Praying for Boldness

The believers in Acts 4 prayed that God would observe the threats of those opposed to the gospel and that he would give boldness to the believers to continue to speak the word and that he would do miracles of healing and sings and wonders in the name of Jesus.

Believers today should pray for boldness to share Christ and for God to heal the sick.

A few questions to consider:

Do we have an urgency to share the gospel?

When faced with difficulty and opposition, how do we pray?

Do we trust that God will see us through the mistreatment we will face when we share the gospel?

Let’s look at the broader text, we are primarily going to focus on Acts 4:23-31, but we need to get the context, because context is king. We don’t pull portions of scripture out of their context to make them say whatever we like. So in Acts 4 we will see that Peter and John have been preaching Christ, and have been brought before the council, so we will look at that narrative for a moment but then we will focus on what the response of the believers was to the persecution they faced.

Acts 4:1–31 ESV

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 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, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. 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.

At the beginning of our passage, we see that the priests and captain of the temple and he Sadducees were greatly annoyed. In Chapter 3, Peter and John had healed a lame beggar in the name of Jesus, and this had given them an opportunity to preach the gospel and so Peter gave a sermon about Jesus. And they gave full credit to Jesus for the healing, and told people they needed to repent in order that times of refreshing would come from the presence of the Lord. they attest that Jesus is the prophesied one, the prophet like Moses, who would turn people from their wickedness.

There were several things the Sadducees would not have liked about Peters preaching, but it seems the main thrust of their annoyance is the teaching about Jesus was that he was resurrected from the dead. We know from Matthew 22 that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Think of it like a denomination. Today, denominations end up usually because there is some point of doctrine the rest disagree on. So from the Mainline denominations you see that there are many offshoots. Where someone disagreed on something, and felt strongly enough about it, they separated and formed their own denomination.

Sometimes this has to do with doctrine, sometimes it is about how the church is run, the structure or polity. But the happen today. I heard the number of denominations the other day and it was a huge number. Anyway, the Sadducees had staked their claim on the idea that there was no resurrection of the dead, and so that denomination, if we can think of it that way, was completely dedicated to this idea, which seems rather fatalistic and depressing. Sort of pessimistic. So if you were a Jew in those days, and you took this pessimistic approach towards resurrection, then you were Sadducee.

So when a denomination finds someone within teaching something against their own doctrine, they usually will call them out. We would here. If you were a member in our church and were teaching something that goes against our own statement of faith or beliefs, we would call you before the elders. If you were to teach, for example, that Jesus was not coming again, we would take issue with that. We would try to teach you through scripture your error, but if you did not correct it, we would have to go through a process to remove you from our membership.

Now, the Sadducees had a problem with Peter and John, because as they preached the truth about Christ and his resurrection, it was against the teachings of the Sadducees. But the Sadducees were wrong about that. Nevertheless, they had Peter and John arrested and brought into a sort of hearing. And at the hearing, Peter again speaks boldly in speaking of Jesus. And they were astonished at the boldness of the men. They decide to command them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. And you may remember their answer:

Acts 4:19–20 ESV

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, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

So already, Peter and John were showing great boldness. Astonishing boldness. So when they were released, what did the people pray for? More boldness.

Let’s think for a moment what we might have prayed for if we were being told not to preach the gospel. In fact, we don’t have to think too hard to come up with a current example of this. Last week in Canada, a number of brave pastors preached on biblical marriage in contravention of a new law that went into effect in January. The law says that no one can try to convert someone who is homosexual. It is considered hateful to do so. There is a threat of 5 years prison time for anyone doing this. Franklin Graham said Canadian pastors “feel they have been stripped of their religious freedoms.”

“Critics of Bill C-4 say it is broadly worded and could even encompass private conversations about the topic, such as when a pastor or any Christian shares what the Bible teaches about sexuality,” he wrote. Another Christian writer said that Canada’s New Ban on “Conversion Therapy” Is a Declaration of War on Christianity and God,

An article I saw stated that over 4,000 Canadian pastors signed on to preach last week in protest to this government overreach. Do you wonder what those pastors and their teams prayed for leading up to this? They are threatened to not speak on a biblical issue. Does this sound anything like Peter and John? Threatened with loss of their personal freedom or worse if they do not comply with those who tell them what they can or cannot teach?

Did they pray they could still preach and not get caught? Did they pray that they could obey the government rather than God and that God would forgive them because they had a tough choice to make? Did they pray that God would strike down and kill the leaders who were opposing them? Or did they pray like the believers in Acts 4?

You see, we can learn so much from this passage and their prayer. First off, they prayed as one.

