Prayer: The Faith-Fueled Response to Suffering

Intro

Good morning. We will use Acts 4 to guide our time of gospel remembrance this morning .

Context

In Acts 4, Peter and John have just been arrested for preaching in Jesus’ name after healing a lame beggar. The memory of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion would have been fresh on the hearts and minds of Peter, John, and all who were there for those events. It was obvious after Calvary that finding yourself on the wrong side of the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem could escalate quickly into very real persecution and even death. Yet Peter & John boldly preached the gospel to these religious leaders.

This arrest was their first experience since Jesus’ ascension of the religious persecution that was to come. By the end of chapter 5, they would be beaten. Saul would soon kill Stephen, and Christians would be scattered far beyond Jerusalem. James would be martyred; Peter arrested. And this was just the start of the suffering that Christians would experience throughout history, that we may soon have the privilege to experience here in the United States.

Response to Persecution: Prayer

The future felt uncertain from a worldly perspective. Coming persecution and loss were inevitable.

Their response is a particularly helpful example for us.

I’ve noticed lately that it seems like the state of things in America and the Western world are quickly moving in a direction back to the historical norm, where Christians will be persecuted and suffer worldly loss for faithfulness to Jesus. Maybe you’re like me. Headlines, current events, increasingly bold anti-Christian sentiment in the culture tempt to me anxiety. I am often tempted to feed an insatiable desire to read about and think about current events.

I have found the church’s God-exalting, gospel-focused response to their first taste of persecution incredibly instructive and encouraging.

The words of the apostles’ prayer helps us get a glimpse into the theology that fueled their boldness in the face the threat.

Acts 4:23–28 ESV

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 only then do they make their first request, for boldness

Content of Prayer

I want to call your attention to the content of what they prayed: In prayer they told God who they knew Him to be.

1. They Proclaimed in Prayer God’s Complete Sovereignty In Creation

They quoted Exodus 20:11 saying “It is you who made the heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them”. They started their prayer by reminding themselves of God’s status as the Sovereign Creator of all.

2. They Proclaimed in Prayer God’s Sovereign Authorship of Scripture

Their prayer is filled with quotes from God’s Word, and they acknowledged to God that these were God’s very words “said by the Holy Spirit” (v 25) written by the hands of men. When we pray, it is right and helpful to use God’s own words to guide our prayer.

3. They Proclaimed in Prayer God’s Sovereignty Over All Seen Most Clearly at the Cross

Was there ever a worse example of the heinous acts that sinful humans can accomplish than horrific, merciless murder of innocent, sinless, only Holy Son of God?! No, at the cross we see sin on display in all its sinfulness. And yet even in this most extreme manifestation of sinfulness--where the Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Jewish Leaders raged (in vain) against God—they only did (v. 28) “whatever your hand and your plan predestined to take place.”

The cross clearly shows that even (especially) in the worst of humanity’s anti-God rebellion, God reigns. As people sinned boldly, God’s perfect will to atone for sins was being worked out. This gospel truth fueled the courage of the early Christians.

The Lord sovereignly orchestrates all of history to accomplish exactly His will. No virus, no political leader, no election, no ideology, no war, no law, no person, no animal, no molecule, nothing in all of creation can act in any way except to do (v. 28) “whatever [the Lord’s] hand and plan predestined to take place.”

God took the worst act of human sin—the crucifixion of Jesus—to accomplish the greatest good imaginable for us. If He is sovereign over the ones that crucified Jesus, He was certainly in control over the rulers who had just arrested Peter & John in Acts 4, and God reigns totally over any threat that you or I might face. It is right to declare this truth to God in prayer.

Surveys reveal that those in the world around us feel that the world is spiraling out of control. The culture calls good evil and evil good. The future in many ways feels uncertain. But every bit of it is working to accomplish our Father’s wise and perfect goals.

It’s so helpful as we pray to look back to the cross to remind ourselves of God’s sovereign working even in the actions of sinful people. If you have not turned to Jesus in faith and repentance--if you are not a Christian-- if you have not confessed your sins against God to God and trusted in Jesus alone for forgiveness and justification, God’s sovereignty in no way alleviates you of your guilt before Him. You are no less guilty—no less needy—than the very ones who crucified the Author of life 2000 years ago to whom Peter pleaded in Acts 3:19

Acts 3:19 ESV

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

If you put your faith in God, then you can know with 100% certainty that all of God’s perfect sovereignty will be for you. “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Romans 8:32 ESV

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

So in these turbulent times in which we find ourselves, with threats and rumors of threats against Christians on the horizon, with much clamoring for our anxious attention, let’s pray. We will follow this model together as we pray:

Prayer

Sovereign Lord, you made everything in just 6 days by simply speaking. And we have your amazingly powerful words in Scripture. And yet humanity believes itself to be so wise. The world around us paints us as fools for believing your Words as they increasingly array themselves against You.

You were able to accomplish the greatest good through the greatest wickedness imaginable at the cross. So we trust that you remain completely in control. Your purposes and promises cannot be thwarted by laws, changing societal norms, Supreme Court decisions, elections, persecution, or anything else. So God, please grant us a confidence to trust your Word as sufficient and true. Grant us courage and boldness to faithfully, patiently, with love and grace patiently endure evil and speak with boldness and compassion of Jesus Christ.

I pray for Grace Bible Church, that you would continue to grant us steadfast confidence in your Word. That your Holy Spirit would be evident in the way we love each other and live in self-emptying unity within the church. And may your Holy Spirit’s work in us be evident as we live faithful to You as aliens, strangers, and ambassadors in this world.

In Jesus’ name, amen.