to “continue to speak boldly”. They were not asking for a great miracle for themselves, but just to be able to faithfully continue in the work they were already doing.
As we read about and practice praying this spring, let’s remember this example. Facing the trial of being arrested and being warned to stop preaching, they gathered to pray. They praised God and prayed to be able to continue to do what they had been doing. Now, why the earthquake? I do not know with certainty, but my thought is that God wanted to make sure that Peter, John, and the rest of the group there felt certain that their prayers had been answered. As we gather to pray, we can be confident that God will answer us, even without an earthquake.