Acts 4:23–24 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,

They lifted their voices together. This does not mean they literally chanted the same words. The recorded prayer sums up their prayers. But the important thing was the unity with which they prayed. And how does the prayer begin? With adoration. A recognition of God as the Sovereign creator. Now, this is a very important reminder to us. You see, we very often slide into a habit of sort of forgetting who God is. If we remind ourselves that He is the sovereign creator of the universe, then our confidence should already be increasing. If we would remind ourselves often of who God is, and His power, then we would have much more confidence in the face of decisions that involve the choice of either obeying Him and His Word and His commands, and going another direction, regardless of whatever other pressures we may face.

This is why beginning our prayers in recognition of who God is is very helpful for our own attitude in coming to him. Adoration, or recognizing God and His attributes, is a great way to begin your prayer. And so our Lord taught his disciples to pray, with a recognition of who God is: “Our Father in Heaven, the one with a Holy name.” These believers included those who followed Jesus and heard his teachings from His very mouth, so it should be no surprise that they learned from Him about the way to begin a prayer.

Another quality of their prayer that we should emulate is that they used scripture.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: Persecution, Prayer, and Power (Acts 4:5–31)

It was a united prayer meeting as they “lifted up their voice to God with one accord” (Acts 4:24; see 1:14). The people were of one heart and mind, and God was pleased to answer their requests. Division in the church always hinders prayer and robs the church of spiritual power.

Their praying was based solidly on the Word of God, in this case, Psalm 2. The Word of God and prayer must always go together (John 15:7). In His Word, God speaks to us and tells us what He wants to do. In prayer, we speak to Him and make ourselves available to accomplish His will. True prayer is not telling God what to do, but asking God to do His will in us and through us (1 John 5:14–15). It means getting God’s will done on earth, not man’s will done in heaven.

Their prayer brought Scripture to bear on their current circumstance. The more immersed you are in God’s Word, the more you will see how it applies to your daily life, to the world around you. The more you study God’s Word, the more your prayers will come into alignment with God’s Will. You see, people have twisted many scriptures in regards to what we should pray for. So when Jesus said we could ask anything in His name and receive it, they will say this means whatever I want, I can ask in Jesus name and have it. But that is not the right way to look at it. You see, our prayers that will be answered are not the prayers that are focused on what I want, but on what God wants.

Peter Marshall was a pastor and Chaplain of the US Senate. His prayers were so good they were published by the AP. His wife Katherine wrote a biography of him called “A Man called Peter”, and she said something to the effect that when our prayers align with God’s will, then His will becomes our will. In other words, if we dedicate ourselves to knowing God’s Word, and desiring Him, then as we mature in the faith, when we pray, we will pray more and more His will, but the real beauty is that when we pray his will, it will be what we want, because we want the same things He does.

The scripture they use is from Psalm 2:1-2

Psalm 2:1–2 ESV

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

The believers then identified who they were considering Psalm 2 to apply to in their situation. Herod, Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. And what are they doing? They are opposing Jesus:

Acts 4:27 ESV

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,

In other words, these disciples more or less felt the whole world around them was opposed to them spreading the gospel. I wonder how many Canadian pastors and congregations feel this same way? Everyone is against them. You see, the law that was passed saying you can’t convert a homosexual or you will face up to 5 years imprisonment was not just barely passed. It unanimously passed. The Prime Minister made a grand statement of how progressive Canada is being by elimination what he referred to as the “Despicable and degrading” practice of actually trying to help people understand who God created them to be and to become that person.

Friends, we need to be awake and pay attention. Only a decade or two ago, even nonbelievers would have defended the right of the church to teach the Bible. But this is becoming less and less the case. There is more persecution of Christians than at any time in history. you can see the stories on the Alliance website, or check our Voice of the Martyrs and see story after story of people suffering in terrible ways and being killed for their faith. The time when we could spin a little globe and say “But that is not here” is done. We step nearer and nearer to real persecution. There is almost a daily progression towards less and less tolerance for the Bible and God’s commandments and the preaching of God’s Word. Sadly, even my preaching would not be accepted in many so-called Christian churches this very morning.

I’m as patriotic as any of you. I believe in the ideals of our founders. However, I cannot ignore the track our nation is on. Free speech is under assault, especially if you disagree with certain powerful people. The states, red and blue, are becoming more and more polarized. If you think that just one or two more elections will right the ship, I have bad news for you. There are no candidates that will bring America to morality again. Stop hoping that will happen. The only hope for America is Jesus Christ and His church.

So what will the church do, if or when the time come, when we are told, like Peter and John, do not speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. What will we do if a law is passed that says if you preach this doctrine you are going to jail? What will we do if our friends or family tell us we need to give up these Old fashioned biblical ideas, or else they will shun us? Will we choose the comforts of this world over obedience to God? Or will we trust that in his sovereignty that He has in control the things we think are out of control?

You see, the disciples in Acts 4 recognized not only God as creator, but God as Lord of the timeline. Did he allow Herod and Pontius Pilate and the rest to rage against Jesus, or is He God of the timeline? They believed that God had ordained those events.

