Acts 4:22-31

Pray for… leaders of our cities, states, and nations…

Text for tonight..

Acts 4:22–31 ESV

22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. 23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 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, 25 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? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— 27 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, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 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.

As you read this text you can clearly see the boldness of the disciples after they are threatened.

Remember the key verses last week they really set up the whole book of acts.

Acts 4:19–20 ESV

19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

Tonight we read this text in light of what appears to be revival in our nation in many places, and after reading some things this week I found three things about prayer that is helpful to see in the text, and helpful to apply to our own prayer lives.

First thing I want you to see is this…

This prayer is rooted in God’s attributes.

You see a few of those attributes in the text. Master, and Sovereign Lord. (24-30)

Talk about these two terms, and why it is important.

One quote said this..In a time of threat, prayer can be a rediscovery of the sovereign God who wins by letting our opponents win and then transforming the expected result. This rediscovery can keep God’s witnesses faithful in spite of threats.

Second..

This prayer is rooted in the scriptures.

Specifically Psalm 2 (25-28) Someone Read it..

Psalm 2 ESV

1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The disciples seen this text in light of Christ, and prayed with God in mind, and the scriptures in mind.

We must pray with the faith that the scriptures give us.. Because its an example to us that he is someone who answers prayer, and keeps his promises.

Third…

This prayer is for mission above comfort

29-30 Such boldness is a divine gift, not a moral virtue to be acquired by repeated exercise. Christians who have been bold in one context can easily be intimidated in another, unless they seek God’s enabling. Associated with this prayer was the request that God would continue to stretch out his hand ‘to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus’. .

The function of these signs and wonders was to authenticate the messengers rather than the message.

Key to understand… The task of the messengers in the process was to offer healing through the name of Jesus, not using that name as a magic formula but as a way of directing attention to his authority and calling upon him to act with power in the present.

Listen to the thoughts of one man.. Thinking about all this in light of the freedoms we in the United States enjoy, I wonder how our prayers might differ from those offered by the early church in view of the "American dream" ideology that permeates our culture. Could it be that our prayers are more about our comfort being maintained or enhanced than they are about asking that God's greater glory be displayed? When we pray for a fellow citizen facing opposition, for instance, it's not usually sufficient to pray,'

"Father, alleviate this!" Rather, we might add, "But Lord, if you choose not to, may the gospel advance because of this struggle!"

Verse 31 is the result of this prayer… First, the place where they were meeting was shaken, meaning that a special manifestation of God’s power was imminent (cf. Ex. 19:18; Is. 2:19, 21; 6:4). Second, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and third, as a consequence, they spoke the word of God boldly.