Acts 4:28 ESV

to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

And when you agree that God is God of the timeline, then maybe your trust in Him will be stronger. Maybe you can endure a little more, knowing that He has determined ahead of time what you will go through, what is good for you, that is, if you love him. This is why Paul said His Spirit helps us pray:

Romans 8:26–28 ESV

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

And so these believers agreed with God, that whatever happened was what his hand and plan had predestined to take place. They prayed, then, that God would do what He had already planned to do. Their prayers, their will, was aligned with God’s will. And now we see what their prayer was for:

Acts 4:29–31 ESV

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 are two “Take Action” or imperative words in this prayer. look and grant. Look upon their threats and grant boldness.

Look upon their threats. This doesn’t mean in any way the believers thought that God was unaware of what was going on. Sometimes our prayers are more about us needing to hear ourselves agreeing with God. What they are saying, I think, is this: We want to stay strong in spite of this persecution. They want God to look, or observe, the threats. The word means notice, take concern with. It is’t a visual thing as much as taking notice. They just want God to know about what is happening and concern himself with it. Again, it doesn’t mean they think God isn’t paying attention, but rather, parts of prayers often are more about reminding ourselves that God is paying attention.

We may feel that way at times. God, can’t you see what is going on here? I was sharing with some people yesterday some thoughts I have had about how people are hurt by churches. And there is a part of me that wants to say to God, “Don’t you see what is going on here? How can this happen in your church and in your name?”. But ultimately, I have to realize, as the believers in this prayer, that what happens is according to his hand and his plan. He isn’t unaware of the people who have been hurt in his name by the church. But I want to help people who have been hurt to heal from that and experience Jesus in a healthy environment. This is part of why I will never stop reminding myself and all of us that we have a duty to be unified, and to haver healthy relationships in the church.

So they want to know that God is aware of what is going on. And they ask to be granted the ability to continue to speak his word with all boldness, and to continue to heal and do signs and wonders. And this prayer really sets up the whole rest of the book of Acts. You see, this was the attitude of the believers, this was their passion, their drive. To obey Christ and his command to go and make disciples.

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 28: Acts The Boldness of Prayer

4. The final conviction of the church’s prayer was that God would confirm the witness of the church with a continuation of signs and wonders. They expected miracles to attend their preaching! That’s why they prayed for more boldness and more manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s power, for further visible proof that God had heard their prayer for courage. Amazing. They prayed for the Lord to continue the healings which had caused such consternation and trouble. The spectacular events spread across the pages of Acts can all be traced back to praying like that.

Throughout this episode, the healing of the lame beggar, Peter and John put on trial as a result, the command to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, the desires stated in the prayer were not that we could have an easier time of it, not that the enemies would be defeated, not that the gospel would be tolerated, not that they would just leave us alone, not that we could find an easier place to preach the gospel, not that we would have a nice building, not that we would all get rich so that we could buy favor with the world; Acts4.29-30

Acts 4:29–30 ESV

This prayer was a prayer that started with acknowledging God as the sovereign creator, this prayer used scripture as a foundation, and this prayer was prayed in unity, and God put his stamp of approval on this prayer. His endorsement came in a powerful way.

Acts 4:31 ESV

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.

The prayer was answered. They continued to speak the word of God with boldness. The prayer really represented the general attitude of the believers. They were not perfect. I once asked the congregation in my last place of ministry whether they wanted an Acts church. or a new testament church. And after they all said yes, they wanted that, I listed many of the issues scripture tells us the early church had. There is a temptation to look with nostalgia and say, it must have been great back then. But there were charlatans in the early church. There were vile sins that happened. there were disagreements, and bad teachers, and just about every other problem we have in churches today. Nothing new under the sun.

Certainly in a sense, the early church must have been exciting and I think it is so interesting to study. But you know, we have the same Christ today. We may face different challenges, but we can, like the early church, pray that in spite of the challenges, that God would give us boldness.

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 28: Acts The Boldness of Prayer

2. Opposition and threats. What they had endured had happened to the Lord’s people through the ages. They could not put their trust in people. Their experience was not unlike that of David long before. His question in Psalm 2:1–2, repeated from memory in their prayer, gave profound comfort (vv. 25–26). The church was in good company! God’s faithful people have always been in trouble. It was the acid test that they were obeying God rather than men. We wonder if Jesus’ words about persecution stirred within them as they prayed. He had called persecution for righteousness’ sake “blessed.”

I am not a prophet that can tell you the future. I don’t know what is in store for the church in the coming years, whether we will have more time to preach freely or whether a time of persecution is coming. What I do know for certain is that God is in control, and that Jesus has overcome the world:

John 16:31–33 ESV

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Believers today should pray for boldness to share Christ and for God to heal the sick.

A few questions to consider:

Do we have an urgency to share the gospel?

When faced with difficulty and opposition, how do we pray?

Do we trust that God will see us through the mistreatment we will face when we share the gospel?

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